Alabama is trending toward being as close to full strength as this team can get. With Collins Onyejiaka, Keitenn Bristow, and Davion Hannah all expected to miss the remainder of the season, Alabama's injury report 24 hours before Saturday's critical road game at Tennessee only featured one additional name:
Star sophomore guard Labaron Philon.
But Philon, who missed Alabama's Wednesday night blowout win over Mississippi State, was officially listed as "probable" on the Tide's availability report.
Labaron Philon is Probable to play against Tennessee
Nate Oats mentioned during his press conference on Friday afternoon that Philon had practiced "some" that day, but he was still waiting for athletic trainer Clarke Holter to clear him. He sounded optimistic, and Philon was always going to lobby to play in this game because he's a competitor, but the probable listing points to the star sophomore being in Alabama's starting five in Knoxville.
And that means Alabama will be in a much better position health-wise than it was for the first matchup against Tennessee last month in Tuscaloosa. While Philon played in that game, the Crimson Tide was missing both Aden Holloway and Amari Allen, who rank second and third, respectively, in both scoring and assists. They are both good to go for the rematch.
Oats gambled by stealing a night off for Philon in the middle of the week against Mississippi State, and the Crimson Tide handled business with a 100-75 win at home over the Bulldogs.
Philon has been dealing with a lingering leg injury for a while now. He looked as healthy as he had been in a while during Alabama's double-overtime win over Arkansas, where he scored 35 points and dished out seven assists.
But it was clear that performance took a toll on him, necessitating his missing the game against State.
That was well worth it if he's close to 100% against the Vols, as the Crimson Tide is looking to break a five-game losing streak to Tennessee while effectively clinching a double-bye in the SEC Tournament.