Hours after Labaron Philon's return, Alabama backs out of transfer portal sweepstakes for Big Ten standout

Alabama Crimson Tide guard Labaron Philon is returning to coach Nate Oats' program for the 2025-26 season. On Thursday, college basketball insider Joe Tipton reported on X/Twitter that Philon has withdrawn his name from the 2025 NBA draft and will play out his sophomore year in Alabama after an outstanding freshman stint.

This also means that the Crimson Tide is backing out of the sweepstakes for USC Trojans standout Desmond Claude, who they have been aggressively pursuing in light of Philon's potential departure. Claude entered the transfer portal on April 22, per Tipton, after he spent his junior year with coach Eric Musselman's Trojans last year.

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Claude, per college basketball analyst Jeff Goodman, is now being reportedly linked to the likes of the Tennessee Volunteers, Oregon Ducks, SMU Mustangs and Gonzaga Bulldogs as potential landing spots. The New Haven, Connecticut native averaged 15.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game for the Trojans, leading them to a 17-18 overall record, 7-13 during Big Ten play.

Philon now returns to the Crimson Tide after they finished the 2024-25 campaign with a 28-9 overall record (13-5 during SEC play). They made it to the Elite Eight of this year's NCAA national tournament but were eliminated by the Duke Blue Devils on March 29 by 20 points, 85-65, as opposed to the Trojans who reached the second round of the 2025 College Basketball Crown.

Per ESPN, Labaron Philon was projected to be No. 36 pick in NBA draft to Brooklyn Nets

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Per ESPN's latest 2025 NBA mock draft, Labaron Philon was projected to be selected with the No. 36 pick in the second round by the Brooklyn Nets. The pick is coach Jordi Fernandez's team's final selection in the draft as they are also the team with the most picks. They hold the eighth, 19th, 26th and 27th overall selections.

If Philon were to have been selected by the Nets, he would've joined a Brooklyn team that finished with a 26-56 overall record, good for the No. 12 seed in the Eastern Conference, not enough to make the 2025 Play-In Tournament. In what could've been his lone year with the Crimson Tide, Philon averaged 10.6 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 3.8 apg and 1.4 spg.

About the author

Koby del Rosario is a college sports journalist at Sportskeeda who took up BS in Advertising Management at De La Salle University, one of the big "four" universities in the Philippines. Koby has over four years of experience with Complex PH, M2.0 Communications, The LaSallian, Daily Tribune, and Time Attack Manila.

Koby's favorite college team would have to be the North Carolina Tar Heels. Apart from being MJ's alma mater, Koby has always been fond of the Jordan silhouettes that release in the school's colors (being a sneakerhead himself).

His past favorite college players would have to be Russell Westbrook (UCLA) and Markelle Fultz (Washington). With Russ, his 1-2 punch with Kevin Love during their UCLA days was something Koby marveled at as Russ became his favorite player to watch post-Kobe.

Besides playing basketball, Koby enjoys nightlife, collecting sneakers, and playing video games. Apart from hosting parties and taking pictures for parties/bars/clubs, Koby is learning to DJ as a hobby with all sorts of house and hip-hop as the main genres.

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Edited by Veer Badani