A number of shiny, new freshmen will be on the floor for the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas, Nevada, but Alabama basketball guard Labaron Philon is among the brightest.
The Crimson Tide (4-1) has more where that came from with center Aiden Sherrell and forward Derrion Reid . Not to forget Naas Cunningham , who's taking a redshirt year . The four enrollees made up the No. 2 recruiting class in the nation coming into the 2024-25 season.
It's Philon, though, who has greatly exceeded the expectations of not just coach Nate Oats , but the entire college hoops scene. He has been lauded early on as one of its top stock-risers and "best freshmen" by outlets like CBS Sports.
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For his hard hat-winning performance in the C.M. Newton Classic against Illinois , which Alabama won 100-87, Philon was named SEC Freshman of the Week on Monday. Against the Fighting Illini , Philon had 16 points, nine assists, seven rebounds, two steals and one block. His efforts also won him Freshman of the Week for CBS.
Philon's 5.2 assists per game rank third in the SEC and fourth among Division I freshmen.
On the season, Philon is averaging 12.8 points, 5.2 assists and 4.2 rebounds and has made the starting five four times.
Although Philon finished his high school career at Link Academy in Missouri , the four-star recruit was born in Mobile. While he was a junior at Baker High, he averaged 35.0 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 2.6 steals per game, which won him Mr. Basketball.
The No. 5 point guard for the 2024 recruiting class per On3, Philon was also the No. 30 overall recruit for ESPN and the No. 32 overall recruit for 247Sports.
Philon had chemistry with his Crimson Tide teammates-to-be before touching down in Tuscaloosa. In 2023, he was AAU teammates with five-star Derrion Reid for former NBA forward Thad Young's AAU team, Team Thad, the only Nike EYBL program in the state of Tennessee. On that circuit, he averaged 12.6 points and 4.5 assists.
It could be said Philon was worth the wait for Alabama, which won his commitment late and against the odds.
Philon was first committed to No. 3 Auburn before transferring to Link Academy to complete his varsity career. He flipped his commitment to No. 1 Kansas in September 2023. He even signed a National Letter of Intent to play for the Jayhawks, but requested to be released on April 23 and decided on joining Alabama once and for all days later.
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's Labaron Philon one of the 'best freshmen' in college hoops
