Gators forward Alex Fudge: ‘Coming here was a no-brainer’

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Over the offseason, the Florida Gators basketball program underwent many changes, both on the coaching staff and with the roster. Former head coach Mike White bolted to Georgia, prompting Florida to hire Todd Golden from San Francisco. Once Golden arrived, he immediately saw that the frontcourt could use improvement.

Back on April 1, former top-100 overall prospect Alex Fudge decided to leave LSU after averaging 3.3 points and 3.2 rebounds as a redshirt freshman. With Florida’s frontcourt needs, the Gators pounced on the opportunity to recruit Fudge.

How the LSU transfer landed at UF

The 6-foot-9, 200-pound forward says upon his entrance into the transfer portal, Golden made him a priority. Just 12 days after he entered the portal, Fudge committed to Florida.

The Jacksonville native met with the UF media for the first time this week. As Fudge was being interviewed, Golden came down the stairs and overhead him get asked how he ended up in Gainesville.

“That’s a great question,” Golden quipped.

After being teed up, Fudge replied, “That man right there, Coach Golden. When you feel love from the whole staff, that’s everything, because you know you can go to anybody.

“I was like, ‘Coming back home doesn’t sound too bad,’” Fudge said. “I had family in Louisiana, like 45 minutes away from Baton Rouge. So, it was just home away from home out there. But now, this is, like, home. That’s what makes it great.”

Golden’s pitch was not centered around basketball and had more to do with Fudge as a person. When the on-court discussion came up, he laid out Fudge’s possible fit in the offense.

“Coach Golden, he was just laying out the foundation for me,” he said. “It was like, ‘This is where we see you, this is what we see you doing and how you can help you impact the team,’ and I was on board for it.”

High expectations for Alex Fudge

What was the vision that Golden had for Fudge? He sold the Sunshine State product on returning home, repping the Gators and influencing others to do the same.

“He sees me being a player that when Florida recruits look at this school, they’re like, ‘Yo, this is what I want to be like. I want to come to Florida.’ He wants me to be that guy on the court,” Fudge explained. “He just sees me being a great guy and he wants me to carry that over to the court, and so he just wants me to set like that model for the school right now.

“Being that this is his first year here and this is my first year here, it’d be crazy if we could get a lot of things done and just spark up a lot.”

Golden has high expectations for Fudge, especially playing next to Colin Castleton. When Golden informed him during the transfer process he was recruiting Castleton to return, that was another selling point for Fudge.

“I was like, ‘We get Colin back that’s going to be scary,’” Fudge said.

Consistency is key

Fudge has flashed in preseason camp with some big plays and will have a chance to start next to Castleton at the 4 spot. The biggest thing Fudge has to improve on? His consistency.

It’s an area Fudge admittedly struggled with during his time in Baton Rouge.

“I might have a good day, defensively and offensively, but the next day I might just have a good day defensively; I didn’t bring it on both sides,” Fudge said. “So that’s one thing I got to. I acknowledge it and I got to improve on it.”

After all, Fudge isn’t just playing for himself and his teammates, but the Florida recruits he’s supposed to set an example for. Fudge is up to the task and right where he wants to be, and the new staff played a big role in his change of scenery.

Now that Fudge is with the Gators, Golden and assistant coaches view him as a vital piece to the 2022-23 team.

“It’s not just one coach that you can talk to, it’s all of them. If there’s a problem, there’s more than one you can talk to. You got the head coach who’s making the decisions, but you got the assistant coaches too,” Alex Fudge said. “That was just a plus, so coming here was a no-brainer.”