Guard Riley Kugel Announces Return to Florida Gators

Florida guard Riley Kugel has announced his return to the Gators for a second season after finishing his freshman campaign on a high note.

Photo: Riley Kugel; Credit: Zach Goodall

Florida freshman guard Riley Kugel released a highlight video via Twitter on Tuesday with a simple, but important, message for Gators basketball fans.

"I'm back," Kugel wrote in the montage.

pic.twitter.com/ERhUtTINPQ

— Riley “ Juice ” Kugel (@RileyKugel) April 4, 2023

Kugel, a product of Orlando (Fla.) Dr. Phillips who committed to and signed with the Gators following head coach Todd Godlen's hiring in March 2022, ended his debut season on a high enough note to enter NBA Draft conjecture.

The No. 8 shooting guard in the recruiting class of 2022, per the 247Sports composite rankings, finished his freshman campaign having averaged 9.9 points, 2.8 rebounds and one assist across 23 minutes per game with a shooting percentage of 45.6%, including 37.6% from three.

He consistently earned 20+ minutes per game once the Gators got into SEC play, as Golden experimented with the team's backcourt lineup, and became a full-time starter by Florida's Jan. 25 matchup with South Carolina. 

Kugel was on the floor for 30+ minutes in every contest following center Colin Castleton's season-ending hand injury suffered against Ole Miss on Feb. 15. He produced outings of 24, 20 and 21 points scored in three of Florida's final six games of the year. 

In total, Kugel produced 20.2 points on 52% from the floor and 44% from three in Castleton's absence at the end of the regular season. 

Kugel's return should cement him as the Gators' offensive centerpiece entering the 2023-24 season while Golden looks to upgrade the vacated spots around him. That process began with the transfer acquisition of Yale forward EJ Jarvis on Friday, although there remains plenty of work to be done to replenish Florida's roster. 

The program lost eight players this offseason as guards Kowacie Reeves Jr., Niels Lane and Trey Bonham and forwards Jason Jitoboh and CJ Felder entered the transfer portal, while Castleton and guards Kyle Lofton and Myreon Jones exhausted their collegiate eligibility. 

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