Who’s the next Labaron Philon?
You know, the player who was originally viewed as a potential redshirt candidate who actually turns into a star as a freshman.
Nate Oats explained how that process played out again Monday. Philon called Alabama late ahead of the 2024-25 season, but the door was still open to him joining. The Crimson Tide had one scholarship
We’ve got our guys already, but if you want to come, we’d love to have you.
“We thought it might have taken him a year how to figure out how to play in the system,” Oats said. “About a month in, we knew that wasn’t going to be the case.”
Alabama didn’t talk about redshirting with any of its newcomers this year, Oats said, but he did mention one freshman to watch this year, on a similar path to Philon.
“I think the guy who has maybe stood out who is maybe a surprise based on where he was ranked and where he’s going to end up playing is probably a guy like Amari Allen,” Oats said. “I don’t pay that close of attention to the rankings, but I will say he is going to be a lot better than what he was ranked.”
Philon was. He entered as a four-star recruit, ranked No. 35 in the 247Sports Composite. He outplayed that ranking, though. He started 29 games and played in 37, earning SEC all-freshman team honors this past season.
He was still ranked higher than Allen in this year’s class, though. Allen was a four-star prospect, ranked No. 102 overall in the class. Allen is a 6-foot-8, 205-pound guard/forward from Green Bay, Wisconsin.
“I think Amari on both sides of the ball, he’s a big guard, plays hard, is physical, is about winning, plays defense, he can make shots … he can play pick and roll, he can pass the ball, he can finish at the rim,” Oats said. “I think he’s probably going to have a really good year for us.”
Alabama is just over a week away from its first exhibition game against Florida State. The Crimson Tide will face the Seminoles as part of the Ballin in Boutwell event on Thursday, Oct. 16 in Boutwell Auditorium in Birmingham. The second exhibition game will be against Furman on Oct. 26.
Then the Crimson Tide will begin its season against North Dakota on Monday, Nov. 3 at Coleman Coliseum.
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