NEWARK, N.J. — Labaron Philon knows the opportunity that he has to be a first round pick in the NBA Draft , but he hasn't lost sight of what it would mean to win a historic national championship with Alabama basketball .
That doesn't mean it isn't difficult for the freshman from Mobile to weigh his present versus his future.
Philon, a former Auburn commit, announced his intentions to attend Alabama just five days after requesting to be released from his Letter of Intent for Kansas. Now, running the point for the Crimson Tide, he's a weekly highlight reel of flashy plays and a spunky attitude. One that makes the Alabama faithful wish that the rookie's run in Tuscaloosa won't be a one-and-done. Here's what he told the Tuscaloosa News on Friday about the looming decision to declare.
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"It's really hard, I would say, for myself, because, like, you know, you try to deny hearing it, but it gets around," Philon said. "People start asking you a lot of questions, but you just got to tune all that out."
Philon said that up to this point — which happens to be the Elite Eight against a blue blood in his inaugural March Madness run — he finds that his coaches have done a "great enough job" to just stay "focused on playing Alabama basketball and being in the Alabama program."
"You know, I never take this program for granted. And ever since I stepped on campus, I feel like the coaches pour all the energy into me, so that made me want to give that energy back to them," Philon said.
From teammates like Chris Youngblood to assistants like Preston Murphy, Philon appreciates the development he's seen in his game, and he thinks that Alabama deserves the same level of commitment from him, regardless of what's to come in the next two months.
"It's just giving them the respect of not just like talking about what's coming next, or what I think will be the next chapter," Philon said. "For me and my team, it's important for me to just stay on this run and stay locked in.
The latest NBA mock draft at CBS Sports projects Philon to be selected No. 29 overall by the Phoenix Suns. Meanwhile, the current nbadraft.net mock draft sees Philon's name being called by the Brooklyn Nets at No. 30 overall.
Not every mock draft has the Crimson Tide freshman pegged for Round One, however. NBA.com's mock has him slipping to the second round, at No. 36 by the Philadelphia 76ers.
The NBA draft will be held June 25.
Emilee Smarr covers Alabama basketball and Crimson Tide athletics for the Tuscaloosa News. She can be reached via email at esmarr@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama basketball's Labaron Philon talks decision to stay with Tide or head for NBA
