What Led to Labaron Philon Jr.'s Improvement on 3-Pointers

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— Labaron Philon Jr. has not experienced the sophomore slump that some players face after breakout freshman campaigns. Instead, Philon has been one of the top scorers in college basketball this season, averaging 21.3 points per game to lead the Crimsson Tide.

Philon flirted with the NBA draft after his freshman season but decided to come back for another year at Alabama under Nate Oats. Philon has improved in multiple areas of his game, including his 3-point percentage.

"When he tested in the draft, there was a few things they came back with: one was shooting and leadership," Oats said. "He’s proven he can shoot. He worked on his shot all summer. He’s been pretty good. He’s hit timely ones."

Last season, Philon shot 31.5 percent from beyond the arc, which is not a bad percentage. But this year the Tide's point guard is making 39.6 percent of his 3-point attempts, good for second on the team and ninth in the SEC.

"I don’t think I did anything really too special, I just got reps on reps and just built my confidence more, not hesitating to shoot the ball," Philon said. "Ever since I did that, Coach Oats has been giving me the freedom to just take shots when you’re open and be confident in making shots. Besides that, my teammates screening me open, and we’re all just playing off each other trying to get great open 3s. That’s the main focus. Just put in that, so trying to create for each other.”

Contrary to popular assumption, Alabama basketball doesn't live and die by the 3 under Oats, but he does want his players to take open 3-point shots whenever possible. His offense thrives on layups, 3-pointers and free throws.

Alabama leads the nation in 3-point attempts per game with 35.9. The Tide has shot 897 3-pointers this season. For reference, the next closest team in attempts in the SEC is Texas A&M with 746. But obviously the volume of attempts doesn't matter if you don't have good shooters, and Philon has showed this season what a consistent weapon he can be for Alabama from beyond the arc.

"He’s always been a confident kid with his scoring ability, but he's earned the right to shoot the ball with confidence with how much work he's put in in the offseason and continues to put it now," Oats said.

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