The offseason has been a wild one for Florida’s men’s basketball team, which saw a mass departure of players after it bowed out of the NCAA Tournament against the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles. However, since the exodus began, Mike White and his staff have been hustling and bustling on the transfer portal market, landing some talent that could make next year’s squad better than last.
Despite only bringing in one prep recruit in the 2021 class — four-star guard Kowacie Reeves — the Gators have fully reloaded thanks to an unprecedented transfer portal market due to rule changes in response to the COVID pandemic. Considering that the program was buoyed by two transfers last season as well — forward Anthony Duruji and center Colin Castleton — it is safe to say that coach White has a good feel for this angle of talent acquisition.
On Thursday, CBS Sports writer David Cobb listed his five winners from the transfer portal party this offseason, which included Florida among the programs he is most impressed with. Here is what Cobb had to say about the Gators when it comes to the player shuffle they have had to deal with.
The Gators have hauled in a low-key impressive group of transfers that should provide a defensive boost while replacing the departing production of guards Tre Mann, Noah Locke and Scottie Lewis. Headlining the group in terms of potential name recognition is Penn State transfer Myreon Jones, who averaged 15.3 points on 39.3% 3-point shooting in 2019-20. It’s easy to envision Jones’ Big Ten production translating to the SEC.
Underrated in coach Mike White’s transfer haul, though, are Charleston Southern transfer Phlandrous Fleming and Kansas City transfer Brandon McKissic. Both are super seniors who were big-time scoring guards at their previous stops. Both were also the defensive players of the year in their prior conferences, and that’s where this group could help Florida improve the most.
The Gators were an average defensive team last season, ranking sixth in the SEC in points allowed during league contests and 41st nationally in defensive efficiency at KenPom. Those figures are not good enough for a program with lofty expectations, and it’s no coincidence that Florida’s deepest postseason run under White (the Elite Eight in 2017) came when the Gators ranked fifth in defensive efficiency and were second in the SEC in points allowed. Jones, Fleming and McKissic are each quality defenders who should shore up the Gators on the perimeter.
Throw in 6-foot-7 Boston College transfer forward CJ Felder, who averaged 2.2 blocks per game last season, along with the potential return of star forward Keyontae Johnson, and it looks like the Gators can be a top-20 defensive team nationally next season. — David Cobb
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