Nate Oats Reveals 'Challenge' Assigned to Labaron Philon Jr. This Season

The Alabama head coach believes his Preseason All-SEC First Team sophomore guard is "capable of being an elite defender."

Dec 3, 2025; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide guard Labaron Philon (0) reacts after being fouled during the second half against the Clemson Tigers at Coleman Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: David Leong-Imagn Images | David Leong-Imagn Images

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — "He’s got to be better."

Alabama men's basketball guard Labaron Philon Jr. scored a career-high 29 points in the loss to Gonzaga on Nov. 25, but head coach Nate Oats wasn't exactly impressed with the performance. Oats said that night that, "It’d be nice if he’d grab a rebound or take care of the ball better."

Fast forward to Wednesday evening, Philon matched that career-high 29 points in a 90-84 win over Clemson, and Oats opened up about how the sophomore performed compared to the Gonzaga game.

"He only had two turnovers, if I remember [correctly] he had five against Gonzaga," Oats said during the postgame press conference. "So I didn't think he was forcing it into crowds. He had one turnover trying to hit the cutter on the baseline. But other than that, I didn't think he just had any careless ones, like he did against Gonzaga. He shot it pretty well from three. He didn't end up with a lot of assists, only three, but we also didn't make shots a lot in the second half either.

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," Oats said. "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 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."

It's clear that Philon has the tools offensively to become a lottery pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, but achieving Oats' challenge of being the "best two-way guard in the country" will help him soar even higher.

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