Labaron Philon was on one end of the late May Facetime video conversation.
Preston Murphy, the assistant coach for the Alabama men’s basketball team, is on the phone with him. And Philon asked him a question.
If I told you I was returning, how would you respond?
Murphy told AL.com on Tuesday that Labaron has a humorous demeanor.
Philon wasn’t kidding, though. On May 28, the evening of the deadline for him to withdraw his name from consideration for the NBA Draft and keep his college eligibility, he made it official and made the announcement in public.
Murphy stated that we were ecstatic. It was a bit of a shock. He was gone in my head.
The possibility of Philon playing his sophomore season at Alabama was never completely ruled out. His remarks in public appeared to virtually shut the door. However, it turned out that the door was always open a little.
The only question was whether Philon would really go through it.
Initially, Philon did not publicly state that he had kept his college eligibility when he declared for the NBA Draft. However, he had. On April 14, the guard told ESPN that he was fully committed to me beginning my professional career.
By April 29, he opened the door just a little to go back to college.
On The Schuz Show, Philon stated, “I would say 100% draft, but you know, things can change.”
You never know. However, I would say that I adore Bama. the state, the school, and the entire program. When I was playing there, everything was love. I never experienced hatred or anything similar. For the most part, I enjoyed walking around the school and being a normal kid once more. I will always be grateful for that. However, I feel like I want to be a pro, therefore I’m all in on the draft right now. You can’t predict what might occur. We’ll simply have to wait and find out.
After that, on May 14, Philon told ESPN that he would remain in the NBA Draft and that he was open to returning to Alabama.
The Crimson Tide, meanwhile, was attempting to be ready for the 2025–2026 campaign.
Murphy stated that we were getting ready and creating a roster without him on it.
By then, Alabama had assembled the majority of its squad, acquiring players like Noah Williamson, Taylor Bol Bowen, and Jalil Bethea through the transfer site. At guard, however, the roster was still deficient.
Desmond Claude, a transfer guard from USC, was really scheduled to visit Alabama that weekend. Then Philon had a change of heart.
According to guard Houston Mallette, “we were just thrilled he’s back.” He will be a great asset to the team. That seemed to be the one job we were truly searching for and needed.
One evening in late May, Mallette’s phone rang as well. However, he didn’t identify the number. However, it was a FaceTime group call. He saw all of the returners on the video call, including Latrell Wrightsell Jr., Aden Holloway, and Aiden Sherrell, along with an unidentified number.
The unidentified figure: Philon s. It was altered by him. However, that wasn’t the most unexpected thing. No. The real shock came when he disclosed his intention to go back.
“I was unaware that he was returning,” said forward Aiden Sherrell. Coach didn’t tell us about it. We were ecstatic when we learned.
Philon had another message to deliver as part of the conversation.
“We have unfinished business,” Mallette stated, summarizing his entire attitude upon his return and what he told us over the phone and in the locker room. Our goal is to win everything. Our goal is to win everything. We believe we fell short of our objectives. Our locker room kind of has the mentality, “We’re really hungry.” I believe that he is quite hungry. He will succeed greatly.
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Nick Kelly writes about Alabama news for the Alabama Media Group and AL.com.Keep up with him on Instagram and Xand.
