Former Alabama men's basketball guard Labaron Philon closed the door Wednesday on a possible return to school for his sophomore season, telling ESPN at the NBA draft combine that he will not withdraw from the 2025 NBA draft before the NCAA's May 28 deadline.
"I'm all-in on the draft," he said.
ESPN followed up by asking Philon if that was his final decision, and he responded, "Yeah."
Philon told ESPN he already informed Alabama coach Nate Oats and said, "They weren't surprised. They knew it already."
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Philon, who declared for the draft in April after his freshman season, is currently projected as a late first or early second-round pick for the June 25-26 draft. Alabama, which did not have any players drafted in 2024, has five draft-eligible players in Philon along with expired-eligibility seniors Mark Sears, Grant Nelson, Chris Youngblood and Clifford Omoruyi. Both Sears and Nelson are participating in the NBA draft combine along with Philon this week, while Youngblood participated in the G-League Elite Camp.
Philon had sent mixed messages about the possibility of a return to school, telling ESPN when he declared that he was, "all in on starting my pro career." He later told The SchuZ Show in late April that, "I would say 100% draft, but things can change. You never know."
Added Philon to the SchuZ Show: "I'm all in on the draft right now, because I feel like I want to be a pro. You never know what can happen. We'll just have to wait and see."
When asked by the SchuZ Show if he was maintaining his college eligibility by hiring an NCAA-certified agent and if he could return to school, Philon said at the time, "I would say, yeah, kinda. But, I'm 100% on the draft."
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Oats last week indicated Philon's plan was to remain in the draft.
"We're getting really good feedback from the NBA," Oats said May 5 at the Senior Bowl Charities Celebrity Golf Classic. "He's got to go to the combine. He's got to test well. He's got to do well in the workouts. From what I'm hearing, I think he's going to get drafted. Shoot, it will be a great success story. He comes in, he's not on anybody's draft board, he plays well for us and ends up getting drafted after a year with us. That's the plan right now."
Alabama has 11 scholarship players signed for the upcoming season. Oats said Wednesday at the Regions Tradition Pro-Am that Alabama is "probably going to fill at least one more" roster spot.
"If we went into the season with just those 11, I think we'd be fine, but as you saw last year, some injuries happen, you need some stuff," Oats said. "So we're still looking. We're looking at a couple guys. We'll see who's pulling their name out of of the draft. It's still in the portal. There's options out there like that."
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