Zyon Pullin – Syndication Server

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.

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All-American Caleb Love headlines list of invitees for G League Elite Camp

Arizona senior Caleb Love was among the 45 players invited to participate in the G League Elite Camp on May 11-12 in Chicago, Illinois.

Arizona senior Caleb Love was among the 45 players invited to participate in the 2024 NBA G League Elite Camp May 11-12 at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois.

Love was voted a third-team All-American by the Associated Press and the Pac-12 Player of the Year after averaging 18 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.2 steals on 41.3% shooting from the field with the Wildcats. He finished fourth in the conference in scoring.

The 6-foot-4 guard transferred to Arizona in May 2023 after spending three years at North Carolina. He finished with 1,476 career points in 101 games with the Tar Heels and made 200 3-pointers, which ranks eighth in program history.

The full list of players invited to the G League Elite Camp:

Player	Previous
Mark Armstrong	Villanova
Taran Armstrong	Cairns Taipans (NBL)
Adama Bal	Santa Clara
Keion Brooks Jr.	Washington
Terrell Burden	Kennesaw State
Branden Carlson	Utah
Walter Clayton Jr.	Florida
Isaiah Crawford	Louisiana Tech
Yongxi Cui	Guangzhou (China)
Clarence Daniels	New Hampshire
Thierry Darlan	G League Ignite
Garwey Dual	Providence
Sean East II	Missouri
Jesse Edwards	West Virginia
Boogie Ellis	USC
Tristan Enaruna	Cleveland State
Aaron Estrada	Alabama
Allen Flanigan	Mississippi
Enrique Freeman	Akron
Blake Hinson	Pitt
Jaelen House	New Mexico
Isaac Jones	Washington State
Arthur Kaluma	Kansas State
Chaz Lanier	North Florida
Jaedon LeDee	San Diego State
Xaivian Lee	Princeton
Jalen Lewis	Overtime Elite
Malique Lewis	Mexico City Capitanes (G League)
Caleb Love	Arizona
Baba Miller	Florida State
Emanuel Miller	TCU
Judah Mintz	Syracuse
Matthew Murrell	Mississippi
Baye Ndongo	Georgia Tech
Jameer Nelson Jr.	TCU
Ugonna Onyenso	Kentucky
Wooga Poplar	Miami (Fla.)
Zyon Pullin	Florida
Mantas Rubstavicius	NZ Breakers (NBL)
Babacar Sane	G League Ignite
Isaiah Stevens	Colorado State
Jarin Stevenson	Alabama
Nae’Qwan Tomlin	Memphis
Bryson Warren	Sioux Falls Skyforce (G League)
Anton Watson	Gonzaga

The 45 prospects invited to the G League Elite Camp were voted on by team executives. The list of players typically indicates those with the highest odds of being selected or signed as undrafted free agents with teams after the draft on June 27.

The event will feature 5-on-5 games, strength and agility testing, shooting drills, measurements and other related on-court exercises. Prospects will have the opportunity to improve their draft stock in a competitive environment against their peers.

The top players from the G League Elite Camp will be invited to participate in the draft combine on May 12-19. The event has helped several players advance to the combine and eventually make it to the NBA, including Jose Alvarado, Kenneth Lofton Jr. and Terance Mann.

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Pair of Gators prepare for G League Elite Camp this weekend

Zyon Pullin and Walter Clayton Jr. will be working out this weekend in hopes of elevating their NBA draft chances.

The Florida basketball program will be represented by two Gators this year at the G League Elite Camp in Chicago. Guards [autotag]Zyon Pullin[/autotag] and [autotag]Walter Clayton Jr[/autotag]. — the latter of which can still return to the team if the draft waters seem too cold — will showcase their talents in front of NBA coaches and front-office officials from May 11-12.

Clayton was included in the initial announcement on Saturday, which put him among the first 44 players named to the camp. Pullin got the call on Monday, pairing him up with his backcourt teammate from last season. The two were omitted from the NBA draft combine invitation list, but a strong showing this weekend could elevate them into consideration.

The two were added to Florida’s roster ahead of the 2023-24 campaign via the transfer portal as a part of [autotag]Todd Golden[/autotag]’s successful personnel reload. The dynamic duo was largely responsible for the Gators’ highest-scoring season in program history, as well as getting the program back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in three seasons.

The Orange and Blue’s 24-12 overall record was the best since the 2016-17 campaign (27-9) and it reached its first SEC Tournament finals since 2014.

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

Golden, Gators guard duo respond to Florida’s loss at South Carolina

Here’s what members of the team had to say about the win that got away on the road.

Florida basketball’s woes against zone defense continued on Saturday afternoon in Columbia where the South Carolina Gamecocks fought back from a double-digit deficit to prevail over the Gators, 82-76. Once again, [autotag]Todd Golden[/autotag]’s team led for 3/4 of the game only to squander the lead in the final 10 minutes.

