The 2024-25 Florida Gators basketball season is set to tip off on Monday, November 4th when they take on the South Florida Bulls.
It’s impossible to start the conversation about this game without acknowledging the tragedy surrounding the South Florida program with head coach Amir Abdur-Rahim passing away suddenly on October 24th from complications that arose during a medical procedure. Abdur-Rahim, just 43 years old, was considered a riser in the professional after quickly building up the Kennesaw State program before moving to South Florida and having a 25-8 season, quickly turning around a Bulls program that had been fledgling. Not only was Abdur-Rahim respected as a basketball coach, but he was as universally liked in the profession as anyone.
As told by Kansas State head coach Jerome Tang:
“In this coaching circle, there’s not a lot of guys who have no enemies, and he had none. Just poured into his guys, loved people…love wins.”
Given his sudden passing so close to the season there was some thought the Bulls wouldn’t be able to tip off against the Gators less than two weeks after the tragedy, but the South Florida program chose to play their games as scheduled.
Stepping in as interim head coach is Ben Fletcher, who was originally with Abdur-Rahim at Kennesaw State before following him to South Florida. The Bulls will be looking for a sense of normalcy as they prepare for their meeting with the Gators, and they deserve some healthy respect from the Florida fans in attendance.
The 2010’s were not kind to South Florida as they were perennially near the bottom of the American Athletic Conference, a transition from the Big East that did not go well. Despite being in a great location for local basketball talent things didn’t go well for multiple coaches. After firing Brian Gregory following the 2022-23 season after the Bulls finished 14-18, the Bulls hired Amir Abdur-Rahim. A quick turnaround wasn’t expected, but it’s what happened. The Bulls finished 25-8, one of their best finishes in two decades, and found themselves on the NCAA Tournament bubble during the winter before taking a few bad losses that pushed them out of the discussion. They’re now looking to build on that tremendous season, but as we all know–that’s more difficult than ever in the transfer portal era.
Their best player from last season, Chris Youngblood, headed for Alabama. Their next best players in Kesean Pryor and Selton Miguel went to Louisville and Maryland. Without the nucleus of their successful team from last season they’ll be looking to reinvent themselves a bit, but there is some solid returning talent starting with wing Kobe Knox. Knox is a 6’5” wing who took on some tough defensive assignments last year while playing a ton of minutes, averaging 8.4 points and 2.9 rebounds per game. While he’s not a major scorer his impact will be felt on the defensive end, and he’ll be relied upon to try to slow down Florida’s offensive engine in the backcourt.
Also returning is Jayden Reid, a 5’10” point guard who came off the bench to average 6.8 points and a team leading 3.1 assists per game last season. While he’s not the most capable scorer in the paint he’s got a nice pull up jumper and hit 48% of his threes last season–though it was on just under two attempts per game.
Reinforcements for the Bulls came from multiple levels, starting with hulking 6’11”, 270 pound center Jamille Reynolds. This will be Reynolds fourth school after attending UCF, Temple, and Cincinnati, and he’s looking to finish his collegiate career strong. Last year he averaged 5.5 points and 4.0 rebounds per game for the Bearcats, and he was likely wise to end up back in the AAC where he was successful with Temple averaging 10.1 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. Mobility can be an issue for Reynolds, but he’s the kind of massive frame you don’t always see from teams outside of the power conferences and he could be an issue for some of Florida’s more slender frontcourt players.
Coming from the JUCO ranks is Jaylen Wharton, a 6’9”, 200 pound forward who was a monster on the defensive end at Walters State. He’s got great length and good athleticism, and he fits in to exactly what South Florida wants to do and that’s defend at a high level.
When you look at what made South Florida successful last season, it was all about their defense. They were an aggressive team that were uncomfortable to play against with their speed and positioning off the ball, creating deflections and turning them into free points on the other end. This is likely where the Bulls will find their identity once again when you look at the talent on the roster and it should make for a good test for the Gators right away. South Florida was primarily a man to man defensive team but liked to go to 2-3 zone on baseline out of bounds possessions, so the Gators will have to be ready for a few different scenarios.
Offensively things weren’t always particularly smooth for the Bulls, and their three highest scorers left in the transfer portal so things could be a bit of a challenge on that end. For the Gators who are looking to improve their defense drastically from a season ago, this could be just what they need to build some confidence from the opening night.
Florida and South Florida will tip off at 8:30 ET on November 4th, and the game will be televised on SEC Network. It is taking place in Jacksonville, giving this game a “neutral site” distinction in the eyes of the NCAA