Florida Men’s Basketball Reloads Backcourt With Lee, Fland Additions

For the defending national champion Florida Gators backcourt, it’s out with the old and in with the new.

The Gators lost their top three leading scorers in Walter Clayton Jr., Alijah Martin and Will Richard, along with rising senior Denzel Aberdeen. 

In most cases, the loss of a team’s top four guards could cause some panic within a program, but coach Todd Golden has filled those missing pieces of the puzzle through the transfer portal. Two dynamic guards in Xaivian Lee (Princeton) and Boogie Fland (Arkansas) transferred in this offseason. 

Aberdeen’s Departure

Losing Clayton, Martin and Richard to the NBA was expected. What wasn’t was Aberdeen transferring to Kentucky after spending his first three seasons with the Gators. Aberdeen was seeking $2 million in NIL compensation to go back- to-back with Florida in his senior season, according to CBS Sports senior writer Matt Norlander. Both parties were off on that NIL number, despite Aberdeen basically guaranteed the starting point guard role after three years of being a key role player. This caused Aberdeen to leave for an SEC rival in Kentucky, which the Gators will play twice this season. 

“He obviously helped us win a national championship last year and took advantage of the new world of college basketball and free agency,” Golden said in an interview with John Rothstein on CBS Sports’ Inside College Basketball Now. “[He] had a program like Kentucky that was able to come in here and give him an opportunity both from a basketball standpoint and financially that was probably a little too good for him to turn down. But he’s going to have to come back into the O-Ddome and get received by our fans. Our staff will be ready to compete against Denzel. And I think Denzel will be ready to compete against us.”

Golden High On New Guards

Through the first 20 games of the 2024-2025 season, Fland was one of the best freshmen in the country, averaging 13.5 points, 3.2 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game before an UCL injury costed him the rest of his season. Now going into year two, Fland is expected to fill Martin’s role by providing off-ball scoring and defensive toughness. 

“Obviously Boogie played a big role on Arkansas’ team last year as a freshman and took some lumps, but I felt like he played some really good basketball,” Golden said. “And now going into his sophomore year, we’ll be able to get his best foot forward after having experienced some of those ups and downs. And, he had a great camp for us this summer.”

Lee, who spent three seasons at Princeton, is more seasoned than Fland. This past year was his best yet, averaging 16.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game. Although Ivy League competition may not compare with the SEC, Lee is no stranger to the big stage. He played for Canada’s U23 team at the GLOBL JAM tournament this August, teaming alongside Alabama guard Aden Holloway. 

“Xaivian Lee has kind of been a little better than I expected,” Golden said. “He’s an offensive juggernaut. He’s really talented on that end of the floor and, you know, has great ball skills, can really dribble, pass and shoot it. And I think those two guards with those three guys (Thomas Haugh, Alex Condon, Reuben Chinyelu), playing the three, four and five, we’re going to have a pretty formidable starting lineup.”

Klavžar’s Development 

While Florida’s starting five appears set, there are still key pieces off the bench up for grabs. Although sophomore guard Urban Klavžar had a limited role last year, there is no question he has the ability to provide meaningful minutes off the bench. He went 3-for-3 from 3-point range in a key 90-81 win against No. 1 Auburn with Martin out. His slowness on defense is what held him back from more meaningful minutes, but according to Field of 68’s Matt McCall, Klavzar is turning heads at practice. 

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UPDATE: Florida G Urban Klavžar reportedly impressed during the past summer, according to Field of 68’s Matt McCall. Klavžar, who is entering his second year with the Gators, played a limited role during last season’s postseason, but made his mark in SEVERAL games.

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— Gators Network (@GatorsNetwork) August 15, 2025

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“I’m hearing reports out of Gainesville that he had a great summer. Look for him to play a big-time role in the rotation [at guard],” McCall said.

Florida faces a problem many college basketball teams probably wish they had: too many options off the bench. In addition to Klavzar, Florida brought in two talented freshman guards/forwards in CJ Ingram and Alex Lloyd. AJ Brown, a 6-foot-4 junior transfer from Ohio who averaged 13.2 points per game, will also compete for time in the guard rotation.

Golden will have a lot of lineups to experiment with this season in hopes of following up on a national championship. 

Season Opener

The Gators will start their season against Arizona in Las Vegas on Nov. 3.

Category: College Basketball, Feature Sports News, Gators Men's Basketball