Tag: Anthony Duruji

Florida hoops loses forward CJ Felder indefinitely

CJ Felder is taking some time away from the Florida basketball team, according to head coach Todd Golden.

Florida men’s basketball head coach [autotag]Todd Golden[/autotag] said that forward [autotag]CJ Felder[/autotag] would be away from the team for an indefinite period of time on Friday during his media availability.

Although the reason for Felder’s leave of absence is unknown, Golden made sure to clarify that Florida wasn’t punishing him in any way. In fact, reports from 247Sports’ Graham Hall and Jacob Rudner suggest that Florida didn’t want Felder to leave the team and that the decision was personal.

Golden remarked that the door was left open for Felder’s return if he wanted to, but the expectation is that he will be out for the remainder of the season. He’s not expected to be on the bench for Saturday’s contest against No. 20 Missouri.

Felder began the 2022-23 campaign as Florida’s starting power forward but slowly lost the job to [autotag]Alex Fudge[/autotag]. After averaging just under 17 minutes a game as a starter, Felder’s playtime was cut in half to 8:45 a game off the bench. Most recently, he played just two minutes for the Gators against Georgia.

He spent the first two years of his college career at Boston College before transferring to UF. He served as a rotational big man for the Gators in 2021-22 under Mike White with [autotag]Anthony Duruji[/autotag] ahead of him. Felder was supposed to be a major player for Golden in Year 1 but that hasn’t come together.

With Felder gone, the Gators will move forward with Fudge as the starter and look to utilize a small-ball lineup when necessary. It’s been tricky for Golden to get [autotag]Kowacie Reeves[/autotag] and [autotag]Will Richard[/autotag] playing time, so he may look to utilize some of their length at the four spot with Felder away.

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Todd Golden lands first transfer commitment as Florida’s head coach

Todd Golden got his guy. Welcome to the Swamp, Will Richard!

Former Belmont guard [autotag]Will Richard[/autotag] announced his commitment to the Florida Gators on Saturday.

Richard becomes the first player to commit to new head coach [autotag]Todd Golden[/autotag] after picking the Gators over Clemson, Georgia Tech and Wake Forest. As a freshman, Richard started 30 of 33 games averaging 12.1 points and 6 rebounds per game. His best scoring performance (22 points) came in an NIT loss to Vanderbilt.

The 6-foot-5-inch, 195-pounder entered the portal on March 22 and Golden immediately got to work. The two spoke daily until Richard finally made it to campus on April 7, and the decision came shortly after that trip.

Richard’s commitment comes on the heels of [autotag]Tyree Appleby[/autotag]’s decision to transfer from UF for his final year of eligibility. [autotag]Tuongthach Gatkek[/autotag] also hit the portal and [autotag]Anthony Duruji[/autotag] declared for the NBA draft. Golden is still working on getting [autotag]Colin Castelton[/autotag] to return, but Florida needs help from the transfer portal to turn things around.

Landing Richards is a good start. He’s one of the more productive names in the portal and figures to be the primary ball-handler for the Gators next season. Pairing him with [autotag]Kowacie Reeves[/autotag] would give Golden a talented duo in the backcourt to work with.

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Report: Florida basketball forward Tuongthach Gatkek enters NCAA transfer portal

Florida basketball forward Tuongthach Gatkek joined guard Tyree Appleby in the NCAA transfer portal on Thursday.

Florida men’s basketball lost another player from last season’s roster on Thursday. On3’s Matt Zenitz reported that forward [autotag]Tuongthach Gatkek[/autotag] entered his name into the NCAA transfer portal. He’s the third departure the program has suffered this offseason. Guard [autotag]Tyree Appleby[/autotag] submitted his name to the portal on Monday and [autotag]Anthony Duruji[/autotag] declared for the NBA draft, forgoing his fifth year of eligibility.

Gatkek was a late addition to the 2021-22 roster. Florida added him in mid-August after one year at Trinity Valley Community College in Texas. He played in 21 games mainly due to the time starting center Colin Castleton missed this season.

Coming into the season, Gatkek was a redshirt candidate because of how late he arrived on campus. He quickly carved out a role for himself as Florida lacked depth in the frontcourt.

New head coach [autotag]Todd Golden[/autotag] has his work cut out for him as he tries to retool the roster for next season. Florida has already made contact with several players in the transfer portal and should stay active throughout the spring and summer.

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Florida basketball’s Anthony Duruji declares for NBA draft

Florida forward Anthony Duruji announced Friday that he will declare for the NBA draft and forgo the rest of his college eligibility.

New head coach Todd Golden is set to see another player from Florida’s roster last season not return. Gators forward [autotag]Anthony Duruji[/autotag] announced on Friday that he will declare for the NBA draft on Friday and will forgo the rest of his college eligibility.

“First, I would like to express my gratitude and say how grateful I am for my time at Florida,” Duruji wrote on Twitter. “I’m thankful for Coach White and the whole coaching staff for giving me the opportunity to further my college career. Huge thank you to Gator Nation & the community of Gainesville. I am blessed to have found my wife and become a Gator graduate. I have gained such great relationships and memories that will last a lifetime.”

