Labaron Philon is Checking Boxes | The Prospect Overview
Labaron Philon may not have been on 2025 NBA Draft Boards over the summer, but he's earned the right to be there now. PLUS: Quick Hits across college basketball!
Every draft cycle, we get a few surprises. Sometimes, they last. One year out from the 2024 NBA Draft, few people (if any) were putting Nikola Topic, Reed Sheppard, and Yves Missi high on their big boards. Those three dudes came out of the gates scorching, held their momentum, and heard their name called in the first round on draft night. Sometimes, hot starts don’t sustain themselves. During the 2021-2022 college season, Kendall Brown came out of the gates firing on all cylinders, only for his stock to wane as the cycle progressed. The next season, Grant Nelson fever briefly struck the nation. Last year, Otega Oweh had a scorching start before tailing off.
The draft cycle can be a roller coaster. In my time doing this, one of the many lessons I’ve learned is to stay grounded. Sometimes, a productive prospect ends up truly being what they appeared to be. Other times, it may be a case of a more physically capable player taking advantage of lesser competition in a way that isn’t scalable. For those reasons, I try to stay cautious, stay on guard, and study. While we may not have a large data sample to work with, game tape can provide us some insights into what is and isn’t sustainable, along with identifying areas of improvement.
Today, we’re going to take a look at 6’4” Alabama freshman guard Labaron Philon. While Philon ranked 32nd in his high school class in the RSCI rankings, he wasn’t a name commonly found on mainstream mock drafts this off-season. However, that may be starting to change. Philon’s name started to make the rounds behind the scenes after strong outings in practices. By the time the Crimson Tide wrapped up their season opener, he’d officially put the draft world on notice. An 18-5-4 outing against Purdue a week and a half later only further solidified him as “a guy we need to talk about.” Plus, the other reason we’re here is that he’s also a dude I love to watch play basketball. He’s a tenacious, selfless, and competitive player, making his game immediately pop off the screen. That’s true for a lot of guys, though, and it doesn’t always equate to NBA success. What makes Philon different is that he’s already checking a lot of boxes required of modern guards.
Inside Scoring
Look, three-point shooting is important for guards, and we’re going to get to that later. Coming into the year, I was bullish on Philon as an outside shooter. From a scoring standpoint, I was more concerned with how well Philon would be able to get downhill and convert around the basket. While it is early, I’m encouraged by what I’ve seen thus far.
There are multiple reasons that Philon has managed to pressure the rim and convert inside. It starts with his comfort as a ball-handler. One thing I look for early in the year is how long a smaller player is willing to keep putting the ball on the deck. To be clear, I certainly don’t want a prospect to dribble the air out of the ball. But if a player who projects to play a guard spot at the NBA level isn’t comfortable taking more than one or two dribbles, it raises questions about which other areas they will need to produce in to cover up for such a severe positional deficiency. Philon passes this test with flying colors. He’s more than comfortable stringing out opponents and digging deep into his bag of counters if he doesn’t create an immediate advantage. There’s real juice to him as an on-ball self-creator.
Philon’s ball-handling is accentuated by his overall craft. There’s athleticism, body control, and creativity in here. Philon brings a stop-start nastiness that is tough to match. He can decelerate rapidly only to burst forward fractions of a second later, causing defenders to lose their balance prior to getting left in the dust. He does a wonderful job of maintaining control over the ball while shifting directions. His body seems to always be in harmony, even while his limbs are rapidly changing speeds and locations. He’s slithery and can weave his way through heavy traffic. Still, Philon can play methodically, remaining totally composed off two feet when that is what the situation dictates. Plus, he’s downright deceptive. Philon does a great job of dramatically turning his head in different directions downhill, which leads defenders to believe a pass is coming. Because he routinely looks off his passes, he also has the power to look off his own drives. When he shifts the defense with one of these head fakes, he’ll occasionally continue straight to the rack, where he’s given himself a clearer path. Labaron Philon is a walking paint touch who has a variety of ways to get where he wants on the basketball court.
