At the conclusion of the 2020-21 season, things were looking grim for Florida. A total of six players left the program, with Scottie Lewis and Tre Mann declaring for the draft with agents and Noah Locke, Omar Payne, Ques Glover and Osayi Osifo entering the transfer portal. That number could become seven if Colin Castleton, who declared for the draft without an agent, decides to remain in the draft.
That’s a stunning amount of turnover for any time, but it’s almost unheard of for one coming off an NCAA Tournament appearance with no change at the head coach position. The Gators looked to be in dire straits with serious questions about who would even play next year.
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The team was always going to be very aggressive on the transfer market; it had to be just to fill its roster. But it would’ve been hard to predict the Gators would be so successful. So far, they’ve landed three top transfers: Penn State guard Myreon Jones, Missouri-Kansas City guard Brandon McKissic and Boston College forward C.J. Felder.
With this haul, UF finds itself squarely in the “winners” category in CBS Sports’ breakdown of the winners and losers of the transfer portal.
Sharpshooter Noah Locke and role players Omar Payne and Ques Glover are in the portal as departures for Florida, but the Gators appear to have upgraded with what’s coming in. Penn State guard Myreon Jones is the headliner so far after averaging 15.3 points on 39.5% 3-point shooting for the Nittany Lions this season. Kansas City transfer guard Brandon McKissic is also a good get for coach Mike White after he averaged 17.2 points on 50.8% shooting in his fourth college season. Boston College forward CJ Felder should more than atone for Payne’s departure after he averaged 9.7 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.2 blocks in 19 games for the Eagles this season.
Florida is going to look a lot different next season, but they reload with what should be a talented roster once again. The Gators will hope this is the formula for finally getting past the first weekend of the tournament for the first time since 2017.
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