The Orange and Blue had four players finishing with double digits in the points column, led by [autotag]Walter Clayton Jr[/autotag]., who also added three rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots. [autotag]Zyon Pullin[/autotag] also added 18 points along with seven assists and four rebounds; Tyrese Samuel (13) and Riley Kugel (10) were the other two in double digits.

Golden, Pullin and Clayton all spoke briefly with the media following the tough loss. Here is what they had to offer.

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.

Three top Gators rehash overtime win over Georgia Bulldogs

Here’s what three of Florida’s top scorers had to say about the overtime win over Georgia.

It was not supposed to be as close as it was, but the Georgia Bulldogs stormed back from a 21-point deficient with 10 minutes remaining but still fell short inside the O’Connell Center on Saturday, 102-98, to the Florida Gators.

The Orange and Blue had five players finishing with double-digit points after 45 minutes of play, led by a monster performance by [autotag]Micah Handlogten[/autotag], who dropped 23 points while grabbing 17 boards in 35 minutes of play. [autotag]Zyon Pullin[/autotag] finished with 20, while [autotag]Will Richard[/autotag] and Walter Clayton Jr. both scored 18 points; Alex Condon added 10 of his own.

After the game, Richard, Handlogten and Pullin spoke with the media about Florida’s too-close-for-comfort win over Georgia. Take a look below for what they had to offer.

Trio of Gators talk about home win over Mississippi State Bulldogs

The Gators returned home after a short road swing in which they split the two games to defend the O’Connell Center court against the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Wednesday night. Florida came away with a 79-70 victory that improved the Orange and …

It was a game that Todd Golden’s team controlled for a majority of the game, but a late letdown allowed the opponent to make things interesting in the final minutes. Nonetheless, the Gators emerged victorious thanks in large part to guard [autotag]Will Richard[/autotag]’s career night, along with contributions from fellow guard [autotag]Zyon Pullin[/autotag] and forward/center [autotag]Tyrese Samuels[/autotag].

The three spoke with the media after the win, detailing their thoughts on Florida’s third SEC win. Take a look below at what they had to offer.

Gators head coach, players talk to media after Tennessee loss

Here’s what three members of the Orange and Blue had to offer after Tuesday’s loss to Tennessee.

Wintery weather swept through the Eastern United States on Tuesday, causing the matchup between the Florida Gators and Tennessee Volunteers in Knoxville to be moved back two hours.

With the plummeting temperatures also came a frustrating loss for the Orange and Blue, which fell by a final score of 85-66 inside Thompson-Boling Arena. It was a game in which the Gators were overmatched both on paper and on the court, resulting in a 1-3 record so far in Southeastern Conference competition and an 11-6 record overall.

Following the defeat, head coach [autotag]Todd Golden[/autotag] along with guards [autotag]Walter Clayton Jr[/autotag]. and [autotag]Zyon Pullin[/autotag] spoke with the press. Take a look below at what they had to offer.

Breaking down Kentucky Wildcats loss with Zyon Pullin, Walter Clayton

Here’s what Saturday’s two game-high scorers had to say about the tough home loss.

The Southeastern Conference schedule-opening matchup between the Florida Gators and Kentucky Wildcats inside the O’Connell Center was an exciting game to watch, but unfortunately for the Gator Nation, the home team came up short in an 87-85 defeat.

The Orange and Blue led for a lion’s share of the game but was not able to come through in the clutch, going ice cold from both the free-throw line as well as beyond the arc. It was not for lack of effort on the part of two members of Todd Golden’s gang.

Guards [autotag]Zyon Pullin[/autotag] and [autotag]Walter Clayton[/autotag] both dropped a game-high 23 points for the losing cause while combining for 9 of 11 from the charity stripe — a stark contrast to their teammates. Playing 34 minutes apiece as well, the dynamic duo simply was not enough to overcome a top-10 team.

After the game, the two talked to the media and answered some of the pressing questions asked by members of the scrum. Take a look below at what they had to offer.

Highlights from Zyon Pullin’s post-game media scrum

Check out Florida Gators guard Zyon Pullin’s post-game press conference highlights

The Florida Gators steam rolled through the Quinnipiac Bobcats on Saturday afternoon, 97-72, to put a bow on the month of the December, extending its win streak to six games before the thick of the schedule arrives with a meeting against Kentucky on Jan. 6.

Florida was led by guards Will Richard and [autotag]Zyon Pullin[/autotag], who combined for 38 points, bolstering the 25-point home win for the Gators and showing that the Gators can be dangerous on the offensive of the ball no matter who’s carrying the rock.

Pullin scored the second-most points (16) for Florida, trailing behind Richard’s 22-point performance while managing to dish the ball for six assists along with two rebounds.

Pullin addressed the media following the huge win over Quinnipiac and is feeling good going into 2024.