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Transfer portal tracker: Florida Gators men’s basketball roster updates

Untitled_design__8_-removebg-previewby:Pat O'Donnell•05/23/22•

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Photo by Hannah White/UAA Communications

Since hiring Todd Golden as head coach, the Florida Gators men’s basketball team has seen all kinds of movement when it comes to the 2022-23 roster.

Whether it’s transfer portal, recruiting or NBA Draft news, Golden and his assistants have been one of the most active coaching staffs in the country.

Here’s a timeline of what has happened in the UF hoops program regarding the roster:

July 14

Gators Online confirmed that the Gators would be adding German power forward Aleksander Szymczyk as the final scholarship player on the roster for the upcoming season.

He has yet to sign with the team.

May 23

Riley Kugel announces his pledge to Florida over Georgia and LSU, marking the first commitment from the high school ranks for new men’s basketball coach Todd Golden.

He is ranked the No. 46 player nationally and the No. 5 shooting guard in the On3 Consensus. With the addition of Kugel, the Gators now have 12 scholarship players. 

“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, there were for me. They just to get me to the NBA and develop me.

May 13

Florida signs St. Bonaventure graduate transfer guard Kyle Lofton, who picked the Gators over Rutgers and officially visited both schools.

Lofton earned All-Atlantic 10 honors each of the past three seasons, starting all 116 appearances throughout his four years with 1,613 points and 604 assists. The 6-foot-3 point guard has posted a .421 field goal percentage and shoots at an .820 clip from the free throw line.

“We are excited to bring Kyle into our program here at Florida,” Golden said. “Kyle has experienced a lot of success both from a team and individual standpoint during his time at St. Bonaventure. He’s a proven winner and leader. He makes others around him better and cares only about one thing: winning.”

May 5

St. Bonaventure transfers Kyle Lofton and Osun Osunniyi are officially visiting the Gators. Both players entered the portal on April 28 after four seasons with the Bonnies.

Lofton averaged 12.8 points and 5.9 assists last season, while Osunniyi averaged 11.3 points, 7.5 boards and 2.9 blocks.

May 1

Former Florida star Keyontae Johnson entered the transfer portal, becoming the fourth member of last year’s team to leave the program.

Johnson, the 2020-21 SEC Preseason Player of the Year, hasn’t played since his collapse during a game at Florida State in December 2020.

It remains to be seen whether Johnson can get the green light to play ahead of the 2022-23 season.

April 30

Morehead State’s Johni Broome, the No. 1 center transfer by On3’s Jamie Shaw, committed to Auburn over Florida with On3’s Joe Tipton.

Both programs hosted him for official visits in April.

April 28

Elijah Kennedy becomes the latest UF hoops player to enter the transfer portal. He appeared in 23 games as a true freshman, averaging 6.4 minutes and 1.3 points.

Florida former signee Jalen Reed also committed to LSU after reconsidering the Gators. With him officially off the board, guard Denzel Aberdeen is now the lone high school signee in their 2022 class. 

April 26

Florida has reportedly made contact with two new guards in the transfer portal.

UF is one of more than 20 schools to reach out to South Dakota State star Baylor Scheierman, according to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony. Scheierman, who averaged 16.2 points, 7.8 points and 4.5 assists last season, previously declared for the NBA Draft while maintaining his eligibility.

Another guard hearing from the Gators is Jaren Holmes. He spent three years at St. Bonaventure before electing to transfer. Holmes just finished visiting Iowa State and has heard from Florida and 15 other schools, according to Stadium’s Jeff Goodman. Holmes averaged 13.1 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists last season.

April 22

Morehead State transfer Johni Broome, the No. 1 center transfer by On3’s Jamie Shaw, visited the Gators over the weekend. Golden is in a battle with former boss Bruce Pearl for Broome, who took a trip to Auburn in mid-April.

“I want to make my decision here shortly,” Broome told AuburnLive.

Originally from Plant City, Fla., Broome has three years of eligibility and averaged 16.8 points, 10.5 rebounds and 3.9 blocks last season.

April 20

Former Washington State center Efe Abogidi names Florida as one of his top 12 schools, according to Jon Rothstein. He’s also considering tournament teams Arizona, Houston, Marquette and Texas along with Kansas State, Maryland, Mississippi State, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, UCF and Wake Forest.

In two seasons at Washington State, Abogidi started 56 of 64 appearances. He has averaged 8.4 points and 6.4 rebounds with 1.6 blocks and 0.8 steals on defense.

April 19

On the day he entered the transfer portal for the second time in as many years, Mississippi State guard transfer Shakeel Moore garnered interest from the Florida staff according to HoopSeen’s Justin Byerly.

