Chinyelu Returns To Florida Men’s Basketball

Florida center Rueben Chinyelu announced he is returning to Florida next season after initially entering the NBA draft. The 6’10 rising Junior posted on his social media that he was withdrawing from the draft process on Monday.

In his first season in Gainesville, Chinyelu started all 40 games for the Gators and averaged 6.0 points, along with 6.6 rebounds per contest.

After not receiving a draft combine invite, he instead played in the G League Elite Camp, where averaged 5.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists in two games. Lack of interest from NBA teams prior to the draft led Chinyelu to return for another year with the Gators.

https://twitter.com/am_rueben/status/1924513306758263245

Centerpiece of a Championship

The 21-year-old native of Nigeria had a productive year first season at Washington State, where he averaged 4.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game. Chinyelu joined the Cougars as a four-star recruit out of the NBA Academy Africa.

The big man entered the transfer portal after one season, with Florida head coach Todd Golden recognizing Florida’s need for size down low. In his first season in Gainesville, Chinyelu started all 40 games for the Gators and averaged 6.0 points, along with 6.6 rebounds per contest.

His presence made a huge impact on the defensive end for Florida, with 34 blocked shots as well as contributing to the Gators +8.4 rebounding advantage en route to the program’s 3rd national championship.

https://twitter.com/espn/status/1901324901111181379

He had four doubles and led the Gators in rebounds in 12 games, including a career-high 15 against Tennessee, as well as leading the team in scoring in two contests.

Chinyelu also improved as a scorer, reaching double figures in four straight contests in the month of February, including his career-high 19 points in a win at LSU.

Deja Vu

With Chinyelu returning to the Swamp for another season, Florida looks for a repeat of the 2006 and 2007 Gator teams that won back-to-back championships.

Florida has added big-name transfers such as Xaivian Lee and Boogie Fland to bolster the guard positions for next season.

Chinyelu will return alongside frontcourt mates Thomas Haugh and Micah Handlogten. He may also play alongside his partner in the starting lineup from last season, as Alex Condon has expressed interest in returning to Florida and dropping out of the NBA Draft.