NCAA Basketball Recruiting: Analyzing top 4 teams for 4-star PG Labaron Philon

Labaron Philon is one of the top true point guards in the 2024 NCAA Basketball recruiting class. Which programs are in the mix to land him?

Link Academy is one of the top high school basketball programs in the country. They once again have a number of top prospects on its roster, including Labaron Philon. He’s a 6’4 point guard originally from Mobile, Alabama.

He’s an elite pure scorer, averaging over 30 ppg at the high school level. He’s just below being listed as a five-star prospect, with 247sports recruiting service having him ranked around 30 overall. Philon has now recently limited his options down to four, each of them having something to offer the guard.

Here’s a look at how Philon would fit with each of the four contenders.

Alabama Crimson Tide

There was a thought that both Alabama and Auburn would be the contenders for Philon if he wanted to stay close to home. But with the Tigers out of the picture, the Crimson Tide could be the team to beat. With Jaden Bradley gone, that leaves senior Mark Sears as the projected starting point guard. The playing time would be there for Philon once Sears leaves, assuming they don’t get Zoom Diallo.

Cincinnati Bearcats

Cincinnati is entering its first year in the Big 12 and there’s going to be a need for more consistent top-50 caliber roster additions. After losing a couple of ball-handlers to the transfer portal, the Bearcats are set to roll with incoming four-star freshman, Jizzle James. It’s a situation where Philon could certainly come in and have a large role on the roster and play in arguably the best NCAA Basketball conference. But it also could be the least talented team he’d be joining.

Kansas Jayhawks

The juggernaut program could be looking for another guard to eventually take over for starter Dajuan Harris Jr., entering his 4th season in college. But even after four-star prospect Chris Johnson de-committed and went elsewhere, there’s still top-30 freshman Elmarko Jackson. Plus, they’re also in the mix for 5-star PG Zoom Diallo from the 2024 class as well.

Ole Miss Rebels

The Rebels are another team with a class of 2024 commit in Jason Jackson but they’re different from Auburn in that they don’t have a ton of ball-handlers on the roster. Unless incoming transfers Jaylen Murray and Austin Nunez become legit SEC rotation players, Ole Miss could be in trouble this upcoming season.

Adding Philon gives them a legit guard to run the offense. And for him, he wouldn’t have to worry about getting squeezed out of minutes and having a sizeable role compared to other options on this list.