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Published Feb 10, 2025
How Alabama basketball has fared against projected NBA first-round picks
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Tony Tsoukalas  •  TideIllustrated
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Alabama guard Labaron Philon provided a brief scouting report on his former high school teammate, Tre Johnson, before the Crimson Tide’s game at Texas on Tuesday night.

“He says he makes tough shots,” Alabama head coach Nate Oats said of Philon’s report. “He does. He can make some of the toughest shots you see in the country. So, hopefully, Labaron’s got a good idea how to guard him, but you know, this guy takes shots that it’s almost like you don’t have a lot of control. He’s either going to make or miss them. So we’ve got to make sure they’re super contested.”

Alabama’s going to need all the help it can get to stop Johnson, who signed with the Longhorns as the No. 5 player in last year’s class. The 6-foot-6 freshman is averaging an SEC-leading 19.0 points per game while 37.9% from beyond the arc. He’s been especially hot over his last five games, averaging 22 points over that span.

“He gets up on his jump shot pretty well,” Oats said. “He’s got a decent jumper where he gets up. He can post. He can hit 3s. He can drive it. There’s a reason this guy was the No. 1 player in his class on different rankings for a while there. He’s talented. We’ve got to probably mix it up a little bit whether we put size on him, guards on him. Labaron’s got some familiarity with him. It’s just we’re gonna have to mix it up a little bit on him and get a lot of things to go.”

Johnson is projected to be an NBA lottery pick this year and was slotted to go No. 10 overall in ESPN’s latest mock draft released last month. That’s nothing new for Alabama, which has already faced 10 projected first-round picks this season. While the Tide is a combined 7-0 in those matchups, it has had some trouble containing some of the top talents it has faced.

Here’s a look at how Alabama has fared against projected first-rounders so far this season.

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