When it comes to Florida’s 2021 recruiting class there is a position they have been noticeably going at more aggressively—the center spot. The Gators’ coaching staff started pursuing a number of guard and wing targets years ago when 2021 kids were sophomores and freshmen but you have seen a noticeable shift recently to a number of big men targets, something completely understandable considering the current roster balance. Right now the Gators have two true centers on the roster in Omar Payne and Jason Jitoboh who will be entering their sophomore years in the fall and they don’t have a “5” in the 2020 class. Yes, they are bringing in 6’9” Osayi Osifo, but he’s likely projected as more of a power forward than a center. Even if he ends up spotting some minutes at the five he’ll be a junior this season so he’s not someone who will be on campus for three or four years.
Nailing recruiting when it comes to big men is of utmost importance because when it comes to centers in college basketball, supply never matches demand. There simply aren’t a lot of 6’10” and taller humans walking around the planet and trying to get ones that are coordinated enough to switch out to guards on the perimeter and have soft enough hands on the inside to finish is no easy task. This is clearly evidenced on the transfer market, both traditional and graduate, where centers have fetched the most interest in each of the last three offseasons. There aren’t enough good bigs to go around in college hoops and landing the right ones out of high school can really set your team up for success while other programs have to dabble in the competitive transfer portal.
Recently, the Gators haven’t had loads of success when it comes to the recruitment of big men. Gorjok Gak and Dontay Bassett both left as graduate transfers this season and Chase Johnson and Isaiah Stokes left the year prior. Kevarrius Hayes is the only recruited Gators big man to stay at Florida for his entire eligibility in 6 years, with the last center to do so being fan favorite Patric Young. The Gators simply haven’t been able to land the right bigs for their program out of high school but it’s something they’re looking to change. Here are some of the main targets to look out for.
I mentioned earlier that a lot of Florida’s offers to centers have come relatively recently but one player they did offer a long time ago in 2018 is Bretner Mutumbo, who has no relation to NBA legend Dikembe. Like many of Florida’s recent targets he resides in New Jersey and they’d love to add him to the likes of Scottie Lewis and Niels Lane who they have landed from the area. The 139th ranked recruit in 2021, Mutumbo is known for his hard work and a positive attitude that makes him a popular player. When you watch him play you see a disciplined young man who knows his role on the court—rebounding, defending, and trying to dunk everything around the rim. Mostly SEC schools have been after him such as Auburn, Georgia, and Mississippi State in addition to Florida and that speaks to just how talented of a player he is. There isn’t a clear leader here but the Gators have been on him for a long time so he’s definitely someone to watch.
The next player to watch is Ryan Mutumbo. This time—yes, relation to Dikembe, he happens to be his son. Currently residing in Atlanta, the 65th ranked player in the country stands at 6’11” and 215 pounds and holds offers from Georgia Tech, Georgetown, and Florida State. Truthfully, the number of offers he has doesn’t totally match how good the scouts say he is and that could speak to one of the rumors out there that he is going to pursue pro possibilities after high school. If he does go to college he’s going to step in and do something that he’s learned a lot from his dad about and that’s shot blocking. Obviously he’s extremely long at 6’11” but adding to that he has a great sense of timing that allows him to meet balls at the apex and protect the rim at all costs. You’ll see a common trend in Florida’s center recruiting and that’s that they’re looking for defensive-first fives and you definitely see that in Mutumbo. The Gators just recently got into the running for him and have some catching up to do but he doesn’t have a lot of elite programs offering him right now and the Gators could definitely get into the mix.
Coach White has mentioned recently that in the past few years he may have paid too much attention to recruiting rankings when looking for targets and he definitely went off the board with his next two offers, Cesare Edwards From Hartsville, South Carolina and Matt Nunez from Newport News, Virginia. These are definitely some upside plays by the coaching staff because both players are currently unranked by the major recruiting services. Edwards holds offers from Clemson, South Carolina, and College Of Charleston, and is known as a player with a great work ethic but average athleticism. Going through some of his games on YouTube you see a player who has some scoring ability but he isn’t particularly strong or dominant on the defensive end. Nunez is a similar story, a player who isn’t particularly refined but has done enough to draw offers from Georgetown and Saint Louis. It’s clear with these two offers that the Gators are looking long term and they’re willing to develop some program bigs. When considering longer term plays it’s worth noting that Omar Payne’s athleticism and frame has some NBA teams interested and it can’t be said for certain that he’ll be around all four years, so the Gators may need some more immediate help in 2021 than Edwards or Nunez could provide.
Another player Florida has offered recently is Alex Tchikou from Glendale, Arizona, a skilled 6’11” player whose ability to dribble the ball and create his own shot has earned him a 37th overall ranking. Tchikou offers huge amounts of upside as a lanky post who possesses some guard skills and you can see why he is ranked so highly, making it a difficult race for the Gators to get into. Most of the teams getting after him are on the west coast, but the Gators have shown they can go out of state and land guys recently and Tchikou is worth pursuing.
He’s more of a power forward than a center, but a player the Gators have a great shot at landing is Ernest Ross, a 6’9”, 210 pound player from Alachua, Florida. The Gators have been in on him for some time now and definitely have a leg up on the competition (Ole Miss, LSU, NC State, Oklahoma State) with home state advantage. For a 2021 player, Ross is already extremely physically developed and looks like someone who could step onto a SEC floor tomorrow and be one of the most muscular players. That physical readiness makes him intriguing as a prospect and is a large part of the reason he is ranked 43rd in the class. Offensively he’s quite raw and is still figuring out where he can have the best impact on that side of the floor but defensively he’s a monster using his strength and athleticism to control the paint. Florida is expected to be one of the leaders for his services, so Ernest Ross is a name to remember.