Tag: riley kugel

Gators drop a spot in CBS Sports early basketball power rankings

Florida basketball slipped out of the top 20 in CBS Sports’ most recent top 25 and 1 rankings.

The college basketball transfer portal continues to be active despite the closure of the entry process as the remaining prospects seek greener pastures at other schools.

CBS Sports writer Gary Parrish has been updating his college basketball top 25-and-1 rankings during the offseason, accounting for the portal coups along the way, and has the Florida Gators among his top teams in the nation.

The Orange and Blue have been bouncing around in the lower half of the rankings but have held tightly to the No. 20 spot over the last few updates. However, Parrish dropped [autotag]Todd Golden[/autotag]’s gang a spot in this one to No. 21 after some changes in the teams ahead of them.

“This ranking is based on Todd Golden’s Gators returning six of the top nine scorers — everybody besides [autotag]Zyon Pullin[/autotag], [autotag]Tyrese Samuel[/autotag] and [autotag]Riley Kugel[/autotag] — from a team that secured a No. 7 seed in the 2024 NCAA Tournament,” his blurb reads, unchanged from weeks before.

“The transfer-portal additions of [autotag]Alijah Martin[/autotag] (FAU) and [autotag]Sam Alexis[/autotag] (Chattanooga) give Florida a pair of productive mid-major pieces, the former of whom helped Florida Atlantic make the 2023 Final Four.”

Florida ranks No. 31 in 247Sports’ college basketball transfer rankings having collected a trio of four-star recruits from the portal.

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Florida basketball slips a spot in latest CBS Sports too-early rankings

The Gators are still a top-20 team in the top 25-and-1 rankings from CBS Sports.

College basketball is not exactly on the forefront of the national sports picture but there is always someone out there tracking the preseason progress of the top teams. CBS Sports writer Gary Parrish has been publishing his top 25-and-1 rankings on a weekly basis and has included the Florida Gators in all of his updates so far.

This time around, however, the Gators fell a notch from their spot in last week’s update, landing at No. 20 out of 26 ranked schools. The Orange and Blue are one of seven Southeastern Conference schools listed, including the Alabama Crimson Tide (No. 8), Auburn Tigers (No. 10), Texas A&M Aggies (No. 11), Tennessee Volunteers (No. 16), Texas Longhorns (No. 21) and Arkansas Razorbacks (No. 23).

“This ranking is based on Todd Golden’s Gators returning six of the top nine scorers — everybody besides [autotag]Zyon Pullin[/autotag], [autotag]Tyrese Samuel[/autotag] and [autotag]Riley Kugel[/autotag] — from a team that secured a No. 7 seed in the 2024 NCAA Tournament,” his blurb still reads.

“The transfer-portal additions of [autotag]Alijah Martin[/autotag] (FAU) and [autotag]Sam Alexis[/autotag] (Chattanooga) give Florida a pair of productive mid-major pieces, the former of whom helped Florida Atlantic make the 2023 Final Four.”

Florida ranks No. 28 in 247Sports’ college basketball transfer rankings having collected a trio of four-star recruits from the portal.

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Former Gators guard transfer won’t play for Kansas, returns to portal

The erstwhile member of the Orange and Blue had committed to the Kansas Jayhawks, but it appears that those plans have fallen through.

The schadenfreude is thick in the air for the Gator Nation on Wednesday afternoon after a report that former Florida basketball guard [autotag]Riley Kugel[/autotag] will once again return to the NCAA transfer portal.

The erstwhile member of the Orange and Blue had committed to the Kansas Jayhawks, but it appears that those plans have fallen through. CBS Sports senior writer Matt Norlander reported that the once highly-heralded recruit out of Dr. Phillips in Orlando, Florida, was in limbo with his new program before the news was announced.

Head coach Bill Self told NCAA digital reporter Andy Katz on Monday that Kugel’s future was “up in the air” and it appears that the chickens have finally come home to roost for the Sunshine State product.

So back to the open market Kugel goes with a somewhat tarnished reputation but still plenty of options available. Still, it has been a precipitous fall for the former four-star prospect after earning First Team All-SEC honors ahead of the 2023-24 campaign as well as NBA draft projections.

Hopefully, he lands somewhere where he can rebuild his stock and his confidence. It will not be in Lawrence, Kansas, however.

