Tag: Tre Mann

CBS Sports has Gators men’s basketball in top 25 of preseason rankings

Gators men’s basketball team sits at No. 21 on CBS Sports’ preseason rankings released last Thursday in anticipation of the upcoming season.

CBS Sports released its projected best 68 teams for the 2020-21 season last Thursday as the publication works through its college basketball rankings from No. 1 to No. 357 in anticipation of this year’s Division I hoops schedule.

Unlike last season, when the Florida Gators men’s basketball team started off ranked No. 6 by the Associated Press Preseason Poll, expectations are much more tempered this time around after UF failed to meet the high benchmark set and ultimately lost starting sophomore point guard Andrew Nembhard to the transfer portal.

Despite the difficulties encountered last season, as well as the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic since, CBS Sports feels fairly favorable towards Florida approaching the start of the college basketball schedule, placing them at No. 21 in the nation before action begins.

Here is what senior writer Matt Norlander had to say about Mike White’s squad coming into the 2020-21 season.

21. Florida: A couple of SEC coaches told me they’d tab UF’s Keyontae Johnson as the guy to be SEC Player of the Year. If that happens Florida’s a top-four seed to be sure. Mike White benefitted by getting Johnson, Scottie Lewis, Tre Mann and Noah Locke back. That’s a really solid quartet, and I’d expect the Gators to be more of a team, with better chemistry, than last season’s up-and-down group. After ranking 61st in defensive efficiency last season, I also expect this to be a top-30 crew in defending the rock. SEC is brawny at the top.

Who knows what lies in store for the coming months, but if the games do go on, there is a lot to be excited about with the men’s hoops team. Hopefully, they do a better job playing the underdog than they did the favorite last season.

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SEC Basketball Power Rankings: Where does Florida stack up?

Fittingly, Florida Gators men’s basketball is once again receiving a solid amount of offseason recognition based on their potential.

As we approach the fall and get closer to college basketball’s currently projected start in November, Sports Illustrated has released a power ranking of the 14 teams in the SEC.

Though Florida lost point guard Andrew Nembhard to the transfer portal, it retained Tre Mann, who decided to withdraw from the draft and return to Gainesville, as well as added a pair of talented transfers in Tyree Appleby and Anthony Duruji. Fittingly, the Gators are once again receiving a solid amount of offseason recognition based on their potential.

SI currently has Florida as the No. 2 team in the conference behind Kentucky, who may be vulnerable this season after returning just one player from last year’s rotation. Writer Jeremy Woo is optimistic about the talent that UF returns.

Keeping Scottie Lewis and Keyontae Johnson for another year was a major coup for Mike White, and the Gators should be able to build on last year’s 11–7 conference mark. Someone will have to step up at point guard, preferably Tre Mann, who had a slightly disappointing freshman season but should get the first crack at replacing Andrew Nembhard. Transfers Tyree Appleby and Anthony Duruji should step into the rotation, and the Gators should be sound defensively again. If a go-to scorer emerges from the group, Florida should have a real shot to win the league. To be fair, we said that last year.

Here is the full SEC power ranking.

  1. Kentucky
  2. Florida
  3. Tennessee
  4. LSU
  5. Arkansas
  6. Alabama
  7. South Carolina
  8. Ole Miss
  9. Auburn
  10. Missouri
  11. Texas A&M
  12. Mississippi State
  13. Georgia
  14. Vanderbilt

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Gators guard Tre Mann will return to Florida for sophomore year

Mann joins a loaded backcourt and will likely compete for the starting point guard job with Cleveland State transfer Tyree Appleby.

Gators basketball fans got the news they were waiting for Tuesday morning as guard Tre Mann decided to withdraw from the 2020 NBA Draft and return to Gainesville for his sophomore year, per CBS Sports college basketball insider Jon Rothstein.

Mann was a five-star recruit and McDonald’s All-American in the 2019 recruiting class, and he was heralded for his scoring ability. That didn’t exactly manifest during his true freshman season, as he averaged just 5.3 points on 35.6 percent shooting despite playing 17.8 minutes a game.

Following the cancellation of the season in March due to COVID-19, Mann announced that he would enter the NBA Draft and sign an NCAA-approved agent in order to maintain his college eligibility. On May 30, there were rumors that Mann had decided to withdraw from the draft, but he refuted the validity of those rumors on Twitter.

Now, he makes it official. Mann joins a loaded backcourt and will likely compete for the starting point guard job with Cleveland State transfer Tyree Appleby. Regardless, he is a key component of UF’s plans for the 2020-21 season, and he will be expected to make a big leap forward after a disappointing freshman season.

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