Todd Golden ready to work with UF signees Denzel Aberdeen, Riley Kugel

Despite limited time with the 2022 class, Florida men’s basketball coach Todd Golden and his staff signed two highly touted recruits from the Orlando area in combo guard Denzel Aberdeen and shooting guard Riley Kugel.

The Gators lost commitments from top-50 overall recruits and four-star power forwards Malik Reneau and Jalen Reed following Golden’s hire.

“When we first got here, I was more anticipating the 2023 class in terms of kind of being with the high school kids. We just didn’t have very much time. A lot of these guys in the 2022 class were committed long before we got here, so I didn’t know how successful we were going to be in that regard this first spring,” Golden said Thursday.

Aberdeen originally pledged to the Gators on Sept. 19 under former coach Mike White and reaffirmed his commitment in March after Golden was named head coach.

“Keeping Denzel, we’re happy about that. I think Denzel has a chance to be a really good player,” he said. “And then Riley is a very good talent and obviously another Dr. Phillips Orlando guy.”

The Gators quickly set their sights on Kugel, Aberdeen’s high school teammate. Golden tabbed former Mississippi State assistant Korey McCray, who also had ties to Kugel, as his associate head coach.

Kugel, a former MSU commit, was primarily recruited to Starkville by McCray. The veteran SEC assistant coach then took the lead on Florida’s pursuit of the top-50 overall recruit.

Kugel officially visited UF on April 15 and committed to the Gators last Monday over LSU and Georgia.

“It’s two-way street in recruiting these guys. We obviously wanted to add Riley to the program because he’s a really good kid and a really good talent, but it’s important to us that they want to be here,” Golden said. “That was something Riley exhibited from the first moment I reached out to him, that he was passionate about coming to Florida if it worked out for him. Making sure he did what he had to do in the classroom and then checked some boxes and made sure we did our due diligence to make sure he was the right piece to add, I think we did enough and both sides are really glad it worked out.”

Denzel Aberdeen, Riley Kugel teaming up at UF

Kugel was officially announced as second member of Florida’s 2022 recruiting class on Friday. He credited Golden and McCray during his commitment and also mentioned Aberdeen as a factor.

“Just the whole coaching staff,” Kugel said when asked why he picked UF. “Coach Golden, Coach McCray, the whole coaching staff. They just showed love constantly, every day. On my bad days, they’re there for me. They just to get me to the NBA and develop me.

“And obviously, I’m home. I’m here with my family and friends. Everybody can watch me play. They don’t gotta travel across the world just to watch me play. And of course, Zel. The dynamic duo is back again.”

The chemistry on the court between Aberdeen and Kugel will now continue with the Gators, and Golden looks forward to adding that dynamic to his roster.

“It doesn’t hurt,” Golden said of Aberdeen and Kugel’s bond. “They’re going to be freshmen, though. Like I said, it won’t hurt. They like each other. Obviously, I wouldn’t bring them both if there were issues that way.

“But I’m just more excited that they’re from Florida and want to be here and can be, along with Alex [Fudge], a Florida kid we were able to bring back. So, we have some momentum that way. Hopefully as they experience some good things in our program, I think it will rub off on the next class, so on and so forth.”