Alabama Newcomer Drawing Comparisons to Herb Jones for 'Elite' Defense

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Since Nate Oats arrived at Alabama in 2019, the Crimson Tide has been a top 25 team in the country every year when it comes to points per game.

Alabama has been inside the top-10 of this stat category four times in Oats' tenure, including the crown of most points per game in each of the last two seasons. The Crimson Tide is the only program in the nation to reach back-to-back Elite Eights, and Oats said during Monday's SEC Media Day in Birmingham that defense has been holding UA back from a National Championship.

While Alabama has shined offensively, the Crimson Tide defense has been in the bottom half of college basketball in points allowed per game for all but one of Oats' seasons. UA has been in the bottom 10 in each of the last two seasons.

Oats and Alabama assistant coach Brian Adams have emphasized defense throughout the offseason, and perhaps freshman guard Davion Hannah is leading the way. In fact, his immovability during practice has led Oats to make a jaw-dropping comparison.

"I think Davion Hannah is maybe as good a perimeter defender as this program has seen since maybe Herb Jones," Oats said. "He's elite. He moves. He's 6-foot-6", athletic, tough, can guard one through four."

Hannah is a consensus 4-star guard who played at Link Academy in Branson, Mo., during his senior year. This is the same athletic boarding school that fellow Crimson Tide guard Labaron Philon attended, and it's one of the nation's premier basketball prep teams.

Jones played at Alabama from the 2017-18 season to 2021-22. The small forward was named the SEC Player of the Year and SEC Defensive Player of the Year in 2021. He played a pivotal role in laying the foundation that has turned UA into a basketball school.

Jones' defense has been on full display throughout his NBA career, as the New Orleans Pelican was named to the league's All-Defensive First Team last season. As Hannah's collegiate career begins, can he follow the footsteps of the Crimson Tide great?

Philon has previously called Hannah a two-way player on social media, and that showed during Oct. 6's practice viewing. Hannah guarded the ball-handler on a couple of defensive sets and assistant coach Brian Adams told Hannah to "blitz" a few times.

"He's a lockdown defender," Philon said on Tuesday. "I will say he's one of our best on-ball defenders. Just being a young guy and understanding more. We came from the same high school, and I'll say, going to that school, I learned how to get the defensive tactics down too. It helped me in my first year, so I could see why he's been a defensive menace. He's just causing havoc for everybody."

Philon was known for being the ultimate competitor when he arrived as a freshman in 2024. He wanted to guard Mark Sears on the first day of practice, as he set his heart on taking on the best player and future Consensus First Team All-American one-on-one.

Fast forward to 2025, Sears is gone and Philon is the top option. Although none of the freshmen necessarily wanted to defend him on Day 1 this summer, he explained that he and Hannah frequently cross paths.

"Davion likes guarding me a lot," Philon said. "Every time I score on him, he gets mad. So just seeing that, that tells me a lot."

As the season looms, Hannah's defensive prowess has seemed to rub off on other Crimson Tide guards. Oats claimed that the "backcourt defense has significantly improved," as Philon, and fellow returning guards Aden Holloway, Latrell Wrightsell Jr. and Houston Mallette have made strides on this side of the ball. On top of it all, Oats said that freshman wing Amari Allen is "right there with [Hannah]" as a defender.

It's somewhat safe to say that any Oats-coached team will shine offensively, but will the addition of Hannah lead to the 2025-26 Alabama Crimson Tide locking down defensively?

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