Even though many of the big names in the transfer portal are off the board that doesn’t mean a lot of talent doesn’t remain. More than ever players are choosing to enter the portal in the later stages in order to not get lost in the shuffle earlier in the process and that makes for a lot of quality players still remaining.
With the Gators still holding multiple roster spots, these are some of the players they could go after if they wanted to make a huge recruiting push.
Coleman Hawkins
Illinois
A 6’10” senior, it seems like Coleman Hawkins has been around college basketball forever making plays for the Illini and with one year of eligibility remaining he is keeping a return to college basketball on the table. Averaging 12.1 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 2.7 assists while knocking down 37% of his threes for a very good Illinois team, Hawkins is a sure thing in the portal who will be able to contribute at a high level wherever he goes. Considered to be the best player in the portal remaining by a large margin Hawkins will be a tough get for anyone and there is no indication the Gators have interest, but no article talking about the best remaining transfers would be complete without him.
JT Toppin
New Mexico
In recent years the transfer portal has made it that high-major schools are taking less high school players than ever, and quality prospects are ending up in different leagues than players of that calibre would historically go to. That was the case with high 4-star JT Toppin who went to New Mexico and was the Mountain West freshman of the year averaging 12.4 points and 9.1 rebounds per game, playing an important role for an excellent Lobos team. Standing at 6’9” he’s got the height to play in the frontcourt but the perimeter skills of a wing, and coming off just his freshman year–he likely has another gear to get to. New Mexico was also 29th in KenPom and the Mountain West was functionally a high-major league with 6 NCAA Tournament teams, so getting Toppin would be the equivalent of plucking a high-upside, productive starter off a rival SEC team. Toppin is headed to the NBA Draft Combine so there is a chance he doesn’t return to college, but plenty of programs are recruiting him like he’s expected to be back.
Dillon Mitchell
Texas
After a year where the Gators couldn’t get a stop when they needed it the strategy change from Florida’s coaching staff has been clear as they have gone after defensive pieces. The best defensive player left in the portal? Texas’ Dillon Mitchell. The sophomore Mitchell has been one of the best defensive players in the country the last two years and at 6’8” he’d fill the wing spot perfectly for a Florida team that hasn’t been long at that position. While he’s mostly a defensive stopper he was able to improve his offensive game last season as he averaged 9.6 points to go along with 7.5 rebounds. The issue with Mitchell is that he doesn’t shoot threes, and notice the word there is “doesn’t,” not “can’t.” Many poor shooters will still let them fly, but not Mitchell–he has taken 8 total threes in his 1649 minutes of collegiate basketball. It’s that lack of a jumper that’s keeping the talented Mitchell from going to the NBA right now, and it’s something that he’ll look to develop at his next spot. Mitchell is a Tampa native and attended Montverde should the Gators try to get him to come closer to home.
Jamir Watkins
Florida State
Florida State’s season was a frustrating one but they did have one bright spot–VCU transfer Jamir Watkins who had an excellent year and is now entering the transfer portal. In a lot of ways Watkins is the prototypical FSU athlete that Leonard Hamilton has had the last decade–great size at 6’7”, a physical defender, and an explosive leaper. What he brought that many FSU athletes of recent years haven’t is scoring touch. Watkins averaged 15.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.9 steals while hitting 34% of his threes, shouldering much of the offensive load for a team that desperately needed points. You could say that his stat sheet stuffing was due to playing on a struggling team that needed someone to make something happen, but the other possible angle is that he was able to put up points in a rough situation and playing in a better offense would make him shine even more. Early in the 2023-24 season when the Gators played the Seminoles Watkins had a solid game with 13 points, one of the only players to play well for the Seminoles in the blowout loss. This is the kind of wing that would provide physicality and defense to the small forward position in a way that the Gators haven’t had in quite a while.
Braeden Smith
Colgate
If you talk to any college basketball superfans who love the mid-major level they’ll universally say one of the best offenses in the country to watch belongs to Colgate. The last two years that offense was run by Braeden Smith who just finished his sophomore season and will have two more years to play. Coming in as a freshman in 2022-23 Smith was instantly successful averaging 11.6 points and 4.4 assists, and last year he took his game to another level with 12.5 points, 5.6 assists, 5.5 rebounds, and 1.9 steals per game. An electric point guard who seemingly can always get into the paint, Smith can collapse a defense before finding a teammate for an open jumper or easy cut around the rim. The knock on Smith will be his size (6’0”) and his jumper (31% from three last year, though he shot 36% as a freshman). However, he has excellent feel and has a ton of reps for a sophomore and he’s ready to take a step up to the next level. In a recent press conference Todd Golden mentioned he would like to bring in a young ball handler, and Smith could fit the bill.
Arthur Kaluma
Kansas State
Arthur Kaluma is a familiar name around college basketball after three years of starting high-major basketball games starting at Creighton and ending last season at Kansas State where he averaged 14.4 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 2.0 assists. The 6’7”, 220 pound forward is really more of a frontcourt player than a wing, but he plays much bigger than his listed size. Kaluma was known earlier in his career as a possible NBA prospect but he has never been able to take things to the next level where he looks like a draft pick. He has an invitation to the G League combine but is expected to come back to college, and if so will be looking at a program where he can best showcase his pro prospects. After being largely an interior player in his first two seasons and struggling from the outside he did improve his three-point stroke to an impressive 35% last season, something that could allow him to play the wing at his next stop which would give some positive NBA film if it worked out. Proven high-major production is hard to come by and Kaluma has contributed for three seasons, so you know he’ll be a useful player wherever he goes if he ends up back in college.