Gators basketball No. 21 in preseason AP Top 25
The Florida Gators basketball team is getting respect from the national media heading into the upcoming season. Todd Golden’s program, which returns key starters and added talented newcomers, checks in at No. 21 in the AP Top 25 preseason rankings. Kansas is No. 1.
Florida opens the season on Nov. 4 against USF and the first home game will be Nov. 7 vs. Jacksonville. As Gators Online senior reporter Zach Abolverdi recently noted, the Gators enter Year 3 under Golden after a 24-win season in 2023-24, the team’s most since 2016-17, and their first NCAA Tournament in three years. Additionally, Florida made a run to the SEC Tournament championship game for the first time since 2014.
The Gators lost starters Zyon Pullin and Tyrese Samuel, but Golden and his staff reloaded in the offseason by adding six scholarship players to the roster with a trio of transfers and three freshmen, including a pair of international signees.
“I think we’re really mature. I think we play really hard. And I think we’re really unselfish. Those three things, specifically, are kind of the identity of this group,” Golden said in September. “People who have been in our gym see the level of competitiveness on a day-to-day basis. I think we’re really consistent that way. As I said before, we have a lot of work to do, but the bones of our foundation are strong that way. We shoot the ball well. We’re athletic, we run, we play hard. At the end of the day, as long as our guys complete, I’ll be OK to live with whatever happens, but we’re off to a good start.”
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Walter Clayton Jr. arguably is Florida’s top returning player. He averaged 17.6 points per game last season, which made him a top-five scorer in the SEC. Clayton has made the switch from shooting guard to point guard to replace Pullin. Clayton decided to return for his senior season after getting feedback from NBA coaches and scouts.
“One team told me they want a true point guard. Another team told me they want me for me, just want to see a little bit more defense,” Clayton said. “Defense and protecting the ball. Those are two main things (to work on).”
AP Preseason Top 25
1. Kansas
2. Alabama
3. UConn
4. Houston
5. Iowa State
6. Gonzaga
7. Duke
8. Baylor
9. North Carolina
10. Arizona.
11. Auburn
12. Tennessee
13. Texas A&M
14. Purdue
15. Creighton
16. Arkansas
17. Indiana
18. Marquette
19. Texas
20. Cincinnati
21. Florida
22. UCLA
23. Kentucky
24. Ole Miss
25. Rutgers
