Jason Jitoboh should provide valuable size and depth to Florida as a junior

Jason Jitoboh worked on his conditioning during the offseason and is ready to get back into the Gators’ rotation.

Name: Jason Jitoboh

Number: 33

Position: Center

Class: Junior

Height: 6’11”

Weight: 305 lbs

Hometown: Abuja, Nigeria

High School: Hamilton Heights (Tenn.)

2020-21 Stats:

GP MIN FG% 3P% FT% REB AST BLK STL PF TO PTS
12 3.7 55.6 0.0 50.0 0.6 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.8 0.2 0.9

Overview: 

Jason Jitoboh was the only true center on Florida’s roster for the shortened 2020-21 season, but the former three-star recruit wound up sitting out of more games than he played in as a sophomore.

After a promising finish to his freshman season backing up Kerry Blackshear Jr., Jitoboh struggled with his weight and fell out of the rotation. He’d finish his second season at Florida with just 11 total points over 12 games.

Forward Colin Castleton took on the starting big man role for the Gators after transferring from Michigan, and Omar Payne once again finished the year ahead of Jitoboh in the rotation.

Both of Jitoboh’s best games in 2020-21 were against Tennessee. In a regular-season win over the Vols, he played a season-high 13 minutes and pulled in three rebounds. Jitoboh’s season-high in points (5) came in a second-round exit of the SEC tournament for Florida.

If Jitoboh can keep himself well-conditioned as a junior, he should be able to back up Colin Castleton and fight for minutes against bigger teams. Payne transferred to Illinois, so that’s one less big man to compete with.

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