Florida Gators guard will reportedly enter the NCAA transfer portal
Elijah Kennedy will reportedly become the latest Gators hoops player to explore his options.
The sophomore guard plans to enter the NCAA transfer portal, according to a report Thursday night from the Florida Basketball Hour Podcast.
Elijah Kennedy appeared in 23 games as a true freshman, averaging 6.4 minutes and 1.3 points. He made 20.3 percent of his field goal attempts, including 15 percent from downtown.
Kennedy scored a season-high 6 points in the loss to Texas Southern and finished with 5 points in wins over South Carolina and Stony Brook, hitting a 3-pointer in all three games.
The 6-foot-3, 185-pound Kennedy is currently one of six guards on UF’s roster after first-year coach landed transfers Trey Bonham (VMI) and Will Richard (Belmont).
The Gators also return guards Myreon Jones, Elijah Kennedy and Kowacie Reeves. Jones elected to come back for his final year of eligibility, while Reese decided to remain at Florida after considering a potential transfer.
Starting point guard Tyree Appleby and forward Tuongthach Gatkek, meanwhile, have entered the portal, with Kennedy now being the third player to test the transfer market.
If Kennedy chooses to play elsewhere, that will leave the Gators with 10 players on their 2022-23 roster and three open spots available.
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Gators busy in the portal
Golden has also added LSU transfer Alex Fudge in addition to Bonham and Richard, with his sights set on more additions.
Some of Florida’s top targets are Morehead State transfer Johni Broome and former Mississippi State commit Riley Kugel, both of whom have visited UF.
During his introductory press conference on March 23, Golden discussed what he’s looking for when recruiting via the transfer portal.
“Really good players,” Golden quipped. “Guys that have achieved at a high level in their previous spot. There’s usually a lot of variables and different things that go into these decisions, whether it was a coach leaving, whether it was just an uncomfortable situation, whatever it is. There’s a lot of guys in the portal. In the past transferring has had a negative connotation. People have thought of transferring as something that’s negative and speaks to a lack of continuity in the program, things of that nature.
“I don’t look at it that way. I think these guys are young men. They’re allowed to make decisions like this, and so we’re going to vet them the same way that we would vet high school kids. We’re going to talk to them. We’re going to talk to their families. If they’re transferring usually former coaches to see this there’s a reason. You can find a lot of special kids student athletes in the portal that can fit within the makeup of your program if you look hard.”