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Florida transfer guard Riley Kugel won’t join Kansas after all

Former Florida guard Riley Kugel will reenter the transfer portal after initially committing to Bill Self and the Kansas Jayhawks.

Former Florida Gators guard Riley Kugel will no longer play for the Kansas Jayhawks next season and is already being recruited by other programs, according to a report from Matt Norlander at CBS.

Kansas head coach Bill Self indicated Kugel’s future with the Jayhawks was up in the air on Monday during a conversation with NCAA reporter Andy Katz, and indeed it looks like the rising junior guard will look elsewhere for the 2024-25 season.

Kugel was the first marquee transfer portal addition made by Self this offseason, committing to Lawrence after two solid seasons with the Gators in the SEC.

A promising freshman campaign (9.9 points, 2.8 rebounds, 37.6% from three) led many to believe Kugel was due for a massive breakout as a sophomore in 2023-24, but instead his performance regressed slightly. He averaged 9.2 points and 3.5 rebounds, but his three point percentage dropped to 31.2% and his two point percentage went from 50.3% as a freshman to 44.7% last year.

After landing Kugel, Kansas subsequently secured commitments from South Dakota State wing Zeke Mayo, Wisconsin forward AJ Storr, and Alabama guard Rylan Griffen, and those additions meant Kugel wouldn’t get the amount of playing time he initially expected.

Now he’ll once again look for another opportunity on the open market, and should receive plenty of interest from programs looking to add to their guard rotation for next season.

Former Florida guard commits to Kansas on Easter

The Kansas Jayhawks added a talented guard from the SEC on Sunday.

The Kansas Jayhawks had a disappointing year by their standards after they were bounced in the second round of the NCAA Tournament by Gonzaga. One of the big issues was losing top scorer Kevin McCullar prior to the tournament getting underway. As head coach Bill Self looks to build for next year’s team, he already scored a major win in the transfer portal.

On Easter Sunday, former Florida Gators guard Riley Kugel announced that he would be heading to Lawrence for next season. Kugel posted his decision on X, formerly Twitter. In the post you can see a couple of photos of him wearing Kansas gear as a child. Apparently, it was always meant to be for Kugel.

The former Florida guard was listed as the No. 9 point guard in the transfer portal and No. 39 player overall by 247Sports. Coming out of high school in the 2022 cycle, Kugel was a four-star prospect and No. 56 nationally. This gives Self a good start to build around his 2024-25 roster.

Kugel is one of four newcomers to the 2024 class. He is joined by five-star center Flory Bidunga, four-star point guard Labaron Philon, and four-star shooting guard Rakease Passmore. All of who signed out of high school recently.

With the Gators, Kugel averaged 9.5 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in 65 career games with Florida.

Kansas Jayhawks who won’t return

The following players won’t join the roster next season as each are out of college eligibility.

  • Kevin McCullar Jr, Texas Tech Transfer
  • Parker Braun, Santa Clara Transfer
  • Nicolas Timberlake, Towson Transfer

Kansas Jayhawks who could return

No players have announced yet if they will return but here is the list of players who could return. With the three signees and one transfer, that would leave the team with one open scholarship spot on the team due to NCAA penalties.

  • Hunter Dickinson, Center
  • Dajuan Harris Jr, Guard
  • Johnny Furphy, Guard
  • Jamari McDowell, Guard
  • Elmarko Jackson, Guard
  • KJ Adams Jr., Forward
  • Zach Clemence, Forward

Kansas lands commitment from ex-Florida guard Riley Kugel

Former Florida Gators shooting guard Riley Kugel is headed to the Big 12 and will spend his junior year as a Kansas Jayhawk.

Florida Gators guard Riley Kugel announced his transfer commitment to the Kansas Jayhawks on Easter Sunday, posting the news to his Instagram feed.

Kugel announced his decision to transfer on March 27 and narrowed down his options to Kansas, Arizona, Houston and UConn two days later.

Over two seasons with Florida, Kugel averaged 9.5 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.2 assists over 65 games. He only started 28 of those games, moving to the bench early on this year before falling further out of favor.

Coming into the 2023-24 season, Kugel had NBA draft hopes, but he never looked comfortable running Todd Golden’s offense. The talent is there. His transfer portal offers make that apparent, but there’s going to be pressure to help Kansas bounce back from a down year.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C5MAV2iRbhk/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA%3D%3D

Kugel’s departure is the only transfer portal movement Florida has seen this offseason; although, Golden is actively pursuing players in the portal. The portal additions Golden made last offseason were a huge part of Florida’s success this season, but many of those players need to be replaced once again.

