Tag: riley kugel

Could Florida’s Riley Kugel be NBA bound this offseason?

Florida guard Riley Kugel only got better as the 2022-23 college basketball season went on, and now he has to decide whether he should stay in school for another year or head to the pros.

Florida head basketball coach Todd Golden has a ton of roster spots to fill heading into Year 2 with the Gators, but it might be keeping the talent that’s already on the roster that proves to be the biggest challenge. A core of [autotag]Riley Kugel[/autotag], [autotag]Alex Fudge[/autotag] and [autotag]Will Richard[/autotag] next season is a decent one to work with, but there are questions about whether or not Kugel will make it back to Florida for another season.

Although he denied transfer rumors a little over three weeks ago, Kugel’s name has continually come up in draft conversations since. There’s little doubt that Kugel has the skill set to play in the association one day, but could that day come as soon as next year?

If Kugel declares, there’s no guarantee he’ll be selected. Returning for another year would give him a chance to continue his development and evolve into a bonafide first-round pick. That said, Kugel has already made incredible strides over just one season at the college level.

“The jump he made within the SEC play was remarkable,” Golden said regarding Kugel’s play down the stretch, according to 247Sports. “Like you don’t see that very often. You know, I think the last eight or nine games he was averaging close to 20 points a game. I mean, just pretty, pretty impressive stuff.”

Kugel averaged 17.3 points per game on 49.6% shooting for Florida to close out the season. He can finish at the rim and shot 45.7% from three-point range late over the final six games of the year.

There are plenty of reasons for NBA teams to be interested in a 19-year-old that shows such promise. Golden and the Gator Collective will pull out all the stops to get him to stay, just as they did to keep [autotag]Colin Castleton[/autotag] a year ago. But, it’s Kugel’s call whether or not he begins his professional career.

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Florida hoops hosting Iona transfer on official visit over weekend

The Gators are getting one of their top targets in the transfer portal on campus this weekend for an official visit.

Florida basketball’s efforts in the transfer portal continued on Friday when the team hosted former Iona guard [autotag]Walter Clayton Jr[/autotag]. on an official visit, according to the New York Post.

Clayton broke out over the last two seasons with the Iona Gaels, averaging 16.8 points per game and shooting an efficient 43.1% from three-point range in 2022-23. He led the country with a 95.3% free-throw percentage as well, making him one of the best shooters on the open market.

Despite entering the portal just a couple of days ago, Clayton is already down to two programs, the University of Florida and St. John’s University. Florida presents an opportunity to play in one of the toughest conferences in the country, and St. John’s is where former Iona coach Rick Pitino is headed after agreeing to a new deal.

“It’s really just between St. John’s and Florida, to be honest,” he said. “My mind is either going back down South or coming with Coach P.”

A reunion with Pitino seems like a tough story to beat, but student-athletes don’t always make decisions based on what their heart wants. The business decision might be going to UF and getting a closer look from pro scouts against tougher competition.

Clayton would immediately jump into the starting lineup with eight players from last year’s Florida team already gone. Right now, [autotag]Denzel Aberdeen[/autotag], [autotag]Alex Fudge[/autotag], [autotag]Alex Klatsky[/autotag], [autotag]Riley Kugel[/autotag], [autotag]Jack May[/autotag], [autotag]Will Richard[/autotag] and [autotag]Aleks Szymczyk[/autotag] remain on the team. Kugel could be selected in the upcoming draft, leaving Richard as the lone guard with playing experience on the team.

Adding a player like Clayton would be massive for Florida. It would give the Gators another scoring option in the backcourt that finished the season with almost twice as many assists as turnovers. UF didn’t exactly have that with [autotag]Kyle Lofton[/autotag] and [autotag]Myreon Jones[/autotag] last season, and both are out of college eligibility anyway.

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PHOTOS: Highlights from Florida basketball’s loss to MSU in SEC Tournament

Here are the highlights from Florida’s SEC Tournament-exiting loss to MSU.

Florida basketball dropped its lonely matchup in the 2023 Southeastern Conference Tournament with a 69-68 overtime loss to the Mississippi State Bulldogs in Game 3 of the second round of play. The Gators fought valiantly without its star center [autotag]Colin Castleton[/autotag], but in the end, MSU had just a little bit more in the tank.