Moore was coached last season by new Gators associate head coach Korey McCray, who worked with the Bulldogs guards and played an instrumental role in signing him from N.C. State.

In 34 games with MSU, including 29 starts, Moore averaged 8.7 points and 3.0 rebounds.

Tyrell Ward, a four-star small forward in the 2022 class, also visited Florida on April 19. However, he did not include the Gators among his three finalists, according to On3’s Joe Tipton.

April 18

Former Virginia Military Institute guard Trey Bonham becomes the third transfer to commit to Florida. Bonham, a 6-foot, 170-pound guard, averaged 13.6 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.0 assists during the 2021 season.

Florida top-50 signee Jalen Reed also told On3’s Joe Tipton that has received his release from UF to reopen his recruitment. However, Golden’s staff is still recruiting the 6-foot-10 power forward to Gainesville.

April 17

Golden revealed that senior guard Myreon Jones is staying with the Gators for his fifth and final season of eligibility. The Penn State transfer averaged 8.5 points per game in the 2021-22 season but played most of the year with a broken finger.

April 15

Florida hosted Bonham and former Mississippi State commit Riley Kugel, a top-50 overall recruit and four-star shooting guard. His high school teammate is UF signee Denzel Aberdeen. Kugel was recruited by former Mississippi State assistant coach Korey McCray, who is now on Golden’s staff. According to the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine, Florida leads in his recruitment.

After mulling over a potential transfer for two days, UF guard Kowacie Reeves decided not to enter his name into the NCAA transfer portal and remained a Gator. He averaged 5.5 points per game as a freshman while shooting 37.9 percent from the field.

April 13

Alex Fudge, a native of Jacksonville who spent his freshman season at LSU, announced his commitment to the Gators. Fudge averaged just 3.3 points with 3.2 rebounds in 13.9 minutes per game last season; however, the 6-foot-8, 185-pound forward and former top-100 prospect has huge upside.

April 12

Morehead State’s Johni Broome, one of the best available transfers, told On3’s Joe Tipton he’s down to eight schools and included the Gators among his finalists.

April 11

Golden gets huge news as Florida forward Colin Castleton announces he will return to the Gators for a fifth year. He was voted to the All-SEC Second Team after leading the team in points per game (16.2), rebounds per game (9) and blocks per game (2.2).

April 10

Belmont guard transfer Will Richard visits and commits to Florida, becoming the first basketball pledge of the Todd Golden era. As a freshman last season, Richard averaged 12.1 points, six rebounds and 1.8 assists.

April 9

Fudge visited Florida along with Bradley guard transfer Terry Roberts. He has since committed to former Florida coach Mike White, who left for Georgia.

ESPN’s Jeff Borzello reports that Charlotte guard transfer Jahmir Young has received interest from the Florida staff. He entered the portal after averaging 19.6 points, 5.9 rebounds and 3.7 assists while shooting 46.8 percent from the field.

April 7

Forward Tuongthach Gatkek becomes second UF player to enter his name into transfer portal. The JUCO transfer averaged 1.7 points and 1.8 rebounds last year in his only season with the Gators, appearing in 21 games for just 163 minutes total, the second fewest on the team.

April 4

Florida starting point guard Tyree Appleby submitted his name into the transfer portal, according to On3 Sports national recruiting analyst Jamie Shaw. He averaged a career-low 10.9 points and 3.7 assists last season, playing in all 34 games with 27 starts. UPDATE: Appleby has transferred to Wake Forest.

Bonham and Morehead State’s Johni Broome also entered their names into the transfer portal. Broome also declared for the NBA Draft while staying eligible to return to college.

April 1

Fudge entered the transfer portal, while Gators forward Anthony Duruji announced via Twitter he will forgo his final season of eligibility to enter the NBA Draft. He averaged 8.5 points and 4.1 rebounds while shooting 53 percent from the field.

March 31

Jon Rothstein reported that Florida was one of seven schools showing interest to Princeton transfer guard Jaelin Llewellyn, who averaged 15.7 points and 4.1 rebounds last season. Llewellyn has since committed to Clemson and backed off that pledge less than a week later on April 19.

March 30

The Florida staff reportedly reached out to North Carolina State forward/center transfer Manny Bates. He did not play last season due to a season-ending shoulder injury but averaged 9.8 points and shot 64.1 percent in 2020-21.

March 22

Richard officially entered the portal and Florida signee Malik Reneau, the No. 29 overall prospect in the On3 2022 Consensus, received his release from UF after Mike White was hired by Georgia. Reneau has since committed to Indiana.

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