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At this time last year, Todd Golden had never won an NCAA tournament game as a head coach. Now, he’s a national champion.
The Gators program had clearly been on an upward trajectory, but dominating the back half of the season the way Florida did en route to winning it all was a far more rapid ascent than anyone expected. At the core of the run was Florida’s elite player evaluation out of high school and the portal: Look up and down last year’s lineup, and all you saw were guys outperforming the level they were recruited at. That’s the Gators’ superpower, and it’s a skill that stands to keep them very much in title contention this season and moving forward.
Some of those best evaluations are back in Gainesville, Fla., for another year, this time with a lot more respect attached to their names. Thomas Haugh, a super sub on last season’s team who had only one high-major offer out of high school, is now in line to potentially be the Gators’ leading scorer and a potential first-round pick. Alex Condon, a raw Australian big with limited full-time hoops experience, is also on NBA draft boards and seems to have made a jump this offseason. And the center duo of Rueben Chinyelu and Micah Handlogten are overwhelming presences at the rim who’ve anchored the Gators’ defense and rebounding growth. That quartet of top returners gives Florida perhaps the best frontcourt in the country and the type of continuity that can win a national championship. And with that core in place, the Gators were able to get aggressive in the portal to identify potential star guards in the portal that could replace what Walter Clayton Jr., Alijah Martin and Will Richard brought to the table last season.
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Projected Starting Lineup
PG: Boogie Fland
SG: Xaivian Lee
SF: Thomas Haugh
PF: Alex Condon
C: Rueben Chinyelu
Key Reserves: G Urban Klavzar, W CJ Ingram, C Micah Handlogten
Key Additions
Elite shotmaking won the Gators a lot of games last season. Walter Clayton Jr.’s flurry of threes late against Texas Tech is the most visible example, but the aforementioned guard trio’s ability to make shots in bunches was what made that offense so dangerous. Xaivian Lee provides some of that same appeal. The Princeton transfer is an outstanding scorer who’s most dangerous off the dribble. With a lightning-quick release, he’s able to get his shot off against just about any defender. The jump from the Ivy League to the SEC is significant, but having more talented teammates around him should help mitigate that.
Plus, Lee won’t have to handle full-time point guard duties with the addition of Arkansas transfer Boogie Fland. Fland had shooting struggles at Arkansas but still put up big numbers and has been on NBA radars for multiple years. He’s outstanding in transition and has put on weight to help improve as a finisher around the rim.
Florida will play bigger this season with Haugh at the three instead of a third guard, though the Gators have a handful of other wing options if they want to play more traditionally. Freshman CJ Ingram is a freakish athlete who had a big senior year at Montverde Academy after going all in on hoops and has come on strong this fall. His father, Cornelius, was a football player at Florida. AJ Brown transfers in from Ohio, where he shot 39% from three. His brother Isaiah is also a potential factor on the wing.
Causes for Concern
Clayton, Richard and Martin were all hyper-efficient offensive players, and even high-end outcomes for Fland and Lee probably don’t quite reach that level of production. They’ll also miss Martin and Richard’s defensive exploits (Martin in particular, who was one of the best perimeter defenders in the country). Florida’s a high-floor team given the proven frontcourt production and the almost guaranteed dominance on the glass, but the offense might not hit last season’s highs.
The Bottom Line
Golden’s efforts to retain and reload this roster after winning the title were highly impressive and give Florida a real chance at challenging yet again for the national championship. How well they pan out remains to be seen, but Fland and Lee were as good a replacement duo for what the Gators lost in the backcourt as could have reasonably been hoped for, and the frontcourt is elite enough to carry them in plenty of SEC games.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Sports Illustrated’s Men’s College Basketball Preseason Top 25: No. 3 Florida.