Denzel Aberdeen Pushing For Role In Florida’s Backcourt

An old adage is that it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish–and Denzel Aberdeen finished last season playing his best basketball of the season. 

Throughout 2023-24 Aberdeen was somewhat of a fan favorite for the energy he came with off the bench, particularly defensively. While he seemed to provide quality play when he was called upon, those times were few and far between. For much of the SEC schedule he played between 2-6 minutes per game, which didn’t have as much to do with him as it did with Florida’s veteran 1-3 rotation of Zyon Pullin, Walter Clayton, and Will Richard taking most of the minutes in the backcourt.

That was until the last two weeks of the season when Aberdeen took advantage of his limited role to the point where the staff had to give him more burn. It started with Florida’s March 15th contest with Alabama where he was one of the few guards capable of having with the Crimson Tide’s electric backcourt defensively, leading Aberdeen to play 13 important minutes in what was a huge win for the Gators. This caused Aberdeen to get a much bigger role in Florida’s next game against Texas A&M, which ultimately was his breakout game. Aberdeen finished with a career high 20 points and was arguably Florida’s best player in a win over an Aggies team that had given the Gators issues. Aberdeen stayed heavily in the rotation with 21 minutes in the SEC Championship game, followed by 13 minutes in the NCAA Tournament game against Colorado. 

On one hand, it was amazing for Aberdeen to be able to play his best basketball of the season in the final weeks and play a big role in Florida’s most important games of the season. On the other hand, it was almost unfortunate for Aberdeen as his late surge means he wasn’t able to play as many minutes as he could have if he established himself in the rotation earlier. Now, the big minutes he played in the final weeks seem like somewhat of a distant memory and he’ll have to win back that trust at the start of this season–but by all reports, that is happening in practice.

Florida’s backcourt will once again have a lot of competition, and it looks like Walter Clayton, Alijah Martin, and Will Richard will once again take most of the minutes at the point guard, shooting guard, and small forward spots–the positions where Aberdeen can play comfortably. However, there are 120 total minutes available at these spots, and even if the starters play 30 minutes each to total 90 minutes there will still be 30 good minutes available for the bench–and Aberdeen is looking to command as many of these as possible.

For Aberdeen to command a huge role–it’s going to be all about defense. No, that isn’t to limit Aberdeen as just a defensive player as he has shown some offensive chops, but when you look at what he could bring to this team that’s most valuable–it’s defense. Last season the Gators struggled to get stops particularly at the wing and that’s where Aberdeen excels, and while the coaches added more defensive pieces through the transfer portal it’s clear that this team’s identity is going to be getting stops, and the players capable of doing that are going to get the most run.

At 6’5” with long arms and great foot speed, Aberdeen is capable of being extremely disruptive when guarding the ball. You saw this when he defended pick and rolls, locking himself in the hip pocket of the ball handler while pushing him over screens, using his length to poke at the ball and reroute the man further from the hoop. He graded out in the 62nd percentile nationally as a pick and roll defender, but the film suggests he is much better than that statistic would suggest.

Where he was truly at his best was as a help defender who could stunt in the gap at ball handlers to deter drives while also being capable of getting back to his man to prevent catch and shoot attempts or threes. As a spot up defender Aberdeen was in the 95th percentile nationally–and this is the element of his defensive game that could keep him on the floor. Florida’s defensive structure is all about taking away three-point attempts, something that is a challenge for players in itself. Additionally, taking away three-point attempts often means giving up drives, and those drives were the biggest issue for the Gators last season. Aberdeen has the ability to use his speed and length to arrive on the catch to take away the easy catch and shoot and still drop his hips and take away the drive, and that rare defensive ability is something that the Gators would be wise to utilize.

While Aberdeen is best on the defensive side of the floor he is also useful offensively, starting with his transition ability. 26% of Aberdeen’s total shots came in transition which speaks to just how much he was able to get out on the run offensively, and he shot 63% at the rim on these possessions. Florida’s staff wants to get out and run to score before the defense gets set, and with a number of their players being more comfortable in the half court game they’ll need players like Abderdeen who thrive at a breakneck pace.

A big swing skill for Aberdeen will be his shooting. He ultimately shot 35% from three last season, but it was on a low number of attempts. Additionally, he only shot 30% from three in conference play, and it was the 4-5 from deep performance against Texas A&M that propped up his numbers to the solid percent on low volume. His shooting stroke isn’t the prettiest but it isn’t broken, and it’s something that he has worked on throughout the summer in order to be prepared for the fall. Unlikely to be a primary initiator when on the floor with Clayton and Martin, Aberdeen will need to be someone who can knock down open shots, and if he can do so alongside his excellent defense he will likely command a big role this season.