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After a disappointing exit in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Florida men’s basketball head coach Todd Golden has been busy this offseason.
On Sunday, former FAU guard Alijah Martin announced his commitment to Florida. Martin tabbed all-conference selections his last three seasons and will come to the Gators as a graduate transfer with one year of eligibility left.
https://twitter.com/martin_alijah/status/1782075418612269441
He said he chose Florida over Alabama, Arkansas, Michigan, Ole Miss and USC.
Martin most notably led the Owls to their first ever Final Four appearance in 2023 in a historic run. Named to the all-tournament team, he totaled 26 points and 7 rebounds in the close loss to San Diego State in the national semifinal.
In the 2024-24 season, he averaged 13.1 points and 5.9 rebounds per game, shooting 41.4% from the field.
Martin tallied six games where he scored 20-plus points, and his season-high came Jan. 21 against UTSA, recording 26 points. Additionally, his career-high came back on March 5, 2022, against FIU, scoring 34 points.
Martin will join fellow transfers Rueben Chinyelu from Washington State and Sam Alexis from Chattanooga.
Back in the Sunshine State ☀️
Welcome to Gator Nation 🐊 @samuelalexis04
🗞️ https://t.co/3KXKffY4yL pic.twitter.com/MFz1bGxzL3
— Florida Gators Men’s Basketball (@GatorsMBK) April 15, 2024
In the 2023-24 season, Chinyelu averaged 4.7 points and five rebounds per game while Alexis averaged 10.8 points and 9.1 rebounds per game.
Former Gators Zyon Pullin and Tyrese Samuel will be difficult to replace. But Martin, Chinyelu and Alexis are a solid start to making up for the production loss from Samuel and Pullin.
