Florida Gators Most-Vital Player in 2024/25

The Florida Gators return a lot of key players in 2024, but the most vital piece could be a transfer.

The Florida Gators most important piece in 2024/25 could be transfer Alijah Martin. / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

It is hard not to be excited about the Florida Gators when it comes to basketball after looking at their activity in the portal and how they performed in the previous campaign. 

They also return almost all of their important players from a season ago in Walter Clayton Jr., Alex Condon and Will Richard. 

However, the most vital piece for the Gators, if they are going to be dominant on the court this season, is going to be FAU-transfer Alijah Martin.

A big reason why he will be an important piece is because of his defense. The Gators struggled in 2023 stopping their opponents from scoring, and Martin is a really good defender that can help fix this. Coming in at 6-foot-2 and 210-pounds, Martin will give nightmares to any opposing guard he faces. 

Now, Martin is a different type of player to former Gator Zyon Pullin, as he wasn’t the lead ball handler in his career with the Owls and is probably a more athletic player than Pullin. He will need to show improvements in certain areas for the Gators to be at their best. 

Florida will try to mitigate the loss of Pullin on offense by utilizing Clayton Jr. in a similar role. It is also why he returned to school instead of heading to the NBA. For Florida, they will need him to be comfortable being the lead guard on offense to keep up the same pace from last year, but he can’t be the only one to assume this role. That is where Martin comes into play. 

If things are going to work with Florida, Martin is going to need to add being a lead guard to his game as well. Additionally, when Clayton Jr. was at his best last season, it was with Pullin running the offense. That’s why it is important Martin improves in this area because if he does, then the Gators offense could be just as potent as it was last year with Pullin. 

This is a good thing too if both can add the ability to command an offense to their game. When one is having a rough game or is the focus for an opponent's defense gameplan, then the other can step in to help ease and carry the offense. It also means teams won’t be able to shut down one and limit the entire offense as a result of keeping one guard quiet. 

So, while the Gators have a ton of pieces who will all be equally important to the team, the most vital piece for them in 2024 could be the addition of Alijah Martin.