Philon's All-American Honors, NCAA Tournament Seed

0:00On March 18th, Alabama Guard LeBaron Philan Jr. earns spots on the third teams for both the U.S. Basketball Writers Association and the National Association of Basketball Coaches this week. This marks the third and fourth major NCAA media groups to recognize him as an all-American, following the sporting news and the Associated Press. Philan already picked up all Southeast Conference first team honors from both the League Coaches and the Associated Press. After pulling out of the 2025 NBA draft to build his game as a sophomore, he delivered big, finishing third in the SEC with 21, 0.5 points per game on 50.7% shooting from the field, and fourth with 4.8 assists per game. He grabbed SEC Player The Weeknods four times this season, and many draft experts now see him as a lottery pick for 2026. Crimson Tide Coach Nate Oates called him the first power conference player since 2000 to average over 21 points, more than four, assists, and shoot above 50% from the field.

1:02Alabama landed the number four seed in the Midwest region of the NCAA tournament, facing number 13 Hofstra on March 20th in Tampa Bay, Florida. They're the number 14 overall seed in the full bracket. With Oates steering the ship to his sixth straight tournament trip, Alabama I's a strong showing, hatching the program's best streak since the D-80s made in A.I.