‘We’re Winning It’: Florida Men’s Basketball Brings Title Talk to SEC Media Days
At the 2026 SEC Media Days, 15 Southeastern Conference teams came in ready to flaunt revamped rosters, all vying for dominance in the highly-competitive SEC. Then the Gators strutted in. As the preseason SEC No. 1 team, Florida confronted the expectations of not only being dominant in the SEC, but competing for a national championship.
For the second year in a row, Gators coach Todd Golden, accompanied by his Big 3 of Alex Condon, Thomas Haugh and Reuben Chinyelu, spoke this morning regarding the upcoming season, NCAA legal drama and the reuniting of an experienced roster in Birmingham, Alabama.
The Gators are the only conference team to have three players make an All-SEC team, with Haugh and Chinyelu earning First Team nods and Condon making the second team. All three players returned for the 2026-27 season, accompanied by a teamate-turned-foe-turned-teammate: Denzel Aberdeen.
Aberdeen’s fifth year of eligibility was the center of conversation during Golden’s press conference in Birmingham. Legal talk has surrounded the offseason regarding the NCAA’s resistance against allowing the class of 2022 to receive a fifth season of eligibility, inspiring Golden to study like a Harvard law student just to understand Aberdeen’s dilemma.
“This legal situation is something that sparks my interest a bit,” Golden said. “My father is an attorney, I grew up around it and I truly just believe the class of 22 deserves to play.”
Golden mentioned that the NCAA, rather than preventing chaos, is causing it. Being halfway through the fall semester, players still have their athletic careers hanging in the balance, unable to simply jump ship if the decision doesn’t go their way.
The NCAA argued that if the class of 2022 were declared eligible, opportunities would be stripped from freshman or currently rostered players, creating a “congestion at the top” as Golden put it. Players staying an extra year would limit playtime for younger players who committed to programs with the thought of more playing time.
But to Golden, the lack of opportunities isn’t a 5-for-5 problem.
“The displacement argument is factually inaccurate,” Golden said. “The congestion in the power leagues is in my opinion derived from the transfer legislation.”
Golden explained that because of the transfer portal, college coaches search for older players that increase the chances of winning, thus limiting the chances for young players to make a difference in power-conference games, and disproving the NCAA’s argument against players like Aberdeen, who could make an instant impact this season.
“He’s just going to bring a high level of shot making when the shot clock goes down,” Condon said. “We missed that a bit last year, just someone who can get a bucket.”
But the day wasn’t completely filled with legal jargon. Talks of NIL purchases, like a fancy boat for Thomas Haugh or Reuben Chinyelu buying his mom a house, were one of many insights into the off-the-court activities for Florida. But on the court, the Gators carry the weight of the loftiest expectations in the SEC.
A loaded starting five with Condon, Haugh, Chinyelu, Aberdeen and Boogie Fland has not only given the Gators some of the best talent in the country, but the best chemistry.
“Me and Condon have been at the same school for four years, a lot of people can’t say that,” Haugh said. “The ability to go out there to play with the same guys as previous years makes this group really special.”
Fland is the odd-one-out of the group, only playing with Florida for one season, but the experience as the starting point guard last year has given Florida another pillar in the lineup.
“I think that continuity in being able to continue to build the partnership with me and the rest of the program will suit him really well for a successful season this year,” Golden said.
Other key returners like 2026 SEC Sixth Man of the Year Urban Klavzar and Isaiah Brown add to Florida’s highly touted squad that flashes the memorable depth of the Gators 2024-25 championship roster.
A team ranked the preseason No. 1 team in the country, which the Gators have a strong case to be, hasn’t won the national title since North Carolina in the 2008-09 season. During media days, this stat was brought up to Chinyelu and Haugh in regard to how this team can replicate what the Tar Heels accomplished nearly 20 years ago.
Asked a question beginning with “Florida will win the national title if,” Chinyelu answered sternly with a deadpan, stone-cold expression.
“There’s no if, we’re winning it,” Chinyelu said. “We want this really bad and we’re going to get it.”
Category: Feature Sports News, Gator Sports, Gators Men's Basketball
