Labaron Philon Jr. Wins SEC Weekly Honor for Third Time This Season

The Crimson Tide sophomore guard was named the conference's Player of the Week after dominant performances against Clemson and UTSA.

Alabama guard Labaron Philon (0) celebrates against UTSA at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa, AL on Sunday, Dec 7, 2025. | Photo by Crimson Tide Photos / UA Athletics

Alabama men's basketball had multiple players stand out during this past week's home wins over Clemson and UTSA, but guard Labaron Philon Jr. shined among the rest of the conference.

The sophomore was named the SEC Freshman of the Week on Monday for the third time this season. Philon is the only player in the conference to win the award more than once. The Preseason All-SEC First Team member was also the conference's top player in Week 1, following the season opener against North Dakota and then St. John's, and also Week 3 after taking down Illinois.

Against Clemson and UTSA, Philon averaged 24.5 points on 57.1 percent from the field, 4.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.0 turnovers in 27.5 minutes per game.

Philon's numbers from each game this past week:

• Clemson: 29 points (9 of 17 shooting), three assists, one rebound, two turnovers in 33 minutes
• UTSA: 20 points (7 of 11 shooting), seven rebounds, six assists, four steals, zero turnovers in 22 minutes

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. Philon withdrew due to outside shooting inconsistencies and inexperience as a leader. It's clear that these boxes have been checked off over the past few games, but Oats revealed another task for Philon to increase his stock on Wednesday evening.

"He's making a lot of winning plays on the offensive end. I thought the start of the game, those first 10 minutes, he was pretty good on defense," Alabama head coach Nate Oats said after the Clemson game. "I think the foul trouble might have scared him away from being as aggressive as we need him to be on defense, because he's capable of being an elite defender, and we're trying to get that out of him like he was his freshman year.

"I thought he's had a great week of practice. I thought at the start of the game, his mentality was right, but he got a little bit of foul trouble. So we're just going to keep working on him, and being the best two-way guard in the country is my challenge to him. Like play both sides of the ball for us to win."

Philon has achieved a new career-high in points three separate times this season, and the two-time SEC Player of the Week explained how his leadership is making these numbers possible just after one month of basketball.

"Really just staying in, staying connected, staying within the team," Philon said after the Clemson game. "Getting ready for every game, preparing like no other. I think coach Oats, he told me that every time I just have to come in before the game, the day before games is have perfect practices. I try to lift all of my teammates up every day and stay locked in, don't look at none of the other stuff, just stay focused on Alabama basketball."

Alabama Players with SEC Weekly Honors:

• Week 1: Labaron Philon Jr. — Player of the Week
• Week 3: Labaron Philon Jr. — Player of the Week; Amari Allen — Freshman of the Week
• Week 4: Amari Allen — Co-Freshman of the Week
• Week 5: Labaron Philon Jr. — Player of the Week

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