Labaron Philon Named to Sporting News All-America Team

Alabama guard Labaron Philon Jr. was named to the Sporting News' All-America Third Team on Wednesday.

This is the first NCAA media outlet to reveal their All-American list. The others are from the Associated Press, the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA).

That said, this is not Philon's first award this year, as he was named to the All-SEC First Team on Monday. Fellow Crimson Tide guard Aden Holloway was named to the All-SEC Third Team, while freshman forward Amari Allen landed on the All-SEC Freshman Team.

Philon withdrew from the 2025 NBA Draft during the offseason with hopes of all-around improvement as a sophomore. It certainly worked, as the four-time SEC Player of the Week finished third in the conference in points per game (21.5 on 50.7 percent from the field) and fourth in assists per game (4.8). Philon has often been considered a lottery pick in countless mocks for the 2026 NBA Draft.

Alabama head coach Nate Oats said on Wednesday's press conference that Philon is the first power-4 player since 2000 who averaged 21-plus points, 4-plus assists and shot over 50 percent from the field.

Philon has broken his career high in scoring several times this season, as his current best is 35 points during the double overtime win over Arkansas. But perhaps his best moment was the game-winning shot on the road against Tennessee, which broke a five-game losing streak to the Volunteers.

"When you got a player like him, sometimes you're better off not getting too tricky as a coach," Oats said during the Tennessee postgame press conference. "Trying to get the matchup, we knew they were going to switch. They switched a lot. Try to get the matchup in the switch that we want.

"Give him some space and let him do what he does. He goes and gets buckets. He hits tough buckets. ... But yeah, the last play of the game, get the ball in his hands and let him make something happen."

Sporting News All-America Teams

First Team

Darius Acuff, Arkansas
Cameron Boozer, Duke
AJ Dybantsa, BYU
Joshua Jefferson, Iowa State
Yaxel Lendeborg, Michigan

Second Team

Kingston Flemings, Houston
Thomas Haugh, Florida
Braden Smith, Purdue
JT Toppin, Texas Tech
Keaton Wagler, Illinois

Third Team

Christian Anderson, Texas Tech
Jaden Bradley, Arizona
Jeremy Fears, Michigan State
Labaron Philon, Alabama
Caleb Wilson, North Carolina

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