Gators Enter Season With Strong Frontcourt Depth

Despite losing both starting forwards from the previous season, Todd Golden enters his third season as the Florida Gators men's basketball coach with arguably his best depth in the frontcourt headlined by a pair of rising sophomores and multiple transfers.

Feb 17, 2024; Athens, Georgia, USA; Florida Gators forwards Alex Condon (21) and Thomas Haugh (10) react after defeating the Georgia Bulldogs at Stegeman Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

A major reason why the Florida Gators were so good a season ago was because of the performances they got from their frontcourt. The centers and power forwards were vital to head coach Todd Golden's game plan that was executed to great effect. 

Players like Tyrese Samuel, Micah Handlogten, Alex Condon and Thomas Haugh all performed the roles at a high level. However, half of this quartet (Samuel and Handlogten) will not be at the Gators' disposal in 2024-25. 

Don’t worry though, Gator fans, Golden has made sure to solidify his frontcourt depth over the summer through the transfer portal and high school recruiting.

Projected Starters for 2024-25

Going into the 2024-25 season, Golden will be without last year's starting power forward and center. This means a whole new look in the frontcourt. 

However, Golden hasn’t struggled too much to find their replacements.

From what has been said in the media and with the performances during the secret scrimmages from the Gators over the past couple of weeks, it seems that returning sophomore Alex Condon and newcomer Rueben Chinyelu will be the new pairing. 

This isn’t too surprising though. Condon returns to Gainesville with a lot of hype surrounding his name. He was just voted preseason All-SEC third team after a solid freshman campaign that landed him on the All-SEC freshman team a year ago. 

His play has also seen higher expectations placed upon him. 

“The expectation for him is going to go up a lot,” Golden said. “We're building around him and Walter and Alijah and Will.”

Will Richard (@willrxch) -> Alex Condon (@AlexCondonn) #Gators pic.twitter.com/Gwi3mGFtvE

— Cam Parker (@camparker25) October 8, 2024

As for Chinyelu, he’s brought his A-game in the secret scrimmages. In the first of two scrimmages for the Gators, Chinyelu added eight points, 10 rebounds, four steals and two blocks. Yet, the most intriguing detail from the box score was his fouls, or lack thereof. He only managed to have the whistle blown on him three times in 26 minutes. 

Another development from this offseason for Chinyelu is the addition of the extended shooting range.

While the stats haven’t been released for the Gators second scrimmage, their social media team released a small snippet of highlights from it. There was one highlight of Chinyelu gesturing that he made a three and if that was the case, then the Gators might be getting more offensively from the transfer than they expected. 

Big man 3!

Rueben Chinyelu (@am_rueben) finds Alex Condon (@AlexCondonn) #Gators pic.twitter.com/9Tr1NSCa4q

— Cam Parker (@camparker25) October 8, 2024

Frontcourt Depth Shouldn’t be an Issue

Having starters is obviously important, but having great bench depth might be even more vital to winning. 

Heading into the new campaign, the bench options will be Sam Alexis, Olivier Rioux, Viktor Mikic and Thomas Haugh. 

Realistically, Rioux and Mikic won’t see too many minutes this season. They could see some in blowouts or early parts of the non-conference against lesser opponents, but don’t expect too many as they acclimate to the college level. 

The two who will see a load of minutes off the bench or receive some starts throughout the season will be Alexis and Haugh. Both had solid outings in the first scrimmage as well. 

Alexis filled up the stat sheet by adding eight points, five rebounds and four assists in his minutes. Haugh, who started in place of Condon due a minor injury, went for 11 points and four rebounds. 

The selling point for Alexis is going to be his defense, which is something the Gators severely lacked last season. The junior was named to the 2024 Southern Conference All-Defensive Team, averaging 9.1 rebounds and 2.1 blocks a game across 33 appearances for Chattanooga last year. 

Additionally, he was one of only four players in the nation to average at least 10 points, nine rebounds and two blocks per game while shooting 55 percent or better from the floor in the 2023-24 season. 

Losing two starters is always damaging, but Golden has found a way to replace what was lost while also managing to strengthen his depth in the frontcourt for the upcoming season.