Denzel Aberdeen's new teammates highlight his skills as a shooter

Denzel Aberdeen is mostly known for his abilities as an impactful two-way guard, but his new Kentucky teammates want to make sure everyone knows there is far more to the national champion’s game.

“He’s definitely been shooting it good, too,” Sophomore Trent Noah said Monday when asked what’s stood out with Aberdeen’s game early into summer workouts. “In our shooting drills today, I noticed that he was definitely catching fire. But he’s just a great all-around player. He’s a really good two-way guard, and that’s something that we’ll need this year.”

Aberdeen’s transfer to Kentucky after spending the last three seasons at Florida was a shock. He’s a Sunshine State native, played high school ball in Orlando, and saw significant year-over-year development as a Gator while helping Florida win the title back in April. His junior season in 2024-25 was his best yet: 7.7 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 1.4 assists in 19.8 minutes per game. Aberdeen mostly came off the bench as a super sub, rounding out Florida’s deep backcourt.

His shooting numbers at Florida (2022-24) were more than respectable: 41.5 percent from the field, 33.8 percent from deep, and 68 percent from the free throw line. He shot 35 percent on three-pointers last season on a career-best 2.6 attempts per contest. In eight outings, he hit at least a pair of threes, including a career-high five against South Carolina.

Even more inspiring as he goes into his senior campaign, though, is what Aberdeen did in his five games as a starter during the middle of SEC play. Injuries ahead of him allowed more clock, and he took full advantage of it. Aberdeen averaged 14.4 points, 2.6 assists, and 2.4 rebounds in 29.8 minutes per contest as a starter on shooting splits of 42.9/41.4/63.2. That 41.4 percent shooting mark from beyond the arc came on a 12-29 clip.

The Gators won all five of those games by an average of 15.2 points.

“Denzel, I remember his role at Florida. He was coming off the bench and providing those very impactful minutes for Florida,” Sophomore guard Collin Chandler said Monday. “He’s a very good scorer, he’s also a very good shooter. He shoots the ball really well and he has the ball on a string, which makes him very dangerous as a guard and as a ball handler. That’s going to be very valuable to us as well.”

But how will Aberdeen’s game translate to playing in Lexington? The expectation is he’ll be among Mark Pope‘s top rotational guards, but the backcourt will be loaded with capable players. The impact he brings on defense should make it tough to keep him off the floor — if he can hover around the 37 percent (or better) mark from long range on good volume, it might just be impossible.

“I don’t know exactly the role that Denzel will play,” Chandler added, “But I know that he can contribute in so many different facets.”

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