After news broke of [autotag]Kowacie Reeves[/autotag] departing the Florida Gators on Thursday, Kevin Brockway of the Gainesville Sun is reporting that guard [autotag]Niels Lane[/autotag] is also on his way out of the program.
Lane is the second Gator to enter the NCAA transfer portal just a day after UF fell to UCF in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament. The departure was relatively expected by fans after Lane appeared in just 14 of Florida’s 33 games this season. He finished the season averaging 2.4 points per game and 1.2 rebounds per game while playing just under nine minutes a game.
This season served as a major step back for Lane after he carved out a role as a defensive specialist under Mike White during his junior year. Todd Golden never seemed to be interested in making the most of Lane and it showed in him getting a third of the playing time he did last year.
With the departures of Lane and Reeves, Florida is running thin on players for the 2023-24 season. [autotag]Colin Castleton[/autotag], [autotag]Myreon Jones[/autotag] and [autotag]Kyle Lofton[/autotag] are all out of eligibility, and [autotag]Jason Jitoboh[/autotag] and [autotag]CJ Felder[/autotag] are both wrapping up their fourth year with the program. A COVID waiver could extend their college careers, but the offseason should still see plenty of turnover.
Lane will get a chance to prove himself elsewhere as a senior. He never really lived up to his four-star status in Gainesville, but things could be different after a fresh start.
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