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Florida G Riley Kugel enters transfer portal, names top 4

Florida guard Riley Kugel is entering the transfer portal, and he has already narrowed things down to four elite teams.

Florida sophomore guard [autotag]Riley Kugel[/autotag] announced his intentions to enter the transfer portal on Wednesday, and he already has a top four — Arizona,  Connecticut, Houston and Kansas.

“I’m thankful to all of Gator Nation for nothing but love and support over these past two years,” Kugel said in his transfer portal announcement. “It’s been fun and I appreciate everyone who has supported me through thick and thin.

“I will always be thankful for the bond I have built with my teammates in my freshman and sophomore years.”

Kugel narrowed things down to four schools within 24 hours, but he wasn’t officially in the portal as of his Thursday tweet. Still, there are very low expectations that Todd Golden and the Gators will attempt to bring Kugel back after a failed project this past season.

A potential draft pick coming into the season, Kugel never found his footing under Golden. He missed a few games and ultimately moved into a sixth-man role off the bench before dropping even further down the depth chart. He averaged 9.2 points and 3.5 rebounds per game this season.

The former No. 48 overall recruit and four-star recruit earned SEC All-Freshman honors in 2022-23.

Kugel leaves Florida with 620 career points on 224-of-529 (.423) shooting. He went 69 of 202 (.342) from three-point range and recorded 81 assists.

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Florida’s 3 top scorers discuss win over Auburn on Saturday

Here’s what Florida’s trio of talented guards had to offer following the Gators’s big home win.

Todd Golden triumphed over his mentor Bruce Pearl on Saturday afternoon in Gainesville, with the Florida Gators cruising to an 81-65 victory over the highly-ranked Auburn Tigers. In a game where visitors were slightly favored, the home team made a statement inside the O’Connell Center.

The Orange and Blue went wire-to-wire in this one, running out to an early lead and keeping their feet on the gas until the final 10 minutes. [autotag]Riley Kugel[/autotag] had one of his finer efforts of the season, dropping 22 while [autotag]Walter Clayton Jr[/autotag]. (20) and [autotag]Zyon Pullin[/autotag] (19) joined him with double digits.

The victory was a much-needed Quadrant 1 win, giving Todd Golden’s team their second this season in nine tries. Following the game, the three top scorers spoke with the media scrum; here is what they had to say.

Florida basketball stars talk about win over Arkansas

After crushing Arkansas for their first conference win of the season, Florida’s stars talked about what needs to happen next.

Florida basketball picked up its first conference win of the season on Saturday over Arkansas.

After the victory, guards [autotag]Riley Kugel[/autotag] and [autotag]Will Richard[/autotag] and forward [autotag]Tyrese Samuel[/autotag] spoke to the media. Kugel led all scorers with 20 points off the bench, adding five rebounds, two steals and a block to his stat line. It’s unclear when and if Kugel will return to the starting lineup, but this is a clear improvement from where things were headed.

Meanwhile, Samuel dominated the low post, scoring 17 points on 8-of-13 shooting (1-of-3 from deep) and grabbing 11 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the season. Richard scored 13 points and has been a key piece of the offense for over a month.

Here’s what they said after the 22-point win.

Florida guard Riley Kugel talks East Carolina matchup

Florida star guard Riley Kugel says he’s just finding his groove 10 games into the 2023-24 season, but he’s excited about this team’s chances.

Florida guard Riley Kugel talked to the media ahead of Thursday’s matchup with East Carolina and tackled everything from returning to the Lakeland area to his play on the court the season.

Kugel is third on the team in minutes (29.6) through nine games this season. He’s one of three Gators to start every game this year and is averaging 13.6 points per game.

After flirting with the NBA draft in the offseason, Kugel has stepped up as a team leader, but his offensive output hasn’t been as prolific as expected. Kugel ended the season on an eight-game run where he averaged more than 20 points per game, but he hasn’t quite hit his groove yet in 2023.

Still, Kugel has improved as a defender, facilitator and rebounder. His assists, rebounds and steals are up from last year.

Here is everything Kugel said ahead of Thursday’s game against East Carolina.