Todd Golden is ‘cautiously optimistic’ about Alex Condon returning
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — With Florida’s backcourt reloaded from the 2025 class, the Gators are waiting on one more player to finalize their roster. Starting forward Alex Condon is less than a week from making a final decision on his next move.
Condon declared for the NBA Draft on April 16 while maintaining his college eligibility. He was invited to the 2025 NBA Combine but opted not to participate in the scrimmages, which could limit him from improving his draft stock.
Condon also held a Pro Day workout while in Chicago and has worked out with multiple teams during his draft process. Given how those have gone, Florida coach Todd Golden appears to be anticipating that Condon will return to school.
Golden hopes to get an answer on May 27 from Condon, who is receiving mostly early second-round projections. The deadline for players to withdraw from the draft and retain their NCAA eligibility is May 28, 2025, at 11:59 p.m. ET.
“We’ve had good conversations with Alex. We’ve been really respectful of his process, and he’s been great in terms of communicating with us, in terms of where everything’s at. I’m cautiously optimistic, but we’re going to, again, be very mindful of his process,” Golden said on Wednesday.
“He’s getting great workouts of teams. He’s looked good in different combine events. I think we’ll find out, my hope is on the 27th and I’m hoping for good news for the Gators. But I love Condo regardless, and he obviously was really impactful in his winning national championship.”
Condon earned second-team All-SEC honors last season and averaged 10.7 points. He led the Gators with 7.5 rebounds and 49 blocks along with 2.2 assists per game.
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Condon scored in double figure 19 times and recorded seven double-doubles, including a career-high 27 points and 10 rebounds in Florida’s 99-94 win at No. 7 Alabama.
When asked where his cautious optimism comes from with Condon, Golden said it stems from their talks about where he wants to get selected in order to remain in draft.
“Obviously if he did not return it would be a blow. I mean he’s a great player. But yes, I’m cautiously optimistic,” Golden said. “I mean I will never speak for Alex, but based on some of the conversations we’ve had as a staff about what he feels like he would need to stay in the draft, we are cautiously optimistic.
“I’m not saying he can’t get (a guarantee), but you just never know and it’s just early. The NBA Draft, I think, is June 26th or 25th or something like that. So there’s a lot of time between when these guys have to decide and when the NBA Draft is and a lot can change. So, that’s why I say that, but it would be a blow, for sure. We have some contingency plans, but we want Alex back.”