He also thanked his teammates, mentors and advisers that have helped him along the way before announcing his intention to enter the NBA draft.

Duruji spent the past two seasons with the Gators after he started his college career at Louisiana Tech. He finished his career at Florida, averaging 7.4 points, 4.2 rebounds and 0.5 blocks per game. In his final season, Duruji posted an average of 8.6 points and 4.1 rebounds per game.

His departure likely won’t be the last player for Florida and Golden this offseason. Center [autotag]Colin Castleton[/autotag] could elect to take the same route as Duruji after he tested the NBA waters last offseason. Point guard [autotag]Tyree Appleby[/autotag] plans to use his fifth year of eligibility but isn’t sure where yet.

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Gators’ Anthony Duruji to sit out versus Bulldogs

The Gators play shorthanded against the Dawgs today.

The Gators will be without starting power forward and backup center Anthony Duruji during Saturday’s matchup against the Georgia Bulldogs. The cause is an ankle injury, though it’s unclear whether this is a new issue or a nagging one.

Head coach Mike White has leaned heavily on Duruji during the forward’s two seasons with the Gators. Asked to fill the shoes of injured star Keyontae Johnson during his first year of eligibility, he made enough of an impression on the team to earn the starting job again this year despite having a tough competitor for the job in CJ Felder.

Duruji’s role has expanded due to injury again this season, playing backup center minutes to fill in for Jason Jitoboh. Though he isn’t as tall as starting center Colin Castleton or third-stringer Tuon Gatkek, he is spectacularly athletic and is able to make up for the lack of height with vertical explosiveness and an intuition for blocking.

Felder is taking Duruji’s place in the starting lineup against Georgia. Felder has one of the highest defensive ceilings of any player on the Gators but has struggled to get minutes on the court despite that fact. He was given his first start of the season in the Texas A&M game and put up seven points despite only being given 16 minutes, a total lower than five other players.

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Aggregate NBA mock draft 3.0: Jabari Smith leaps ahead of Paolo Banchero, Chet Holmgren for No. 1

The best prospects in the world are all competing for the top spot in the 2022 NBA draft and it is hard to sort how everyone is stacking up.

The best prospects in the world are all competing for the top spot in the 2022 NBA draft and it is hard to sort how everyone is stacking up.

In order to help us get a better sense of where all of the projected top prospects in the class stand as of right now, we compiled mock drafts from Draft Express (ESPN), Aran Smith (NBADraft.net), Sam Vecenie (The Athletic), Jonathan Wasserman (Bleacher Report), Jeremy Woo (Sports Illustrated), Krysten Peek (Yahoo), Matt Babcock (Basketball News) as well as USA TODAY Sports Media Group’s For The Win.

Please note that these rankings reflect the composite score in order to get a feel for consensus, not our own opinion. Predictions for a first overall pick earned a player 58 points while the second overall pick earned 57 points, the third overall earned 56 points, and so on.

Johnny Davis (Wisconsin), Jeremy Sochan (Baylor), Harrison Ingram (Stanford), EJ Liddell (Ohio State), Wendell Moore (Duke), Blake Wesley (Notre Dame), and Walker Kessler (Auburn) have improved their draft stock the most since our most recent update last month.

The most notable prospects making their debut on our rankings are Tari Eason (LSU), Aminu Mohammed (Georgetown), Dereon Seabron (NC State), Christian Braun (Kansas), Trevion Williams (Purdue) and Orlando Robinson (Fresno State).

Some of the top prospects who were not included in any of these most recent mock drafts include Matthew Cleveland (Florida State), Azuolas Tubelis (Arizona), Max Abmas (Oral Roberts), Kofi Cockburn (Illinois), Alex Fudge (LSU), Buddy Boeheim (Syracuse), Josh Minott (Memphis) and Kadary Richmond (Seton Hall).

Otherwise, you can learn the latest updates on every single prospect who has been included in recent mock drafts by scrolling below.

HoopsHype’s Alberto de Roa contributed research to this report

Aggregate NBA mock draft 3.0: Jabari Smith leaps ahead of Paolo Banchero, Chet Holmgren for No. 1

The best prospects in the world are all competing for the top spot in the 2022 NBA draft and it is hard to sort how everyone is stacking up.

In order to help us get a better sense of where all of the projected top prospects in the class stand as of right now, we compiled mock drafts from Draft Express (ESPN), Aran Smith (NBADraft.net), Sam Vecenie (The Athletic), Jonathan Wasserman (Bleacher Report), Jeremy Woo (Sports Illustrated), Krysten Peek (Yahoo), Matt Babcock (Basketball News) as well as USA TODAY Sports Media Group’s For The Win.

Please note that these rankings reflect the composite score in order to get a feel for consensus, not our own opinion. Predictions for a first overall pick earned a player 58 points while the second overall pick earned 57 points, the third overall earned 56 points, and so on.

