Transfer Bio Blast: Denzel Aberdeen

Out of nowhere, Denzel Abderdeen is a Kentucky Wildcat.

Coming off a national championship run with the Florida Gators just a couple of weeks ago, Abderdeen officially entered his name into the transfer portal on Sunday. By Monday morning, talks with Kentucky were heating up. Hours later, the two-way guard was committing to the Wildcats.

It all happened fast, but regardless of how we got here, Kentucky appears to have its 2025-26 roster in place. As long as Otega Oweh ultimately pulls his name out of the NBA Draft pool, head coach Mark Pope should have a Final Four-caliber roster in Lexington going into his second season.

As a 6-foot-5, 190-pound true junior at Florida in 2024-25, Aberdeen averaged 7.7 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 1.4 assists in 19.8 minutes per outing. Across 39 games played (five as a starter), he shot 41.8 percent from the field, 35 percent from deep (on 2.6 attempts per game), and 70.8 percent from the free throw line. College basketball analyst John Fanta labels Aberdeen as a “lockdown defender”.

NEWS: Florida transfer guard Denzel Aberdeen has committed to Kentucky, source tells @On3sports. https://t.co/mSgJyZqHUY pic.twitter.com/2E8X1AeW7O

— Joe Tipton (@TiptonEdits) April 21, 2025

There’s a lot to like with Kentucky’s latest portal addition. Let’s dive a bit deeper to learn more about Aberdeen, who On3 ranks as the 79th-best player to enter the portal this offseason.

Born and raised in the Sunshine State

Denzel Aberdeen is Florida through and through. He was born in Orlando, attended Dr. Phillips High School in Orlando, and held plenty of offers from Florida-based colleges. Aberdeen was twice named Florida Association of Basketball Coaches (FABC) All-State, making First Team in 2021 and Second Team in 2022. He dropped 27 points in the 2021 7A state title game as Dr. Phillips won its first-ever championship.

So when the home-state school came calling (at the time under former head coach Mike White) with an offer in the summer of 2021, it was a lifetime achievement. Aberdeen committed to Florida less than two months after the Gators extended him a scholarship. The likes of Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Ole Miss, and others were also involved. He chose to wear No. 11 in college as a way to honor some of the past great Florida players who also rocked the same number (such as Vernon Maxwell and Taurean Green).

Championship pedigree

Aberdeen wasn’t a nationally recognized recruit out of Dr. Phillips. He was considered a three-star prospect and ranked just inside the top 150 of the 2022 recruiting cycle. Todd Golden ended up taking over as head coach at Florida (with White leaving for Georgia) and elected to keep Aberdeen on board. His true freshman season in 2022-23 was severely limited, though: 1.6 points in 3.4 minutes per outing across 12 games played off the bench for a Gators team that finished 16-17.

But that role expanded as a sophomore in 2023-24. Aberdeen appeared in 32 of 36 games for Florida as a steady piece off the bench, his minutes fluctuating throughout the season. But his potential showed itself during the postseason as Florida made a surprise run to the SEC Tournament championship game against Auburn. Aberdeen dropped 20 points and four assists in 23 minutes during the semifinals against Texas A&M. He posted six points and three rebounds during 21 minutes in the title game loss to the Tigers.

That end-of-season run laid the groundwork for a sixth man role as a junior on a title team in 2024-25. Aberdeen scored in double-figures 10 times, including a pair of 20-point outings: 22 points at home against South Carolina and 20 points on the road against Mississippi State — both wins for the Gators. He went for 12 points in the Sweet 16 win over Maryland and had seven points and two rebounds in the championship victory over Houston.

But something to pay attention to is the five games he filled in as an emergency starter during the middle of conference play. In those five games (all wins), Aberdeen averaged 14.4 points, 2.6 assists, and 2.4 rebounds in 29.8 minutes per contest on shooting splits of 42.9/41.4/63.2. He turned the ball over just four times during that run while sharing lead guard responsibilities.

Advanced Stat Profile: Denzel Aberdeen

Aberdeen is long and athletic at 6-foot-5. On paper, his three-point shooting against SEC competition this past season (31.7 percent) isn’t great, but the advanced stats show he’s lethal when he’s getting to his comfortable spots. He graded out as an elite spot up scorer in 2024-25 with some good catch-and-shoot numbers. While not necessarily considered a pure point guard, he was more than capable of running Florida’s offense when asked.

Stat	Final	Ranking
Catch and Shoot	55 Effective Field Goal %	76th Percentile Nationally
Ball Screen Handler	0.85 Points Per Possession	69th Percentile Nationally
Spot Up	1.2 Points Per Possession	90th Percentile Nationally

What the advanced stats don’t show, however, is what Aberdeen brings on the defensive end of the floor. Whatever he lacks on the offensive side is made up for on defense. He brings more physicality to Kentucky’s roster, which was sorely missed during Pope’s first run, and should be another plus-defender in the backcourt.

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