The Orange and Blue was led by [autotag]Riley Kugel[/autotag]’s 14 points along with his six rebounds and two assists. [autotag]Kowacie Reeves[/autotag] and [autotag]Myreon Jones[/autotag] — the latter of whom made some clutch shots down the stretch — both finished with 11 points apiece. Tolu Smith led the Bulldogs with 28 points and 12 rebounds.

Take a look below at the best highlights from Florida’s brief appearance in the 2023 SEC Tournament against the Mississippi State Bulldogs.

This pair of Gators got All-SEC basketball nods

Although his season was cut short, Florida’s Colin Castleton earned All-SEC honors along with freshman Riley Kugel on Monday.

The 2023 college basketball regular season has ended, and the coaches of the Southeastern Conference have voted on who they believe the top players in the league are. Florida had two players featured across the various All-SEC teams released on Monday.

Senior forward [autotag]Colin Castleton[/autotag] made the All-SEC First Team and the All-SEC Defensive Team, and guard [autotag]Riley Kugel[/autotag] made the All-SEC Freshman Team. Castleton’s final year at the collegiate level was cut short on Feb. 15 against Ole Miss when he suffered a broken hand, but he accomplished a lot before the injury.

Castleton led the team in scoring (16.0 points per game) and rebounding (7.7 rebounds), but his defense was the most dominant part of his game. He finished the year ranked fourth in the country with 3.0 blocks per game and climbed to third all-time in program history with 194 rejections. His 2.49 blocks per game are a school record.

Kugel emerged relatively quickly as one of Florida’s best scoring options and he really took off in conference play. He scored in double figures in eight straight games to close the regular season, which is the longest double-figure scoring streak in SEC play by a UF freshman since [autotag]Bradley Beal[/autotag] did it in 2011-12, according to the UAA.

Although Florida is losing Castleton next season, it has a bright, young star in Kugel to build around.

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PHOTOS: Highlights from Florida basketball’s win over LSU Tigers

Take a look at some of the highlights from Florida’s fun finish to the 2022-23 campaign.

Florida basketball closed out Todd Golden’s debut regular-season campaign at the helm of the program with a strong win over the LSU Tigers on Saturday evening inside the O’Connell Center. The win gave the Gators enough to finish above the .500 mark overall at 16-15 overall and even 9-9 record in Southeastern Conference play.

[autotag]Riley Kugel[/autotag] led the Gators’ attack with 21 points along with three rebounds and an assist, while [autotag]Will Richard[/autotag] and [autotag]Kyle Lofton[/autotag] added 18 and 16 points, respectively, to sum up Florida’s players in double digits. Richard also had a team-high six rebounds.

Take a look below at highlights from Florida basketball’s final game of the 2022-23 regular season against its SEC rival, the LSU Tigers.

 

 

PHOTOS: Highlights from Florida basketball’s win at Georgia Bulldogs

Take a look at a few photos from Florida’s Tuesday night win at the Georgia Bulldogs.

Florida basketball snapped its three-game losing streak on Tuesday night against the Georgia Bulldogs in Stegeman Coliseum, Athens, Georgia, to notch [autotag]Todd Golden[/autotag]’s second win over former Gators head coach Mike White this season. The Orange and Blue looked solid throughout this one and finally loosened up enough to find some flow.

[autotag]Will Richard[/autotag] led the way for Florida scoring 24 points along with five rebounds and one assist while [autotag]Riley Kugel[/autotag] added 19 of his own plus six boards and three dimes. [autotag]Myreon Jones[/autotag] was the only other Gator to join them in double-figures, dropping 14 points along with an eye-popping 12 rebounds and four assists.

Take a look below at a few highlights from Florida basketball’s win over the Georgia Bulldogs in Athens on Tuesday night.

 

PHOTOS: Highlights from Florida basketball’s loss vs Kentucky Wildcats

Take a look at some highlights from Florida’s hard-fought loss at home against Kentucky.

Florida basketball showed some tenacity inside the O’Connell Center against the visiting Kentucky Wildcats but ultimately came up short, taking its second loss in a row by a score of 82-74.

