Throughout the transfer portal season there has been a pretty consistent theme to the type of player the Florida Gators were going after–perimeter players. This was logical given that the three starting perimeter players on the National Championship team were set to retire and all the frontcourt pieces had eligibility remaining and were expected to return.
For that reason, it was quite interesting on May 9th when Spanish basketball media all lit up at about the same time to break a story that the Gators were involved with center Fabian Flores, and that he was offered a lucrative contract. Before we talk about that contract and what it could mean, let’s talk about Flores as a player.
Listed at 6’11”, it almost looks like Flores could be even taller. This has made him a fairly notable Spanish player throughout his development which led him to be acquired by UCAM Murcia, a club in the ACB which is Spain’s top league. If that team name sounds familiar to you, it could be because that was the program that Urban Klavzar once belonged to before being loaned out and ultimately coming to Florida. Loaning out players to teams in the lower leagues to give more opportunities for playing time is a big part of the Spanish development system, and that’s what Murcia did with Flores. Curiously, they didn’t send him to the second division like they did with Klavzar–they sent him to the third division, to a club called La Salud Achena.
While the third division of Spanish basketball is still quite competitive with a lot of quality players, it is not the level you are generally seeing the kind of players high-major teams are plucking players from. Plus, if you were going to take a quick glance at the counting stats, you’d see fairly pedestrian numbers from Flores as he is averaging 6.0 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.
Given the level of play and the numbers you might think this would be a player not at the SEC caliber, but when you turn on the film you can quickly see what Golden and his staff could be looking at. For a massive frame Flores moves with fluidity, and when he catches the ball on the low block he shows fantastic balance and poise moving through pivots and post up combinations to score. Primarily used as a pick and roll player, Flores has great angles to free up the guard on the screen, and when he rolls to the hoop he has quality hands to catch in traffic and finish with confidence resulting in 64% from the field this season. Defensively his size, length, and flexibility make him an enticing prospect. Watching the film it’s almost puzzling he isn’t more productive at this level, and there is a lot there that indicates why Florida would be intrigued.
Spanish basketball media is reporting that Flores is receiving a rather lucrative offer in the mid-six figures, and if true that is suggesting the Gators are extremely serious about landing him. It’s also worth noting that Flores is under contract with Murcia until 2027, which means the Gators would owe them a buyout–though that number would not be all that prohibitive for a team like Florida.
If this story is true, perhaps it’s hinting at another situation the Gators could be going through. Florida hasn’t been involved with frontcourt players at all in the portal so far, with the reason being that all four frontcourt players in the rotation were expected to return, with Viktor Mikic developing on the bench to shore up a position of great depth. Now that Flores has emerged as a target, could it mean that the Gators think losing Alex Condon to the NBA Draft is a possibility? That could be reading too much into things, but it’s certainly curious timing for the Gators to now be looking at another big.
It’s also possible that the Gators are doing some early work to recruit Flores now, only to have him come in a year after more development in Spain. You are seeing colleges bring in older and older European players and the NCAA continues to allow it and grant eligibility, so there isn’t really a reason why Florida couldn’t bring in Flores, who was born in 2005, in a year.
Whatever the case may be, the situation has Spanish basketball media buzzing and it makes Fabian Flores a player to watch.