The Gators basketball program just suffered its second loss in the last four days. After losing to Oral Roberts in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday, star point guard Tre Mann declared for the NBA Draft on Wednesday, per ESPN.
Mann will hire an agent, which eliminates the possibility of him returning to UF next season.
“After much consideration, I have decided to take the next step in my basketball career and will declare for the 2021 NBA draft,” the former five-star recruit told ESPN. “To Gator Nation, your love and support will always hold a special place in my heart.
“I would like to thank Coach [Mike] White and his staff at the University of Florida for believing in me and helping to shape me into the man and player I am today. Thank you to all my teammates who shared the Gator uniform with me for the last two seasons. Thank you to my family for always providing me with love and support. No words can ever describe how grateful I am to you.”
The Gainesville native was one of the most improved players in the country this season. After averaging just 5.3 points per game and shooting just 36 percent from the field in 29 appearances as a freshman in 2019-20, Mann upped his statistics to 16 points per game on 46 percent shooting, including 40 percent from beyond the three-point line, as the Gators’ primary ballhandler in 2020-21.
“My season at Florida was filled with a lot of individual growth with the significant increase of playing time and emphasis on fulfilling my role,” Mann said. “However, this year was filled with adversity in [the form of] COVID and the loss of Keyontae [Johnson]. While we didn’t reach our goal as a team in the NCAA tournament, it was a great experience nonetheless.”
He saved his best basketball for last, averaging 20.9 points over his final seven games. He scored a career-high 30 points in an SEC Tournament loss to Tennessee and knocked down a pair of huge three-pointers down the stretch in Florida’s overtime win over Virginia Tech in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Most mock drafts have him going in the bottom half of the first round.
With Mann out of the fold for 2021-22, the Gators will need Tyree Appleby to be the primary point guard and drastically cut down on his number of turnovers. Ques Glover is the only other point guard on the roster at the moment.