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Labaron Philon showed even in exhibition how good of a player he is

Labaron Philon showed even in an exhibition how good of a player he is, putting up 28 points with four assists in the four-point win over Florida State Thursday night. Of course, Philon made the biggest news in the off-season, deciding to return to Tuscaloosa over taking his talents to the NBA. He is expected to be the leader of the team that has quite a lot of new faces. He showed his athleticism throughout, including some big buckets late to secure the win for the Tide.

Another familiar face on the court, Aden Holloway, had a decent shooting night, dropping 20 points against the Seminoles. As good of a career as Mark Sears had at the Capstone, the combination of Philon and Holloway dominating the guard play should lead to an even faster offensive attack than what we've seen over the last couple of seasons.

There are a lot of things for this team to improve on before the start of the season, with the biggest being turnovers. Alabama had 12 in the first half and has been one of the most frustrating areas over the last couple of years.

The pace of the game was exactly how you expect a Nate Oats-led team to play, and the Tide shot the ball rather efficiently from beyond the arc. The defense is going to have to get better over the next few weeks as business picks up quickly with an early trip to Madison Square Garden to take on St John's. Hopefully, during the tough non-conference part of the schedule that fans are becoming accustomed to we will see what Noah Williamson adds to this roster as well as the return of Latrell Wrightsell. The expectations aren't nearly as high as they were a year ago going into the season, but if things gel and this roster stays relatively healthy, another deep run in March is on the horizon.

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