Alabama’s recent success in basketball — both on the court and in recruiting — can be a double-edged sword come NBA draft time.

The Crimson Tide is set to lose one of its top young players after just one season, after freshman guard Labaron Philon chose to enter the 2025 draft. Speaking to reporters Monday prior to the Senior Bowl Charity Classic golf tournament in Fairhope, Alabama coach Nate Oats said he expects Philon to hear his name called by an NBA team on draft night June 25.

“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.”

The 6-foot-4 Philon, who grew up in Mobile before finishing his high school career at Link Academy in Missouri, started 29 of 37 games as a freshman at Alabama this past season. He averaged 10.6 points per game (fifth on the team) but led the team in steals (1.4 per game) and was second behind only All-American Mark Sears in assists (3.8 per game).

Philon had some of his best production all season against top competition late in the regular season and in the postseason, including 19 points vs. Florida, 21 vs. Kentucky in the SEC tournament and 16 points in the NCAA tournament loss to Duke. Oats said Philon’s best attributes were that he is “tough” and “super-competitive.”

“That’s the best thing he’s got going is he’s just ultra-competitive,” Oats said. “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.

“So, with the reps that he’ll put in, he’ll turn himself into a really good shooter. He’s got all the other stuff they’re looking for.”

Alabama finished 28-9 this past season, reaching the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament a year after advancing to the Final Four for the first time. Though Sears and Grant Nelson have exhausted their eligibility, Philon left for the draft and Jarin Stevenson and Mo Dioubate (among others) transferred away, there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the Crimson Tide’s future.

Aden Holloway, Aiden Sherrell and Latrell Wrightsell are among key players expected back, while Alabama also signed three Top 100 freshman recruits. In addition, the Crimson Tide signed a number of potential impact transfers, including Bucknell big man Noah Williamson and Miami guard Jalil Bethea, a former McDonald’s All-American.

“We’re going to have a really good shooting team,” Oats said. “Maybe the best shooting team we’ve had since I’ve been there. We like shooting everywhere.

“… Really, there’s not a non-shooter on the floor. So, we should have shooting everywhere. Our defense could have to get a little bit better, but we’re going to have good versatility and good shooting next year.”