Florida basketball lands this top-50 prospect for its 2022 class

The Gators snagged this top-50 recruit from the Mississippi State Bulldogs.

Florida basketball’s recruiting efforts were bleak this offseason after a pair of top prospects reneged on their commitments to find greener pastures elsewhere. The turnover from the [autotag]Mike White[/autotag] to the [autotag]Todd Golden[/autotag] era has not helped at all, but the former was not exactly setting the world on fire with his recruiting efforts either before the latter arrived.

Fortunately, Golden has managed to steady the ship as it traverses rough waters and his latest coup will certainly help the program set its course. On Monday, shooting guard Riley Kugel out of Dr. Phillips High in Orlando, Florida, committed to playing in the O’Connell Center for his collegiate career according to his post on Twitter.

According to On3, he picked the Gators “because (he) feel(s) like it will be the best place for me to develop myself and get to where I want to be in these next few years. And of course, it’s HOME.” With just an hour and a half separating Gainesville and Orlando, it is easy to see why he feels the way he does.

Jamie Shaw, On3’s national recruiting analyst, offered the following scouting report.

“At 6-5, Kugel has long arms and a physically developed frame. He is comfortable on the ball, showcasing great vision to set up his teammates and his jump shot extends well beyond the arc. His explosion has become a weapon as he gets past his man and is a threat to get on the rim when he touches the paint. Plays with a competitive fire. Good in the passing lanes. Three-level scorer.”

Kugel ranks No. 78 overall and No. 8 at his position nationally, according to the 247Sports Composite, while the On3 Consensus has him a Nos. 46 and 5, respectively. He joins high school teammate Denzel Aberdeen, who was the previous lone commit remaining, in the 2022 UF recruiting class.

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