Turnaround season made Florida basketball ‘fantastic’ once again

INDIANAPOLIS — Florida Basketball. “Fantastic!”

Gator fans hadn’t been able to say that with their chest for some time. That changed this season.

Todd Golden and his staff put the program back on the map with a revamped roster that set multiple program records (see below) and made Florida basketball fantastic again.

The way it ended sucks, but Golden and the team took Gator Nation on quite a ride in 2023-24. The SEC tourney run. The upset at Rupp. Blowout wins over Alabama, Auburn and FSU.

When’s the last time fans had that much fun watching UF hoops? It’s been a while.

“We had a great run. Obviously, a lot of people didn’t want us here in March Madness. They thought we were going to finish (eighth) in the SEC,” forward Tyrese Samuel said after the NCAA Tournament loss to Colorado.

“Obviously it’s not the finish we wanted, but I think we put on for Florida.”

Samuel was one of four impact transfers for the Gators this offseason, as well as fellow graduate transfer Zyon Pullin, junior Walter Clayton Jr. and sophomore Micah Handlogten.

Along with returner Will Richard, the entire starting lineup was made up of portal additions by Golden and his staff. The four 2024 signees had record-setting seasons at Florida.

It was the highest-scoring UF team ever (85.6 PPG) with 13 90-point games, breaking the previous record (9). The Gators had three 500-point scorers for the first time in program history: Clayton (633), Pullin (512) and Tyrese (500).

Pullin led the charge with a school-record 3.77 assist-to-turnover ratio, the best by an SEC player this century. He became Florida’s first point guard to earn first-team All-SEC honors since 2018 (Chris Chiozza).

“It was special,” Pullin said of his lone year with the Gators. “I appreciate this coaching staff and these players for embracing me. The season didn’t finish the way we anticipated, but I can’t be more thankful to put this jersey on.”

Pullin and Clayton became Florida’s first All-SEC backcourt duo in 11 years. Clayton was a top-five scorer in the conference at 17.6 PPG and his 633 points for the season ranks No. 5 in school history.

“It means a lot,” Clayton said of this season. “I hope it means a lot to everybody. I think it does. Just coming back and trying to build something here. This is kind of a stepping stone to keep on moving forward.”

Samuel also earned All-SEC honors from the AP, leading the conference in field goal percentage (56.4%). He posted 11 double-doubles for the season, the most by a Gator since Al Horford’s 16 in 2006-07.

Samuel and the 7-foot-1 Handlogten became the first UF teammates with 100 offensive rebounds in a season. Samuel tied Joakim Noah for the third-most school history (102) and Handlogten finished second (108).

“I just can’t thank the coaches enough for bringing this group together,” Samuel said. “This is the foundation that’s set, and the standards are only going to get better from here. … I’m just happy what our team did this year. Can’t really complain. They’ll be back next year and they’ll be a lot better. I’m just excited to see what’s yet to come for obviously the seniors and the players for next year.

“We have a lot of freshmen and sophomores, and if they all decide to stay together, they’re going to be great in the long run, and it’s just going to help Florida basketball grow. Like from [Alex] Condon to Will, all them, this team is going to be great next year. As long as we just add the right pieces, I think they could make a bigger run than we did this year.”

Florida’s frontcourt returns Condon, fellow true freshman Thomas Haugh and Handlogten, who will spend the offseason recovering from his leg injury. UF could also bring back a pair of junior guards in Richard and Clayton, who has a decision to make on the NBA Draft, along with sophomore guards Denzel Aberdeen and Riley Kugel.

The Gators will look to add more transfers this offseason — including a point guard to replace Pullin — to join their returners and 2024 signee Isaiah Brown. If their recent track record is any indication, #PortalGodTodd and his staff should be able to put together another talented roster, especially coming off UF’s best season in seven years.

“Really proud of where this program is right now, the way this team has played all year,” Golden said. “24 wins in our league is really hard to do. We obviously had 14 league wins, if you combine the regular season and the SEC tournament, and that’s something to be super proud of. And like Tyrese said, my hope is that this will be a building block for the program.

“We’re going to miss ZP and Tyrese a lot. They’re going to be hard to replace. But the goal is that these younger guys will continue to grow and get better, and we’ll find guys that are the right fit with great attitudes and great work ethics and really will want to be Gators. We’ll continue to build it that way because it’s what I believe in, and it’s worked for us.”