Tre Mann Withdraws from NBA Draft and Returns to Florida for Sophomore Season

Tre Mann announced on Tuesday that he will withdraw from the NBA draft and play with Florida for his sophomore season. He posted the announcement in his social media as he stated that he wanted to “continue growing as a player and as a person”.

https://twitter.com/tre2mann3/status/1280612891360665600

Mann was one of two Florida basketball players that decided to go through the draft process. The other one was junior guard Andrew Nembhard, who also withdrew from the process.

But unlike Mann, Nembhard not only withdrew, he also announced that he was transferring from Florida. A few days after the announcement he revealed that he will be transferring to Gonzaga University.

With Mann’s return, Florida will now have five experienced players in the guard position. Mann joins juniors Noah Locke and Tyree Appleby as well as sophomores Scottie Lewis and Ques Glover.

What does this mean for Florida?

Locke has been a starter since his freshman year, and Lewis earned his starting position midway through his freshman season. Junior Keyontae Johnson will probably also keep his starting position at forward.

Kerry Blackshear Jr.‘s departure leaves a position to fill, but this one will probably be reserved for a bigger man like Omar Payne or Anthony Duruji.

Now that Nembhard transferred, someone else needs to fill that starting position. The Gainesville native might be the perfect “Mann” for the job.

Florida has a handful of experienced guards in their roster, so there will be a lot to consider when filling Nembhard’s position.

Mann started in his Florida debut, becoming the third Gator to do so in five seasons under Mike White. But his position as a starter did not last very long. Mann seemed to struggle a few times adjusting to collegiate play.

But as the season progressed, so did Mann’s performance.

He averaged 4.9 points, with five double-figure scoring games. He also had an important role in Florida’s 22-point comeback against Georgia.

With such a successful improvement, and a knowledge and experience with Florida’s playbook, Mann seems like an obvious option for the starting role.

Another contender for the job is Cleveland State transfer, Tyree Appleby. Appleby, who sat down last season due to NCAA transfer rules, averaged 7.2 points and 5.6 assists per game while shooting .389 from 3-point range.

Appleby has scored 20+ points 14 times and posted one triple-double when his former team faced UW-Milwaukee.

Another option would be Glover. He appeared in all 31 games as a reserve point guard, and averaged 4.4 points and 1.0 rebounds per game. Despite not playing a lot of minutes, Glover played an important role in various Gator wins.

In the Charleston Classic, Glover scored 11 points in the semifinals vs. Miami and nine points in the final vs. #18 Xavier. He also had a team-leading and season-high 14 points in the win vs. Marshall.

With so many worthy contenders, coach White has a lot to consider when choosing a starter. The starting roster will probably feature a lot of changes and shuffles in the first few games, until the perfect candidate is chosen.