Alabama basketball received a huge dose of positive news Wednesday night. The Crimson Tide’s NIL collective, Yea Alabama, announced that Labaron Philon will return to school and withdraw from the NBA Draft process.

Philon, who starred as a freshman guard for Alabama last season, had declared for the draft after the season. He had planned to stay in it, and closed the door on a possible return to Tuscaloosa in an interview with ESPN earlier in May, but evidently decided to reverse course.

Philon also shared the news on his own social media.

“I’m back,” read a photo he posted to Instagram.

Alabama head coach Nate Oats said in May at the Regions Tradition celebrity pro-am golf tournament that he wished Philon the best in the draft.

“He’s got to do well in the workouts, but what I’m hearing is, I think he’s going to get drafted,” Oats said. “I’m sure it’ll be a great success story. He comes in, he’s not on anybody’s draft board, he plays well for us, and he ends up getting drafted after a year with us. So, that’s the plan right now.”

Still, Oats and company will surely be thrilled to have the Mobile native back. He joined the Crimson Tide as a four-star prospect before last season, and panned out well, starting 29 games for UA.

Philon averaged 10.6 points per game, good for fifth on the roster, and led the Tide in steals with 1.4 per game, while finishing second behind Mark Sears in assists with 3.8 per game, a mark good enough for eighth in the SEC.

“That’s the best thing he’s got going is he’s just ultra-competitive,” Oats said of Philon at the golf event. “But he’s got good size for a point guard, he knows how to set teammates up, he’s got a high IQ, and his skill level’s high. He needs to turn himself into a little bit better shooter, but he’s not a bad shooter, he can score at a high level, and he’s young.”

The 6-foot-4, 177-pound Philon made the SEC’s all-freshman team last season.