Then, there’s the actual act of converting the rim attempt. There are some pros and cons here. I love his toughness. He’s willing to embrace heaps of contact at the basket, and he gets to the free-throw line consistently. His touch is solid even when he’s met with another body. While he can be a little too reliant on his strong right hand at times, he’s already demonstrated an ability to convert with his left in the halfcourt this season. The improvement areas here are his footwork, timing, and strength. At his best, he can get up pretty well off one foot with a runway. But on occasion, he can have some clunky gathers when met with physicality, and he’s not the most vertically explosive player as it is.
From a timing standpoint, sometimes Philon can get himself into trouble. He’ll take a second too long deciding what to do, allowing defenders to recover and better contest against him. At 177 pounds, he’s not the strongest player out there. As a result, there are times when he can get swallowed up by opponents and have to finish way below the rim, leading to suboptimal outcomes. He’ll need to maximize his frame in order to scale his early college rim success to the next level. Given that he just turned 19 years old yesterday, he’ll have plenty of time to do that.
Shooting
So far, Labaron Philon hasn’t had the best shooting season. He’s 4-for-13 from long range and 12-for-16 at the charity stripe, both of which leave something to be desired for a guard prospect. Still, I’m ultimately a believer in Philon as a shooter. We’re still working with a very small sample. While Philon hasn’t been a high-volume chucker, he hasn’t been gun-shy. He’s always ready for the ball on the perimeter, his hands up and knees bent. Philon has shown confidence against closeouts, even if he hasn’t posted the greatest results so far. He looked great from distance during his final prep season at Link Academy. There, he knocked down 45.2% of his 62 catch-and-shoot threes and 34.9% of his 43 pull-up threes. The fact that we’ve seen him connect from deep both on and off the ball in the past is room for optimism, and it’s why I was a buyer in his perimeter scoring coming into the year.
Plus, it’s not like he’s been chucking bricks, either. Every ball he’s put up this season has had a chance. Mechanically, two things stick out. First, his lower body can be misaligned to the left off the catch, leading to a shakier energy transfer on the way up. Second, his base can appear a bit narrower on some attempts than on others. Again, though, we’ve seen Philon make these shots before, and this is something I don’t want to get too declarative about off such a small sample.
Playmaking
Labaron Philon’s playmaking has been a bright spot for the Crimson Tide. Through five games, he’s averaging 5.2 APG to only 1.8 TOV. His 32.8 AST% is a fantastic mark for a freshman guard. The numbers are good, but let’s dig into how he’s achieving them.
There’s some carryover from Philon’s downhill scoring here. The herky-jerky speed and directional changes he operates with not only help him to create openings for himself, but also others. When he slams on the breaks and decelerates to a near standstill, it can freeze defenders and open up opportunities for his teammates to move into open shots. He’s always swiveling his head, which makes his looked-off dishes downright deadly. Philon always has the floor mapped well. That helps him to get out of trouble when defenders collapse on him inside and also enables him to make sharp, quick hot potato-style dishes. He passes with intentionality and execution, delivering his lobs with soft touch and his skips with the necessary zip to reach their target. At his best, he’s fluid in his process, enabling him to read and react to what the defense presents him instead of having to operate strictly within rudimentary confines. He can make advanced reads at high speeds. Lastly, he’s an adept and ambidextrous live dribble passer. He’s already slung a few assists using his off-hand, and he’s demonstrated comfort driving in both directions at lower levels.
As the year progresses, I’d like to see Philon operate with a greater sense of confidence and certainty. When he does turn the ball over, it’s often because he’s playing with too much trepidation. He’ll second guess a pass as he’s about to throw it or show signs of panic as the defense collapses on him. But here’s the thing—he’s helping orchestrate one of the country’s better offenses as a freshman, and he’s only turned it over nine times in five games. That’s a really solid start, purely from a ball control standpoint. When you get into the plays he has made, it’s something I’m more than happy to live with. This will be a development area to monitor as the season rolls on.