[autotag]Riley Kugel[/autotag] led the Gators’ attack with 24 points on 7-for-11 shooting overall and 4-for-5 from beyond the arc, also adding two rebounds and two assists. [autotag]Kowacie Reeves[/autotag] was the only other member of [autotag]Todd Golden[/autotag]’s squad to notch double-digit points with 16 on 6-for-9 shooting overall and 2-for-5 from deep, notching three rebounds and an assist as well.

Take a look below at highlights from Florida’s home loss to Kentucky on Wednesday night as the 2022-23 campaign wanes down.

Alabama dominates Florida in near 30-point blowout

Well, that was ugly… Florida got 29 and 10 from Colin Castleton and still lost by nearly 30 points to Alabama.

The Alabama Crimson Tide entered Wednesday night’s matchup with Florida a perfect 10-0 against conference opponents, and the Gators didn’t come close to slowing down the Tide’s undefeated run in an ugly 28-point rout.

Florida’s strength is typically on defense, but that wasn’t the case against Alabama. Freshman Brandon Miller scored every way possible and shut down each of Florida’s comeback bids. [autotag]Colin Castleton[/autotag] posted yet another 20-plus-point double-double and the Gators still lost by nearly 30 points.

Starting point guard [autotag]Kyle Lofton[/autotag], guard [autotag]Myreon Jones[/autotag] and forward [autotag]Alex Fudge[/autotag] combined to go 0-of-15 from the field, and Alabama’s bench more than doubled Florida’s bench’s production. It was domination from start to finish from the Tide. Florida led for precisely 0:00 of this game.

PHOTOS: Highlights from Florida basketball’s home win vs South Carolina

Here are some of the best photos from Florida’s Wednesday night win.

Florida basketball made it two in a row in Southeastern Conference competition with a win on Wednesday night at home inside the O’Connell Center against the South Carolina Gamecocks, 81-60. [autotag]Todd Golden[/autotag]’s gang appeared to be in control of this one from the start and ended up cruising to their twelfth win of the season.

[autotag]Colin Castleton[/autotag] led the Gators with 18 points along with three rebounds and three assists, while [autotag]Kowacie Reeves[/autotag] added 15 points and four rebounds, [autotag]Riley Kugel[/autotag] chipped in 14 points, and [autotag]Kyle Lofton[/autotag] and [autotag]Will Richards[/autotag] added 10 apiece as well to round out Florida players who scored in double-digits.

Take a look below at some of the best photos from UF’s big home victory over the visiting Gamecocks to move to 12-8 on the season as well as 5-3 in Southeastern Conference play.

Top-100 SG picks up Florida offer after midweek visit

The Gators offered this in-state shooting guard after a midweek visit to see the team in action against the SEC.

Florida’s basketball program offered Orlando Christian Prep shooting guard [autotag]Isaiah Brown[/autotag] on Wednesday night after the four-star recruit visited the Gators for the game against Texas A&M, according to 247Sports.

Brown confirmed the offer on social media Thursday morning, and the report is that Florida is in the unofficial top three after becoming the first major program to offer him. Florida Atlantic and Florida Gulf Coast are the other major programs, signaling an in-state bias. Brown has been waiting on UF to offer since his September visit and says the new coaching staff is like a family.

While Brown has no future visits planned just yet, Florida will likely get him on campus again for an official visit at some point, especially if other SEC programs get involved. Brown mentioned Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi State and Vanderbilt as visits he would like to make, but Florida will always be the first that reached out.

Brown knows plenty of the young pieces on Florida’s current roster, including former Orlando-area stars [autotag]Riley Kugel[/autotag] and [autotag]Denzel Aberdeen[/autotag]. He’s also familiar with LSU transfer [autotag]Alex Fudge[/autotag], who played high school ball in Jacksonville. Perhaps most importantly, Brown is close with five-star Montverde Academy power forward [autotag]Asa Newell[/autotag], who Florida is targeting heavily as well. Getting the elite AAU duo to stay in-state would be huge for Todd Golden and Co.

The recruiting process is nowhere near completion for Brown, but the Gators do sit in an undeniably favorable spot. A decision isn’t supposed to come until the fall, but these things can always get moved up or pushed back in a second.

Brown is ranked No. 97 overall on the 247Sports composite and is the No. 19 shooting guard in the class of 2024. He’s the 12th-best player in the state of Florida, according to the service.

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