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One Notre Dame player cracks the list.
We are prepared to leave January behind and enter February, the final full month of college basketball’s regular season. This is when we’ll really get to see whether the teams that have made noise to this point are legitimate or whether any struggling teams are just lying in the weeds. In the meantime, here are some of the players most making noise, specifically those in the ACC:
One Notre Dame player is on the list.
As we enter the final full week of January, we continue to be impressed by those leading the bunch in the ACC. While we don’t know where their teams will be at the end of February, they should at least factor into their respective teams’ seeding in the ACC Tournament. Here are the statistical leaders at this point in the season:
One Notre Dame player on the list.
With the ACC having reached the midway point of January, we’re at somewhat of a benchmark for the season. While there is plenty of time for new faces to emerge atop the main statistical leaderboards, it would help if those new faces made their move sooner rather than later. For now though, here’s who stands out:
One representative from Notre Dame this week.
With Notre Dame taking final exams, now seems like a good time to look at the best of the Irish’s conference. If the Irish are to have success this season, these are players who are most likely to challenge that prospect. Specifically, here’s who leads major categories:
Notre Dame has one player on this list.
ACC play is underway, at least partially. While we we’ll have to wait a few more weeks to see conference teams going at it on a nightly basis, if this past weekend was any indication, there is some thrilling basketball in store. Here’s who leads the conference in the major categories after that preview:
Transfer guard Tyree Appleby has found a new home through the transfer portal.
Two days after graduating from the University of Florida, transfer guard [autotag]Tyree Appleby[/autotag] has found his new home for the 2022-23 season. According to ESPN’s Jeff Borzello, Appleby is headed to Wake Forest to close out his college career.
This is the second transfer of Appleby’s career, the first coming in 2019 when he arrived at Florida from Cleveland State. He’s served as the team’s starting point guard at several points while in Gainesville and averaged 10.9 points and 3.7 assists per game in 2021-22. He likes to take the three-point shot and has hit them at a 35.5% clip over his career. Perhaps his most memorable moment in the Orange and Blue came on a deep buzz-beater to beat Ohio State in Fort Myers last November.
The Demon Deacons are adding an experienced and gritty leader after a season where they finished 25-10 and as a No. 2 seed in the NIT. The hope is that Appleby can help get them to that NCAA Tournament berth. Wake Forest also brought on Delaware’s Andrew Carr and Marist’s Jao Ituka through the portal.
Florida transfer Tyree Appleby has committed to Wake Forest. Averaged double-figures four straight seasons at Florida and Cleveland State, career 35.5% 3-point shooter on nearly five attempts per game. 10.9 points last season for the Gators.
— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) May 4, 2022
Florida still has three players in the transfer portal, [autotag]Keyontae Johnson[/autotag], [autotag]Elijah Kennedy[/autotag] and [autotag]Tuongthach Gatkek[/autotag]. None are expected to return which leaves first-year head coach [autotag]Todd Golden[/autotag] with three open scholarship spots on the roster.
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Seems like with good news always comes the swing of the pendulum in the other direction.
Not long after Florida basketball got word that former VMI point guard Trey Bonham would be joining the team through the transfer portal, effectively replacing the departing [autotag]Tyree Appleby[/autotag], it got some bad news from the recruiting front on Monday. Power forward signee [autotag]Jalen Reed[/autotag] of the 2022 prospect class announced on Twitter that he is reopening his recruitment, though has not ruled out UF as his final destination.
“2022 has brought many changes and after much consideration, I have decided to reopen my recruitment,” according to Reed’s Twitter post. “I am open to the many possibilities while still considering The University of Florida as my college home.”
The 6-foot-10-inch, 220-pound prep prospect from Castaic, California, was considered a four-star prospect in the 2022 class, sitting at No. 75 overall according to the 247Composite, while ranking as the No. 16 power forward as well as the No. 10 player in the state of California. Reed committed to the Orange and Blue in late October and officially signed during the early period in November, choosing Florida over Ole Miss, Arizona State, Maryland, and Oklahoma.
Reed is the second player from the 2022 recruiting class to have cold feet about their commitment, joining five-star prospect [autotag]Malik Reneau[/autotag], who also announced Monday that he is joining the Indiana Hoosiers. That leaves combo guard [autotag]Denzel Aberdeen[/autotag] as the lone remaining commit from the class currently planning on suiting up for [autotag]Todd Golden[/autotag]’s team next season.
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The Gators got their replacement for Tyree Appleby on Monday.
Florida basketball added another player from the transfer portal to its roster on Monday when former Virginia Military Institute point guard [autotag]Trey Bonham[/autotag] announced on Twitter that he is joining new head coach Todd Golden and the Gators for the 2022-23 campaign. After the departure of [autotag]Tyree Appleby[/autotag] to the portal, it looks like UF has found its replacement at the one position.
The 6-foot, 170-pound from Mobile, Alabama, was a standout with the Keydets over the past two years, averaging 13.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, four assists and 1.3 steals per game last season en route to an even .500 record with 16 wins and an appearance in the College Basketball Invitational. His scoring efficiency stands out as his carrying trait, putting up a 47.8% mark from the field while nailing 34.8% of his three-pointers and 82.6% of his free throw attempts — numbers that Golden is certainly salivating over.
Bonham is the third player to arrive in Gainesville via the transfer portal, joining former LSU forward [autotag]Alex Fudge[/autotag] and Belmont guard [autotag]Will Richard[/autotag]. Florida will also benefit from the return of center [autotag]Colin Castleton[/autotag], up-and-coming guard [autotag]Kowacie Reeves[/autotag], as well as guard [autotag]Niels Lane[/autotag] and forward [autotag]CJ Felder[/autotag].
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First Colin Castleton announced his return to Florida basketball and now Myreon Jones has done the same.
On Monday, [autotag]Todd Golden[/autotag] received the good news that [autotag]Colin Castleton[/autotag] would be exercising his extra year of eligibility to return to Florida for another season. Six days later, [autotag]Myreon Jones[/autotag] followed in his footsteps and decided to return for a super-senior season, according to a report from Jon Rothstein.
Jones’ return gives the Gators a veteran ball-handler in the backcourt to pair with rising sophomore [autotag]Kowacie Reeves[/autotag] and Belmont transfer [autotag]Will Richard[/autotag]. There’s also sophomore [autotag]Elijah Kennedy[/autotag] and incoming freshman [autotag]Denzel Aberdeen[/autotag] to consider in the backcourt rotation.
The thought was that Florida would need to grab a point guard from the portal after [autotag]Tyree Appleby[/autotag] announced his decision to transfer, but Jones fills that spot in nicely. Golden can still go after someone he likes in the portal with three open roster spots, though.
Jones transferred from Penn State in 2021 and averaged 8.5 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game with the Gators as a senior. He was very streaky over the season and finished with the season shooting 35.5%. Most of Jones’ shots came from beyond the arc, which made for some exciting offense at times. His best performance came against Georgia when he made seven three-pointers en route to 23 overall.
If Jones can find some consistency, he can be a valuable piece of this Gators team. Golden’s usage of him could help Jones improve his stats and allow the younger guards to grow as the seasons unfolds.
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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.
When you know, you know. COMMITTED!🐊 #GoGators pic.twitter.com/0VQlVFMrV7
— Will Richard (@The_WTR12) April 9, 2022
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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