With the surprising decommitment of center John Bol, Florida has changed up the look of their 2024 recruiting board–though they are still confident they can put together one of the best frontcourt classes in the SEC.
On June 10th, Bol tweeted out a video announcing his commitment to Florida. On June 30th, Bol’s agent tweeted out that Bol would re-open his recruitment:
My Client 2024 John Bol @JohnBol_7 7’2 C Ranked #23 in the country has decommitted from Florida and will re-open his recruitment!! pic.twitter.com/hfZVfln1NP
— Chris Wash (@TXRecruited) July 1, 2023
At the time, Bol was finishing off the NBA Top 100 Camp, a major recruiting event for college coaches and a pivotal evaluation opportunity for NBA scouts. Reports of Bol’s performance at the camp were mixed, with some sources saying he was more unrefined than expected, particularly when gauged against other elite level centers. He did measure in at 7’2”, and his supreme height and length jumped off the page even at an event of such high caliber.
Shortly around this time, reports surfaced of Bol signing a lucrative deal with trading card company Topps–though shortly after the series of announcements, they were all deleted–and the status of the reported deal are unknown.
As with many recruitments of top players in the modern game, NIL dollars play a pivotal role, and a re-opened recruitment gives players opportunities to re-evaluate what kind of deals might be out there for them.
At this time, Florida is thought to be no longer involved in Bol’s recruitment and will be looking at other targets. Being the 33rd ranked player in the class of 2024 the decommitment of Bol is detrimental–but being so early in the process, the Gators have plenty of other names they are confident can build out an elite SEC frontcourt.
That starts with Flory Bidunga, the 4th ranked player in the 2024 class. He’s a very different build than the 7’2”, 200 pound Bol–coming in at 6’8”, 215 pounds he would like to play more at the power forward spot, but he has the physicality and athleticism to compete at the 5 against nearly all matchups. Given that Todd Golden has wanted to get bigger he also might see Bidunga as more of a power forward–but whatever you want to call him, he’s an elite frontcourt player that the Gators think they have an excellent shot at. With Cincinnati, Duke, Indiana, and Kansas all in the mix it will be a difficult recruitment–but Florida thinks they have a shot and will pitch a class built around his strengths.
Florida is also keying in on a local product–Ryan Jones. The 6’8”, 225 pound center from Gainesville currently attends The Rock School and recently had an unofficial visit to Florida, and the Gators look to be in the driver’s seat for this recruitment. Jones is currently the 58th ranked player in the 2024 class, and given his physical development already there is certainly a chance for him to rise in the rankings before he gets to college. At 6’8” and 225 pounds Jones has adequate but not elite size at the center position, though he could still be growing. Even if he doesn’t–he makes up for his lack of top-level length by being the hardest worker on the floor in any matchup. Sprinting back in transition defense, fighting on the offensive glass, or dashing from rotation to rotation Jones is extremely active and energetic and it’s that kind of motor from a top-60 player that has teams like Florida so interested. Bidunga is also a player known for his incredible motor, and the Gators could be looking to give up some height in order to get some more versatile frontcourt pieces who still bring muscle and physicality. This could be a lesson the Gators learned in season one of the Golden era, as 6’8” physical, versatile, and high motor centers in Oscar Tshiebwe (Kentucky), Kobe Brown (Missouri), and Henry Coleman (Texas A&M) all had their way against the Gators.
While the decommitment of John Bol came with some shock and disappointment, look for Florida to still put together a tremendous frontcourt class in 2024.