Defense
Labaron Philon is a playmaker on defense, too. He’s currently sitting at a 2.8 STL% and a 2.2 BLK%. While it is earlier in the year, this walks lockstep with his defensive production at lower levels. In the 33 Link Academy games tracked by Synergy, Philon posted 68 steals. Part of it comes from his feel. Philon reads the opposing offense well. This enables him to jump passing lanes and gives him a sense of when he can or can’t gamble. He’s great with his hands at the point of attack, displaying impressive hand-eye coordination and timing to poke the ball loose. When opponents try to mismatch hunt him due to his slight frame, he gives back a ton of fight in response. Philon also closes out with a great deal of ferocity, demonstrating an impressive motor and an admirable level of want-to. He’s also a better rim helper than one might expect, contesting with verticality and walling up as well as possible on the interior.
My concerns with Philon as it pertains to the NBA largely deal with his strength. If he struggles out of the gate or doesn’t see the floor much initially in the association, physicality will likely be a part of it. His skinny frame will make him a popular scheme target. He’s really struggled with screens at times. On a technical level, he’s had positive moments, staying connected and showing the flexibility to slink around picks. But when he’s met with good contact, it can really rock him and take him out of the play. Adding strength to his frame is a must, but it’s also imperative that Philon manages to avoid screens to the best of his ability in the meantime until his body matures.
Projection
Labaron Philon has plenty of time on his hands. He can wait three and a half more years before going to the NBA if he so desires. But his early production for a great team has launched him into the 2025 NBA Draft conversation. Additionally, it’s worth noting that Alabama has already played legitimate basketball teams. UNC Asheville, Arkansas State, and McNeese State are among the better mid-major programs out there. Purdue and Illinois have heaps of guard talent, and Philon was fantastic against both of them. Sometimes, guys start out hot and then fade away, but the fact that Philon is cooking against good competition makes me confident that he’ll avoid such a fate.
It’s easy to see how his speed, savvy, and skill could lend themselves to an NBA team. While Philon was off most big boards to start the year, I think a climb into the lottery is absolutely on the table if he keeps this up. If you want to get ambitious with it, there’s some Derrick White and Lonzo Ball in here. But even more modestly, something along the lines of Tre Jones, Dennis Schroeder, or Delon Wright would be a positive outcome. From a pessimistic standpoint, my worry would be that his frame makes it difficult for the drafting team to get value on his rookie contract. A player like Kobe Bufkin could still have a promising future ahead of him, but he hasn’t seen the floor much for the Atlanta Hawks in his second season. Given the strict confines of the collective bargaining agreement, that is something worth considering.
Personally, I’m choosing to be more on the optimistic side of things at this stage in the process. Think about the guards who have found success in the playoffs these past few years. They can get into the paint, shoot, make good decisions, think the game at a high level, and make things happen on defense. That’s what I’m seeing when I watch Labaron Philon play basketball. His intellect, competitiveness, and production pop off the screen. I’m not saying you have to rank him as a top twenty guy on your personal board. Plus, who knows what could happen between now and June. But what I am saying is that Labaron Philon is checking all the boxes of someone who should be in that range.
Quick Hits
-Folks, Cedric Coward keeps getting better. I covered the 6’6” Washington State senior for the No Stone Unturned series each of the last two years, as I’ve long been bullish on his upside. After initially carving out a D-I role as a hustler/energy guy in the mold of Javonte Green, he’s developed into a sweet shooter from deep. Coward has drained 38.7% of his threes on 7.7 attempts per 100 possessions over the past two years. Defensively, he’s long been a capable playmaker with positive physical traits. Against Iowa, he did about as good of a job as he possibly could have chasing Payton Sandfort around threes and contesting his looks. The biggest development this season has been his decision-making and his handle. He’s done a better job of reading defenses inside the arc and anticipating help, and it’s allowed him to cut his turnovers. His shooting, defensive output, athletic traits, work ethic, and massive improvement trajectory should have him on a path to hear his name called on draft night.
-While everyone is excited to have college basketball back, don’t forget about Dink Pate. The 6’8”, 18-year-old prospect who played with the G League Ignite last season is now with the Mexico City Capitanes. Offensively, he’s comfortable putting the ball on the deck, and he has an impressive counter bag for someone his size. He can sling sharp passes from a standstill and use his length to finish inside. He’s shooting the three better so far this year, too, going from 21.4% to 35.7% beyond the arc on similar volume. Defensively, he can play the ball tight and force opponents into tricky predicaments. He covers ground well. There’s still a general rawness to his overall game. On offense, he can look uncomfortable without the ball. With the ball, he’ll occasionally plow into traffic without keeping his head up, leading to turnovers. With Pate, it’s going to be more about Point A to Point B as the season progresses; however, his start has been encouraging for the most part.
