Tag: riley kugel

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

Florida’s standout sophomore wing among The Athletic’s 20 best

Florida’s Riley Kugel is among the top 15 wings in college basketball this season, per The Athletic.

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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Florida guard Riley Kugel voted to preseason first-team All-SEC

A UF guard was named to the preseason All-SEC first team in the latest coaches poll

The Florida Gators tip off their season in less than three days and coaches in the SEC college basketball realm voted which players are destined to break out in 2023.

Florida guard [autotag]Riley Kugel[/autotag] is returning to the starting five this season, and is set up to lead the Gators to a turnaround season.

Kugel was an important weapon last season, replacing the production role after forward Colin Castleton was ruled out for the season with a broken right hand.

The Orlando, Florida native averaged 9.9 points a game while racking up 12.6 points against SEC opponents.

Head coach Todd Golden said in a press conference at the end of last season that Kugel did more than well when it came to taking over the leadership role.

“Riley had done a really good job in his role being efficient,” Golden said. “And now, you know, he’s asked to use even more possessions, which is hard to do.”

Kugel and the Florida Gators will attempt to make an opening impression against the Loyola Greyhounds on Nov. 6. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network+.

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Florida Men’s Basketball Previews: Guards

The college basketball season is almost ready to tipoff, so let’s take a look at all of the guards on Florida’s 2023-24 roster.

The 2023-24 men’s college basketball season starts on Monday, Nov. 6, for Florida against Loyola Maryland, and the roster looks a bit different than it did in Year 1 under Todd Golden.

The program lost several players to the pros and transfer portal, but Golden and his staff worked hard to secure the return of at least one player and brought in some talented replacements.

Riley Kugel and Will Richard are the two familiar names on the roster, but it’s the players behind them that will decide close games for the Gators this year.

Here’s a look at every guard on the 2023-24 Florida men’s basketball roster.

Florida shooting guard Riley Kugel makes Jerry West Award watch list

This Florida Gators shooting guard was added to the Jerry West Award watch list on Tuesday ahead of tipoff for the 2023 season.

Florida men’s basketball season is just beyond the horizon and fans are eagerly awaiting the opening tip.

Head coach Todd Golden returns to the bench for his second year after an early bounce from the NIT, no thanks to the UCF Knights. The 2023-24 squad is young and formidable, and there are seven transfers helping to fill space on the roster.

One of the young weapons who’s expected to make an immediate impact is sophomore shooting guard [autotag]Riley Kugel[/autotag]. The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame has high expectations for the Orlando, Florida, native, adding his name to the Jerry West Award watch list for the season.

The award is given to the best-performing shooting guard of the season and Kugel joins a watch list with 19 other guards in Division I basketball.

Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame president John L. Doleva says the list was carefully chosen by a committee of top college basketball personnel.

“Each of the student-athletes nominated for the 2024 Jerry West Award has the same skillset that made Jerry West a household name, and they should be very proud of this accomplishment,” Doleva said.  “Our committee, alongside Jerry, is honored to watch this exceptional group and work together to narrow down the list as the season progresses.”

Kugel adds to a list of accolades amassed over short time. The sophomore earned a second-team All-SEC nod last week and collected SEC All-Freshman Honors in 2022.

The Florida begins its season on Nov. 6 against the Loyola Marymount Greyhounds inside the the O’Connell Center. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. EDT and will broadcast on the SEC Network+.

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