Jumbo Package: Nate Oats calls out Labaron Philon for defensive effort
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Happy Gump Day, everyone. Unranked Alabama basketball takes on Texas A&M tonight. We’ll have coverage of that one later.
Nate Oats spoke to reporters yesterday, and had plenty to say about his team’s poor performance in Gainesville.
“It’s getting close to a tipping point,” the Crimson Tide coach said Tuesday. “We’re either going to start playing better and go on a run here, or we’re going to continue to play .500 basketball. That’s not what anybody came here to do.”
Alabama is 4-4 in SEC, having lost two of its last three games. The latest was a 100-77 struggle against Florida in which the Gators scored 72 points in the paint.
“(The loss to Florida) was disappointing to say the least,” Oats said. “Most disappointed in the difference in the effort shown, which is a little embarrassing to be associated with a game where the other team plays a lot harder than you. It’s been addressed. We’ve got to get it changed.”
It should have been utterly embarrassing to everyone in that locker room. Getting beat by a good team on the road is nothing to be ashamed of, but giving up 25 points off turnovers and complete capitulation on the boards in the second half was unacceptable.
In particular, Nate wants to see more defensively from star point guard Labaron Philon.
“I think we’ve got to get better effort out of him on defense to be honest with you,” Oats said Tuesday. “He was elite, one of the best perimeter defenders in the country last year. I thought that was one of his strong suits, how hard he played. He flew around. With the offensive load, he’s taken a big, major step backward on the defensive end this year.”
That can start with the game against Texas A&M on Wednesday (6 p.m. CT, SEC Network) at Coleman Coliseum.
“Philon is scoring well,” Oats said. “He made the statement he came back to win a championship and try to lead.”
But that takes more than scoring points.
“In order to be a leader, I think you’ve got to play both sides of the ball,” Oats said.
Nate also noted that the three point percentage has dipped in large part due to shot selection.
“Our pass quality hasn’t been good. When we look at the passes our shooters are getting, they’re not where they need to get them,” Oats said. “We’re not getting off the ball quickly enough and putting teams in the blender. Not getting to two-on-ones nearly enough. We’ve got available two-on-ones to play, but the ball doesn’t get to them. So it’s hard to shoot when you take too many contested shots.
Ball movement has been a struggle for the Crimson Tide this year. Oats has spoken at length about Alabama’s offensive spacing, with a particular focus on the assumed boost to vertical spacing provided by the midseason addition of Charles Bediako.
“When he’s running to the rim, and they (defenses) know he could catch a lob, you have got to bring help in,” Oats said of Bediako following Alabama’s win over Missouri last week. “We’ve got to be able to get our shooters off and open. And I think just kind of giving us some of that vertical spacing, being a lob target is going to make teams pull a third guy in to guard.”
The ball movement has been quite poor, and that’s another area that Philon influences. He simply dribbles too much. By no means is he the only offender, but he has a greater impact because he dominates the ball as much as he does.
In case anyone is worried about wins being vacated should Charles Bediako lose his case, the NCAA president is here to assuage your fears.
In the Bediako case, Baker is concerned that a successful challenge to NCAA rules will further limit opportunities for high school players heading into college. Their playing time could be taken by older pros who find their way back to campus and into uniform.
Despite the NCAA’s opposition to Bediako’s eligibility, the association is not in a position to sanction Alabama for breaking its rules by playing Bediako.
“For a lot of really good reasons, people who lose in court can’t turn around and punish the people who won,” Baker says.
Baker adds that a string of state court rulings that favor a local college sports program are largely at odds with where things have been headed at the federal level in eligibility cases.
Keon Sabb’s younger brother committed to Alabama as a late addition to the 2026 class.
Amari Sabb is the No. 1,180 prospect in the 2026 class, per 247Sports’ composite rankings, and the No. 82 athlete.
Sabb is the third player to commit to Alabama after the early signing period in December, joining Georgia three-star receiver Maurice Mathis Jr. and Alabama three-star receiver Aubrey Walker.
With Sabb, Alabama still has the second-ranked recruiting class nationally behind USC, per 247Sports’ composite team rankings.
The youngest Sabb brother, 2027 prospect Xavier, is the big prize as a five-star WR. Alabama is in heavy pursuit of him as well.
The 2026 squad will be young, especially on offense. But Kalen DeBoer isn’t afraid of that.
“A lot’s been made about an older team,” DeBoer said. “I didn’t do the study. The study was sent to me, but it showed how young we were as a football team, probably led to some of the inconsistencies we had at times, especially at the end of the year when you’re facing the most mature teams and the best teams in the country, but it is what it is.
“And you always would love to get some upperclassmen whenever that shows up, but some position groups work in that way, some don’t, depending on what you already have in your program. And so, we just want to take the best players, the ones that fit, the ones that were hungry, the ones that really wanted to be here and be a part of it. And I think we did that.”
Josh Cuevas is a big DeBoer fan.
Players defended DeBoer following the 35-point defeat to Indiana and the confidence from those he has coached hasn’t stopped. It’s imperative Alabama extends the runway for DeBoer, according to former Crimson Tide tight end Josh Cuevas.
“I’ve never played under Saban. I’ve always been with coach DeBoer from Washington up until now,” Cuevas said at the Senior Bowl. “But I can say that the fans need to have the utmost trust in coach DeBoer. He knows how to take a team and turn them into a national championship team. And once everybody’s really bought into his process, I think he’s going to do great things with that program.”
Last, Alabama will have the most former players in the Super Bowl.
Alabama will be the most highly represented college football program when the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks duel in Super Bowl LX on Sunday. With seven players across the two rosters (four with the Seahawks and three with the Patriots), the Crimson Tide produced more Super Bowl participants than any other program. In turn, the SEC is responsible for the most players at the conference level with 30.
This is the first time since 2017 that Alabama has the most alumni in the game. In snapping that nearly decade-long drought, the Crimson Tide also unseated Oklahoma from the throne after the Sooners topped the leaderboard each of the last three years.
Talk about a perfect way to close a Gump Day post.
That’s about it for now. Have a great day.
Roll Tide.
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