Johnny Davis (Wisconsin), Jeremy Sochan (Baylor), Harrison Ingram (Stanford), EJ Liddell (Ohio State), Wendell Moore (Duke), Blake Wesley (Notre Dame), and Walker Kessler (Auburn) have improved their draft stock the most since our most recent update last month.

The most notable prospects making their debut on our rankings are Tari Eason (LSU), Aminu Mohammed (Georgetown), Dereon Seabron (NC State), Christian Braun (Kansas), Trevion Williams (Purdue) and Orlando Robinson (Fresno State).

Some of the top prospects who were not included in any of these most recent mock drafts include Matthew Cleveland (Florida State), Azuolas Tubelis (Arizona), Max Abmas (Oral Roberts), Kofi Cockburn (Illinois), Alex Fudge (LSU), Buddy Boeheim (Syracuse), Josh Minott (Memphis) and Kadary Richmond (Seton Hall).

Otherwise, you can learn the latest updates on every single prospect who has been included in recent mock drafts by scrolling below.

HoopsHype’s Alberto de Roa contributed research to this report

2022 NBA Draft Big Board 1.0: Debut rankings of the top 101 prospects

Let’s be honest. Ranking the best NBA draft prospects is a fool’s errand. But evaluating this class is an especially challenging assignment.

Let’s be honest. Ranking the best NBA draft prospects is a fool’s errand. But evaluating this class is an especially challenging assignment.

One of the top pre-season prospects (Patrick Baldwin Jr.) is playing for a mid-major program that has just two wins so far this season. Other top prospects (AJ Griffin and Peyton Watson) are not getting much playing time for their high-major programs. Meanwhile, guard Jean Montero is playing in the inaugural Overtime Elite league. How do we compare his productivity to other prospects? I’m frankly not sure.

But nevertheless, my big board exists. Rather than going small, I decided to blow it up and do the opposite. Why did I go ahead and rank 101 prospects if this class has been so challenging to evaluate? There are two distinct reasons.

One is that I’m absolutely crazy and get a very fulfilling satisfaction with the completion of a mock draft and big board because it feels complete. It looks awesome seeing as many names as I can fit on one article, even if the science behind the rankings is a bit inconclusive.

The other reason is that as I make more big boards throughout the year, it’s interesting to track the progress (and regression) of certain prospects. I am inevitably wrong about most of these placements! But this article serves as a barometer for where I feel certain players are at in their development right now.

Note that several notable prospects (e.g. freshmen Max Christie, Matthew Cleveland, Nolan Hickman, Hunter Sallis, Brandon Huntley-Hatfield, Jeremy Sochan, Kobe Bufkin) were excluded because I expect them to go back to school to improve their draft stock.

More likely than not, some of those players will declare for the 2022 NBA draft. When that happens, I obviously will not have them outside of my top 101.

Until then, as we prepare to turn the calendar into a new year, here are the debut rankings for 101 of my favorite prospects.

All stats are accurate as of Dec. 14 and are from Sports-Reference unless noted otherwise.

Aggregate NBA mock draft 2.0: Paolo Banchero, Chet Holmgren, Jabari Smith battle for No. 1

In order to help us get a better sense of where all of the projected top prospects in the class stand as of right now, we compiled mock drafts from ESPN, NBADraft.net, CBS Sports, The Athletic, Bleacher Report, Sports Illustrated, Yahoo, Basketball News and USA TODAY Sports Media Group’s For The Win.

Please note that these rankings reflect the composite score to get a feel for consensus, not our own opinion.

Since our last update, the players who have improved the most spots are Ismael Kamagate (Paris), Moussa Diabate (Michigan), Azuolas Tubelis (Arizona), Hugo Besson (New Zealand), Efe Abogidi (Washington State),  Iverson Molinar (Mississippi State), Justin Lewis (Marquette), Max Christie (Michigan State), EJ Liddell (Ohio State), and Ochai Agbaji (Kansas).

The most notable prospects making their debut on our rankings are Trevor Keels (Duke), Bryce McGowens (Nebraska), MarJon Beauchamp (G League Ignite), Keon Ellis (Alabama), Christian Koloko (Arizona), Wendell Moore (Duke), Blake Wesley (Notre Dame),  Josh Minott (Memphis), Zach Edey (Purdue), and Johnny Davis (Wisconsin).

Some of the top prospects who did not make the cut this time included Hunter Sallis (Gonzaga), Brandon Huntley-Hatfield (Tennesse), Kobe Bufkin (Michigan), Mouhamed Gueye (Washington State), Jahvon Quinerly (Albama), Adam Flagler (Baylor), Jaylin Williams (Auburn), Matthieu Gauzin (Le Mans), Isaiah Wong (Miami), Marcus Williams (Texas A&M), and Tyson Etienne (Wichita State).

Otherwise, you can learn the latest updates on every single prospect who has been included in recent mock drafts by scrolling below.

HoopsHype’s Alberto de Roa contributed research to this report