Defending National Champion Gators Embrace Target on Back
As the defending national champions with several All-SEC returners, Florida enters the season as one of the most promising rosters in college basketball.
Florida coach Todd Golden, along with key front court pieces Thomas Haugh, Alex Condon and Rueben Chinyelu, addressed wearing the bull’s eye to start the men’s college basketball season at SEC Media Day in Birmingham, Ala., on Wednesday.
Golden and company had a lot to say about Florida’s road to going back-to-back. Here are the three biggest takeaways:
New Perspectives
Last year’s national championship team prided itself on its underdog mentality. There wasn’t a single four-star recruit on that roster, and it was ranked outside the Associated Press top-20 to start the season. Now, as the No. 3 team, the Gators have a national championship to defend, and new pressures that a Golden team has not faced.
“The reality of it for our group this year is that it’s going to be a lot harder than it was last year, that’s just the bottom line. For a lack of a better term, I think we kind of snuck up on people last year, especially in the beginning of SEC play,” Golden said. “After we had some really good road wins like at Auburn, at Bama, I think people realized what our team was capable of. Last year we went into the season ranked 24th preseason, whereas this year I haven’t seen a publication where we’re lower than fifth. We do have that target on our back.”
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Freshman Climbing Rotation
Golden made it clear that freshman CJ Ingram and Alex Lloyd’s stocks are rising as the season opener against No. 13 Arizona on Nov. 13 in Las Vegas approaches.
Ingram and Llpyd’s unexpected maturity and collegiate comfort at practice have turned heads . For a team that prides itself for its depth and next man-up mentality, the addition of Ingram and Lloyd could be the difference between back-to-back championships or a lackluster season.
At recent practices, Ingram has received time playing with the Blue team, which also consists of the projected starting lineup of Boogie Fland, Xaivian Lee, Haugh, Condon and Chinyelu.
With Haugh starting at the three, he will probably shift to the four against smaller lineups. That first forward off the bench spot when Haugh shifts could very well belong to Ingram.
“CJ Ingram and Alex Lloyd are two freshman that have done a great job. Usually it’s hard for freshman to play in our program, but I think both those guys have a chance to earn roles,” Golden said.
What stands out the most about Ingram is not his scoring ability, but his physicality and hustle. He is a guy who has shown flashes of tremendous on-ball defense, diving for loose balls and crashing the boards hard. While his jumpshot isn’t the prettiest, Ingram is fighting for that seventh-man spot by doing the little things right.
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Lloyd has the exact opposite problem. He has a silky-smooth jumpshot, being able to pull up off the dribble or hang in the corner for a 3-pointer. He will be competing with sophomore Urban Klavzar for that third guard off the bench spot. As an undersized guard, Lloyd will have to prove that he can compete with NBA-level first team All-SEC guards like Tihaad Pettiford and Labaron Philon.
Haugh At Small Forward
Haugh spent his sophomore year backing up Condon at power forward. Although he came off the bench, he was the best player in the front court during the championship run, averaging 9.8 points per game and 6.1 rebounds in 24.5 minutes of play. His play was so impressive, he tested the NBA draft waters, ultimately deciding to run it back.
At 6-foot-9, the second team All-SEC forward played the four just about as well as anyone in college basketball. Because Condon also bypassed the draft, Golden elected to play both on the floor together. Haugh playing the 3 makes Florida one of the tallest teams in the country, joined by 6-11 Condon and 6-10 Chinyelu.
“It’s my job to find a way to get our best players on the floor, and we wanted to make sure that Tommy and the three other guys [Micah Handlogten, Chinyelu and Condon] were out there as much as possible, so playing a little bit bigger, giving him an opportunity to get out on the wing, I think it’s going to give us an opportunity to be the best team we can be all year,” Golden.
Walter Clayton Jr. was last year’s clear guy to go to when the team needed a bucket. He did it all of March Madness, hitting key 3s in comeback wins against Texas Tech and UConn. With Clayton gone, Haugh could take that next step as the key bucket getter for the 2025-26 campaign.
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“Just be out on the wing a little bit more,” Haugh said. “I’ve been practicing out there. I’ve worked really hard at it this summer, just being a consistent jump shot, being able to come off a little bit of ball screens and stuff like that, making the right passes, making the right plays.”
Category: Basketball, College Basketball, Feature Sports News, Gators Men's Basketball, SEC
