After getting their 2027 class kickstarted with a commitment from Ian Condon the Gators got more great news as big man Kamsi Awaka announced his commitment on Wednesday afternoon.
Awaka is a 6’10”, 250 pound center playing at Blair Academy in New Jersey, and while he is currently ranked 40th–his final list of schools suggests someone who will end up being evaluated much higher. Take a look at his final list of schools–Florida, UConn, Arizona, Michigan, and Michigan State–and tell me what you notice. Not only are they some of the top programs in the country and the three most recent National Championship winners, it’s all the teams that are known most for featuring and developing big men.
It was thought that UConn was Florida’s biggest competition in the end, but Florida believed heavily that Awaka is someone who will be able to both play right away in the SEC and be a long-term All-League big man, and that meant they were prepared to push their chips to the middle and commit what was required from a resource standpoint to get the deal done.
For much of recruiting history, coaches could say just about whatever they wanted and it would be up to the players to parse what is real and what isn’t. Now in the NIL era–money talks and coaches can’t just tell a player that they are expected to play, the financial commitment tells the truth. To beat out the schools required the Gators had to pay Awaka as someone who will play a considerable role as a freshman, and the film backs up that he’ll be able to do just that.
Already Awaka is physically prepared to step into the SEC and be as physical as required at the center spot. His frame looks like it was designed in a basketball lab as the perfect center build–big and long, though not so tall and gangly that he would be cumbersome or awkward. When it comes to pure muscular sparing in the post, he has more than enough bulk, and when it comes to guarding on the perimeter or participating in pick and roll coverage he has adequate mobility and flexibility. Is he an all-world athlete? No, and perhaps that’s why recruiting services don’t have him among the best players in the class, though it didn’t stop the best programs in the country trying to give him a rotation spot as a freshman.
Offensively, Awaka is someone who has shown good consistency as a low post scorer who has more in his arsenal than the average high school big. He can go over either shoulder and score with both hands which is a lot more than the average high school recruit, well, heck–it’s more than most college bigs too, and that makes him a dominant presence at the high school level when paired with his size. Of course, he can catch a lob and offensive rebound, but the scoring touch on the block is what differentiates him a little bit. It also should be noted that he went 5-8 from three this Summer on the AAU circuit, though I’m not sure you can pencil him in as a stretch big yet. He was capable of knocking down the wide open ones, so perhaps that suggests someone who could be a threat down the line.
It is always difficult and expensive to get big men, and the market in the transfer portal is nothing short of absurd. The Gators are banking on Awaka being a better option and marks a clear change in strategy, and when you see the film it’s easy to be convinced.