Florida fans didn’t have to spend the entire offseason refreshing the transfer portal and hoping for good news. For once, Todd Golden gets to bring back a significant chunk of a team that was already pretty darn good.
The Gators finished 27-8 last season, won the SEC and earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament before Iowa ended their run with a brutal 73-72 loss in the second round. Not exactly the March Madness ending anyone in Gainesville had in mind.
But the offseason could hardly have gone better. Florida returns 81.8% of its scoring from last season, the highest percentage among high-major programs, and has three players who are already generating serious national attention. Expectations are understandably through the roof.
Let’s get into why.
A Frontcourt That is Borderline Unfair
Thomas Haugh, Alex Condon and Rueben Chinyelu. That’s the starting point for any conversation about Florida.
It’s a ridiculous amount of talent in one frontcourt, and each player brings something different.
Thomas Haugh is the headliner. At 6-foot-9, he averaged 17.1 points and 6.1 rebounds last season while earning consensus second-team All-American honors. His decision to return rather than pursue the NBA Draft was arguably the biggest win of Florida’s offseason.