-Georgetown’s Thomas Sorber could be a “surprise one-and-done." The 6’10” big man has been tremendously productive for the Hoyas. He’s big and strong, which helps him to screen, finish, and wall up effectively. His physicality enables him to draw fouls and live at the free-throw line. There’s real skill in here, too. He’s comfortable running dribble handoffs and is slinging 2.4 APG to only 0.8 TOV. Defensively, his lightning-fast hands allow him to rack up far more steals than most his size. While he hasn’t had much luck beyond the arc, he is willing to take threes when given space. The overall blend of power, feel, and talent makes him an intriguing name to watch.
-Longtime readers know I’ve had a soft spot for Florida guard Walter Clayton Jr. dating back to his days at Iona. I’ve long raved about the 6’2” senior’s shooting and defensive playmaking. However, Clayton appears to have added a nasty interior scoring element to his game earlier in the year. It’s early in the season, and the early season schedule is what it is, but Clayton is 22-for-29 inside the arc this year. He’s tough as nails at the rim, and his strong frame allows him to keep his pristine touch even against severe contact. Every extra inch of dimensionality helps for smaller guards. If this holds, Clayton could be one of the most well-rounded scorers in the class.
-I think it’s time we start talking seriously about Chase Ross as an NBA prospect. Marquette’s 6’4” junior has already proven himself to be a force on the defensive end. His career 3.8 STL% and 1.8 BLK% are strong indicators of his prowess on that end of the floor. He flies all over the place to make plays off the ball and uses his length exceedingly well at the point of attack. Now, his offense is starting to catch up. After being more of an even assist-to-turnover guy, Ross has shown much more poise as a playmaker for others with a 4:1 ATO. If he can continue to make good decisions and knock down threes, there’s a real case for him as a defensively tilted hybrid guard in the vein of Gary Payton II or DeAnthony Melton.
-Watch out for No Stone Unturned prospect Ryan Conwell. The 6’4” junior out of Xavier was an outstanding shooter at Indiana State last year, hitting 40.7% of his threes on high volume. This year, he’s shown a lot more on-ball juice and playmaking, which will be critical for him as a guard. He slung four turnovers and zero assists against Wake Forest. At 215 pounds, he’s also enormous for a guard frame-wise, which helps him to guard up the lineup. It’s early, but he’s shown an increased sense of aggressiveness defensively. And while his rebounding numbers have been poor this year, he was great on the glass last year. I’m intrigued to see how his game looks as the Musketeers get deeper into their schedule.
-I am very interested in Miami (Ohio) sophomore Eian Elmer as a long-term proposition. He’s listed at 6’6”, and he looks every bit of it. The big thing here is his shooting. He’s knocked down 41.9% of his threes during his time in college. He’s comfortable moving into his shot and can speed up his release when necessary. Defensively, he can pester opponents at the point of attack with his size and length. He pairs those tools with a great nose for the ball and impressive timing. In totality, that’s how he’s ended up with a career 3.2 STL% and 4.0 BLK%. The 3-and-D stuff is legit here. I’d actually snubbed him for the No Stone Unturned series this off-season because I thought he lacked playmaking talent, but I may have been wrong. His assist numbers are up, and he made some long, accurate passes against Michigan. The bottom line is that Elmer does the stuff NBA teams want out of role players really well.
-Drake guard Bennett Stirtz has solidified himself as one of the best mid-major stat sheet stuffers. The 6’4” junior is a wizard with the ball who can make exceptionally long, accurate passes (6.3 APG). He can also put the ball on the deck, get up at the rim, and drain deep threes. Defensively, he uses his quick hands at the point of attack and high level of feel off-ball to generate steals (3.2 STL%). His shaky lateral agility, iffy first step, and subpar ground coverage are real cause for concern from an NBA perspective. Still, he’s a name I’ll be tucking away, given his outrageous production and a complete dissection of Miami.
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