Todd Golden, UF players talk potential return of Micah Handlogten

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — For the first time all season, Florida included center Micah Handlogten on the SEC availability report Saturday. Handlogten was listed as out, but that decision came after he considered making his 2024-25 debut against Georgia.

As Gators Online first reported, Handlogten has been cleared to play and is practicing with the team.

After planning to redshirt his junior year following a season-ending injury in the SEC tournament final, he recovered from his fractured left leg sooner than anticipated, according to Florida coach Todd Golden, with no setbacks and the help of the UF medical team.

Golden said Handlogten had a “great practice” on Friday and was eyeing the Georgia game for his return, but the 7-foot-1 center had second thoughts and decided against it.

“To his credit, he’s had an incredible recovery,” Golden said. “Micah has been able to be back practicing with us for a while now. And it’s a very emotional thing, it’s a very emotional decision and I can understand why someone in his shoes might have second thoughts. I think he had kind of gotten himself to the point where he was ready. … And as he continued to think about it, he just had some second thoughts.

“And the bottom line is, with a situation like that, you have to be all the way in if you’re gonna come back. … I think he was really excited about the possibility of playing and then once it became real, I think he just had some more thoughts about it, and it is what it is. We would love to him out there but at the same time we understand the injury was really severe and it’s gonna be his decision on when he comes back.”

Micah Handlogten still out … for now

Handlogten averaged 5.3 points and 6.9 rebounds last season while shooting 64.4 percent from the field in 33 appearances with 32 games started.

At this time, Golden described his situation as fluid and left the door open on a potential return this season, although he said Handlogten is out at this time.

“He could wake up tomorrow and call me and say, ‘Hey man, that looked fun. Maybe let’s get out there next Saturday.’ But we’re gonna let him create his own timeline for returning. Whether that’s next week or next year is really gonna be up to him,” Golden said. “He’s healthy. He’s been practicing and playing five on five in practice. I mean, he’s been going up against some really good SEC bigs every day in practice and we wouldn’t have allowed him to make that initial decision if we didn’t think he was ready.

“I think he could play. But again, it’s up to him. I want to make that very clear. We are not trying to pressure him to be out there if he’s not comfortable. Do I think he could be out there playing? Yeah. But again, he almost missed half the year. The game has changed a little bit. These guys have kind of have the ability to decide their paths and with his situation being so unique and that injury being so severe, we have a lot of patience and understanding with his decision making, what he’s going through.”

Handlogten’s 108 offensive rebounds last year marked the No. 2 single-season total in UF history, and his 17.9% offensive rebounding percentage ranked No. 4 nationally.

Florida bigs Alex Condon and Thomas Haugh have enjoyed seeing Handlogten back in practice again, but they want him to feel comfortable before suiting up for a game.

“I think we’re all pretty excited,” Condon said of Handlogten being cleared to play. “He’s been working hard. He’ll take whatever time he needs to get back, and it’s going to be great for the team when he eventually does. It’s up to him and coach on when that is.”

Haugh added, “He’s been getting up and down the court great. And it’s just, time will tell when he can come back on the court.”