Labaron Philon Jr. Channels Childhood Hero in Win Over Illinois in Chicago

Alabama guard Labaron Philon Jr. fell in love with Michael Jordan when he was 10-years-old.

Nine years later, he got to play in the same arena on Wednesday that His Airness established back in the 1990s.

The Crimson Tide outlasted the Fighting Illini 90-86 in the United Center in Chicago, but Philon struggled to live up to his hero inside of "The House That Jordan Built" in the beginning of the game.

The Preseason All-SEC First Team member had just five points in the first half on a 2 of 6 clip from the field. Illinois held a narrow 42-41 lead going into the break, but coming out of it, Philon gave Alabama its first lead with a layup. The Crimson Tide never lost the lead from then on, and the sophomore finished with 24 points.

"What, he scored nine straight points somewhere in that stretch? He has a lot of fun playing basketball," Alabama head coach Nate Oats said during the postgame press conference. "He competes. I'm on him. He's playing harder, being smarter. He's got to stay in the game with the fouls he has. He got a stop, he had a bad gamble defensively there when we needed a stop.

Philon was playing with four fouls late in the second half, but Oats trusted the only returning starter from last season's Alabama team. He converted 7 of his 12 field goal attempts in the second half and finished the game with a team-high five assists.

Whether it was from deep, midrange or drives inside, Philon shined in the clutch. Just like MJ.

"Offensively, he's super talented," Oats said. "I told him, our team's going to go as he goes a lot. So he's going to create a lot of shots. We've got some elite shooters that I think can get better shots...But I think Baron being as aggressive as he was to score, I think it opens some stuff up for those guys down the road, get [Aden Holloway, Latrell Wrightsell Jr. and Houston Mallette] going. But man, we needed his points there in the second half tonight, for sure."

Philon made the difficult decision on May 28 to withdraw his name from the 2025 NBA Draft and return to the Crimson Tide as a sophomore. He withdrew due to outside shooting inconsistencies and inexperience as a leader.

"He was working out for [NBA] teams," Oats said. "We were getting feedback. We knew he was late first, early second. I think he had a guarantee of early second. And he called me late in the afternoon one day and said, 'Coach, what if I told you I always wanted to come back?' I said 'Roll Tide. Let's go win one.'

"He's a great kid. He's an Alabama kid that wants to take Alabama further than it's ever gone before. You know, we were able to make the Final Four the year before he got here, and we got beat in the Elite Eight last year. I mean, he came back to compete for a National Championship, and I think we got a team that can do it."

This is not the first time this season that Philon has dominated in a game. The three-time SEC Freshman of the Week was named the SEC Player of the Week after the Crimson Tide's first two games.

Philon scored a then-career high 22 points with eight assists against North Dakota in the season opener. He proceeded to break his collegiate-best scoring mark against then-No. 5 St. John's, as he scored 25 points on 10 of 17 from the field, with three rebounds, three assists and a steal.

This is an NBA player playing college basketball. He's growing every game, and his 2026 draft stock is soaring with it.

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