Alabama Basketball Newcomer Breakdown: Labaron Philon

The most recent addition to the 2024-25 Alabama roster, this talented freshman has a chance to compete for immediate playing time despite the crowded guard room.

Labaron Philon on his official visit to Alabama / Philon's Instagram page (@b1rron)

This is the seventh in an 8-part series where BamaCentral's Blake Byler will break down the numbers and the film to give you everything you need to know about each of Alabama basketball's 2024-25 newcomers. 

Alabama basketball made a late addition to its recruiting class in the middle of April, which is typically viewed as the time of year for transfer portal additions.

The Crimson Tide had three recruits signed to its 2024 recruiting class since November, and with portal recruitments in full swing, it seemed like Oats was done adding freshmen to his 2024-25 roster. That was until Kansas signee Labaron Philon requested release from his letter of intent.

Alabama added Philon soon after, and the 4-star point guard and top-35 overall recruit elevated the Crimson Tide's already-elite recruiting class all the way to No. 2 in the country, cementing it as one of the best in school history thanks to the late add.

Philon is an Alabama native, having attended Baker High School in Mobile, and has had ties to in-state schools for a long time. He was recruiting by Alabama in high school, but during his junior season, Philon actually committed to rival Auburn.

He later decommitted from Auburn, and transferred out of state for his senior year of high school basketball, playing at Link Academy in Missouri. There, he was able to play against other prep schools and better talent, which was needed after he averaged 35 points per game his last season at Baker and was named Alabama 7A player of the year.

While at Link, Philon improved his game in a variety of ways. His size at 6-foot-4 is more than ideal for a guard, and he refined his handle, decision-making, and shooting to pair with his explosiveness as an athlete. Now, after a decommitment from Kansas, he's come back to his home state to compete on a loaded roster, despite the fact that he will have to earn every minute of playing time he gets surrounded by a heap of talent.

To fully visualize what Philon can be for Alabama, let's dive into some of his film from his senior high school season at Link Academy:

One of the most important traits for a guard in Alabama's system is his ability to create penetration and collapse the defense. Alabama thrives off getting efficient shots in its offense, and many of those come from layups or kickout threes once guards are able to shrink the defense into the lane.

Philon has a ton of athleticism, and also has a quick first step when getting downhill, as seen in the two above clips.

In the first clip, all it takes is one dribble and explosion downhill to get his defender on his hip, and from there it's a free lane to the basket. The weakside defender flying in doesn't bother him, and he's able to finish the layup without trouble.

The second clip shows similar penetration, but from the left side instead of the right. A rub screen from Philon's teammate frees him up to explode downhill without resistance, and then he leaps and hangs midair to adjust his shot attempt around the shot blocker and get the layup to go.

Philon is a talented finisher inside, able to finish on either side of the rim with either hand, and his vertical athleticism will aid him in adjusting to finishing with larger bodies in the lane in the SEC.

Of course, guards in a Nate Oats offense also need to be able to shoot the deep ball. Philon is a very solid shooter from beyond the arc, able to knock down shots both off the catch and off the dribble if necessary.

The first clip shows a fast break that might as well be an Alabama highlight. Philon starts with the ball, pushing the break, and passes back to his teammate in the middle of the floor. After the pass, he relocates to the wing, and finds himself wide open for a catch-and-shoot.

Alabama pushes the pace frequently, and this kind of look in transition could be a very common one Philon finds himself with in Coleman Colisuem.

The second clip is less situational, but shows Philon's range from three. Against a zone defense, Philon's defender is standing inside the 3-point line and not providing any pressure on him as the ball handler. With the space given, Philon takes a dribble and steps into a deep three, a pure-looking shot that he has no doubt about.

It's not expected for Philon to come in and shoot 40 percent from three as a freshman, especially considering the other ways he can impact the game, but he has a more-than-respectable shot and can get hot at any moment. He has the confidence to shoot open looks, which will help him tremendously, as there's nothing Oats hates more than players passing up shots.

Playmaking is an important characteristic of Alabama point guards, especially when so much of the offense revolves around making the proper reads on passes to shooters and bigs. While Philon is primarily a scorer, he's a very capable passer with solid vision in different actions.

The first clip is a simple read, but it's a pass a lot of young guards fail to make. After a half spin to get the defender on his back hip, Philon drives in the lane and pulls the big towards him with his threat of finishing. Philon is able to dump it off to the big with a sweet-looking bounce pass, and it gets his team a bucket.

The second pass is more advanced, coming off a pick-and-roll, probably the most common action in Alabama's offense. The defense doubles Philon off the screen, but instead of panicking, picking up his dribble, or throwing an errant pass, Philon jumps and lasers a pass over the defenders head, directly to his big man for a layup.

Philon has above average skills ath the minimum in all the necessary areas to make him an excellent guard in Oats' system, but what sets him apart is his mentality. Everything being said about Philon in his first few weeks in Tuscaloosa speaks to his ultra competitive nature that bleeds into everything he does.

On paper, it's seemingly going to be hard for Philon to find playing time. Mark Sears and Latrell Wrightsell are both back at guard, while transfers Chris Youngblood and Aden Holloway both have more experience than him. But while the backlogged depth chart might scare many players as talented as Philon away, it drew him in.

Philon was the last player to commit to Alabama to complete the 2024-25 roster. The talented pieces were all already in place, and yet, he still chose to come to Tuscaloosa and not only compete, but improve. That kind of mentality will pay dividends down the road for Philon, whether he gets adequate playing time this season or another season down the road.

Everything that's been said about Philon has implied it's going to be very hard to keep him off the floor, despite the amount of talent in the locker room. Having a guard as talented as Philon on the outside of the rotation looking in may make substitutions challenging for Oats, but I'm sure there's no problem he'd rather have.

Check out BamaCentral's previous newcomer breakdowns:

• Cliff Omoruyi
• Chris Youngblood
• Aden Holloway
• Houston Mallette
• Derrion Reid
• Aiden Sherrell