This season’s Florida basketball team is chock full of talent but there is one particular player who stands out from the rest.
Sophomore guard Riley Kugel out of Orlando is one of the more coveted players in college basketball this season based sheerly on his athleticism — but he also has an extra gear on the court that separates him from the pack.
As such, he was mentioned in The Athletic’s top 20 college basketball wings for 2023-24 put together by Sam Vecenie. The talented 6-foot-5-inch, 207-pound wing earned the No. 12 spot on the list.
“Kugel is one of the higher upside swings in this college basketball season,” Vecenie begins. “On one hand, he has all of the tools to be among the best scorers in the country… When you watch him, you say to yourself that he just moves like an NBA scoring guard moves, with grace blended with real force and explosiveness.
“Those tools came together nicely after Colin Castleton got injured to finish last season, as Kugel averaged 17.3 points on 49.6% from the field and 39.6% from the three-point line over his final 10 games,” he continued.
“The problem is that Florida lost seven of those 10, and Kugel often did things a bit more on his terms as opposed to the team’s at times. That was a necessity; the team needed someone to step up and be a legitimate scorer. But it also raised some questions about how exactly it’ll look on a Florida team that seems primed to take a big step forward in Todd Golden’s second season.
“Kugel will be paired with Walter Clayton Jr. (whom the buzz is palpable about in Gainesville right now) and Zyon Pullin, in addition to a deep frontcourt and talented wing Will Richard.
“Can Kugel get better at playing within himself when the time calls for it, as well as just making the right reads consistently in terms of passing and creating for others?” Vecenie ponders. “That’s the key to Florida’s season. If Kugel takes a leap in terms of his feel for the game and the way he reads the court, this has potential to be a legitimate top-25 team. If he doesn’t, things could get a bit clunky on offense,” Vecenie notes.
“I’m betting on the talent here by ranking Kugel this high. I’m betting he averages over 15 points per game and makes at least second-team All-SEC.”
So far this season he has played in all eight games, averaging 13.9 points and 4.3 rebounds in 29.5 minutes per game, shooting 43.3% from the floor (36.8% from beyond the arc) and just 64.8% from the charity stripe.
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