Nate Oats and Alabama basketball received some unexpectedly positive news on Wednesday night. Less than an hour before the NBA Draft’s withdrawal deadline, Labaron Philon declared he would return for his sophomore season after first ruling out a possible return to the Crimson Tide just two weeks prior.
Philon’s choice completely alters Alabama’s prospects for 2025–2026. Without Philon, Oats had assembled a strong roster. But with him, the Crimson Tide ought to be respectable candidates for the SEC and National Championships once more.
Oats has assembled a team around Philon that is ideal for utilizing his strongest qualities. Aiden Sherrell and Noah Williamson are two “stretch-five” type centers that will enable Alabama to play five-out on a regular basis in the upcoming campaign. That will open up the paint entirely and put Philon and four shooters on the floor.
Philon has genuine SEC Player of the Year potential if he can maintain his improving shooting trend (38.8% from three in the previous 14 games). The impact of his return for Alabama the following season cannot be understated.
With Mark Sears having used up all of his eligibility and Philon declaring for the draft, Alabama had a real guarding void. Guys like Latrell Wrightsell, Jalil Bethea, and Houston Mallette were going to be trusted to handle the ball a lot more than would have been ideal, and Aden Holloway was going to have a lot on his plate.
With Philon’s return, Oats will have two established ball-handlers (Philon and Holloway), enabling the other players to be at most tertiary initiators. Additionally, Holloway will be able to play off-the-ball more, which is something he excelled at last season as a shooter.
With Philon back, Alabama’s starting lineup and rotation are loaded, and as Oats wants, the team’s rotation will be flexible in the upcoming campaign. Alabama grew longer on the wing and larger at guard. Oats thinks this team might be the strongest three-point shooting squad he has assembled in Tuscaloosa, and it should be significantly better defensively.
Alabama’s roster now consists of 12 players. This is the current situation:
Players returning:
Labaron The Philon
Holloway, Aden
Wrightsell, Latrell
Houston Mallette
Sherrell, Aiden
Additions to the transfer portal:
Jalil Bethea (Miami)
Florida State’s Taylor Bol Bowen
Tarleton State’s Keitenn Bristow and Bucknell’s Noah Williamson
New freshmen:
London Jemison, Ami Allen, and David Hannah
There is at least one roster place open for Alabama that might or might not be filled. Assuming everyone is healthy, my best bet for the starting lineup right now is as follows:
PG: Philon Labaron
Latrell Wrightsell, SG
SF: Bethea Jalil
PF: Bowen, Taylor Bol
C: Sherrell, Aiden
Right now, it’s likely a toss-up between Sherrell and Williamson to start. Both, I believe, will play about 20 minutes each game. In certain lineups, they might also share the court. For the time being, I’m boldly predicting that Sherrell will get the job. I believe he will make significant progress this offseason. He already appears better.
Bol Bowen and Philon appear certain to be in the starting five. Bethea will be, I suppose. How quickly Wrightsell recovers will be the key question. Given his two-way skills, he most likely fits in as the two if he’s 100%. Alabama could go larger with Bethea at the two and Mallette in the three, or Holloway could start next to Philon if he isn’t ready to go for the season (or if Oats simply wants to be cautious).
How well the freshmen translate is anyone’s guess. We’ll find out a lot more this summer, but Jemison and Hannah are seen to be the most prepared to play. Any extra time Hannah or Allen can provide Oats now that Philon is back will be appreciated. Jemison will need to establish himself as soon as possible. Bristow is probably more of a project, but the same is probably true of him.
Holloway will most likely be the sixth man once more. He will likely spend a lot of time in the backcourt with Philon as Alabama’s backup ball handler.
Whichever player doesn’t start—Sherrell or Williamson—will probably be the seventh player off the bench.
Mallette, who recently earned her official medical redshirt for the previous season, is most likely going to be the eighth player.
Either Bristow or Jemison will most likely be the ninth player in the rotation. With a 247 composite ranking of No. 38, Jemison is Alabama’s top recruit in this class. Although Bristow was Tarleton State’s WAC Freshman of the Year and has the advantage in experience, the move to the SEC will be a big step up.
Right now, he’s the tenth man I would project as Hannah. He might play a larger part than that, but that will be decided this summer. Whichever of Jemison or Bristow doesn’t occupy the ninth position is most likely the eleventh man.
Then there’s Allen, who is most likely the odd man out right now. He was the lowest-ranked of the three high school players Alabama signed, so that’s just a prediction. He might be the most successful of them all. Until these men start practicing, you simply never know.
In any event, that is a deep and adaptable roster with the potential of a Final Four squad and the floor of a club that, assuming they are healthy, would easily qualify for the NCAA Tournament.
It’s incredible how a single choice can completely alter a team’s perspective.
