Recruiting is the lifeblood of every college basketball program, something that Todd Golden has been extremely aware of ever since making the jump to Florida. He has been tirelessly pursuing elite talent which to this point has largely been in the 2024 class but we’re now starting to see things increase when it comes to 2025 players. 2025 recruiting might seem like an eternity away, and in some ways it is, but for a coach that’s new to the high major ranks like Todd Golden you have to do the work early in a way that some more established coaches don’t have to.
We saw this early in the Mike White tenure when assistant Darris Nichols started pushing hard for Scottie Lewis, a player who was three years away from entering college and also a player the Gators were considered to have very little chance at given the fact it was a coaching staff new to college basketball. Because of the work they did early, they were able to land a 5-star from the grasp of more established coaching staffs.
Florida really put the recruiting world on notice when they welcomed brothers Cameron Boozer and Cayden Boozer to Gainesville on some unofficial visits, something that recruiting analysts didn’t see coming.
You see, Cameron Boozer is the number one player in the class–a title he has held without much argument from people who cover recruiting. His brother Cayden is no slouch either, currently ranked 24th in the class.
Cameron and Cayden are the sons of former NBA player Carlos Boozer who had a productive career after attending Duke. They both attend Christopher Columbus High School in Miami where the Gators, and just about every other elite team in the country, will be keeping a close eye on them. Before the unofficial visit the Gators weren’t talked about a whole bunch in their recruitment, so the fact they came to town was a very pleasant surprise. It’s clear that Todd Golden and his staff is looking to make a huge splash in recruiting and if they can land some of the top 2024 kids that they’re currently pursuing it could show players like the Boozer brothers that Gainesville is a place for future NBA stars.
The brothers haven’t spoken much about being a package deal, but if they do the two actually play quite well off each other as Cameron is a 6’9” ball handling frontcourt player while Cayden is more of a traditional shooting guard that stands at 6’3”.
Another son of a former player the Gators are after is Ricardo Greer Jr. from Springboro, Ohio. Ricardo’s father, Ricardo Greer Sr., was one of the best players to ever play at Pittsburgh before going on a lengthy pro career overseas. He’s now an assistant at Dayton under Anthony Grant where he has been since 2017. Greer is a lights out shooter that already stands at 6’4”, so it looks like he could end up being a gunner in the 6’6” to 6’8” range that would make him a very effective college player. With his dad at Dayton you might think it would be a natural landing spot for him but right now the Flyers aren’t considered to be the favorites or the clear destination as Greer Sr. wants him to go through a traditional recruiting process and find the spot that’s best for him.
After Cameron Boozer, the top player the Gators are looking at is Bryson Tiller who has been a name in basketball circles ever since he turned 13 years old as someone who looks the part of future NBA superstar. It was big news when he announced that he would be attending the Overtime Elite program and he’s currently one of the gems of that program that helped establish it as a legitimate pathway for top players. Standing at 6’8” and 210 he already looks like he could step on a high major floor and not be out of place which is saying a lot for a 2025 player. This is a recruitment where every single blue blood will be after him, but Golden doesn’t appear to want to back down from that challenge.
When it comes to point guards, Florida is looking at Mikel Brown Jr. as their top option. You don’t have to look far down the recruiting rankings to find Brown as he is 8th in the country, continuing the trend of Golden only really looking at elite players out of high school. With extremely young players, such as the 2025 class, the point guard position is probably the hardest spot to evaluate but Brown checks a lot of boxes as a slippery guard that has a nice handle and plays the game with great speed. Currently his frame is slight at 5’11” and 145 pounds but, well, most 2025 point guards are pretty small right now. If he continues to grow while continuing his electricity with the ball and ability to get into the paint to break down defenses he could very well remain one of the top ball guards in the class.
Right now these are the top names to be aware of in the class, and this list will certainly grow as the high school seasons ramp up and Florida’s coaches are able to see more of the top players in the country.