After months of hard work for newly minted head coach Todd Golden and his staff, Florida’s roster has largely taken shape with a diverse group of talent that has depth at each position. While there isn’t a gaping hole at any spot, the staff has been clear with what they want with the final open scholarship–a frontcourt player.
Morehead State’s Johni Broome, Buffalo’s Josh Mballa, and most recently Washington State’s Efe Abogidi have all been recruited heavily by the Gators but it hasn’t worked out with any of the three leaving the Gators with an open scholarship and a transfer portal market that is largely tapped.
One of the issues for finding another post player is the fact that Gators have a returning stud in Colin Castleton who is certain to get a lot of minutes and a lot of touches, meaning whoever comes in will likely be playing backup minutes in the 2022-23 season. Golden showed at San Francisco that he’s more than willing to play two centers at once, but that still means an incoming player would have to contend with Alex Fudge and CJ Felder for minutes, at least right away.
While the portal has been largely picked over there are still several hundred players remaining, some of which are frontcourt players that Florida could investigate. Here are a few of these players that you might see the Gators reach out to.
Keion Brooks
Kentucky
Okay, calling Keion Brooks a frontcourt player is potentially disingenuous here but the Gators have reached out to him and in fairness he did play a lot of his minutes at the power forward position for Kentucky. It appears the Gators are looking for more of a power forward/center player than a small forward/power forward type but when it comes to Brooks’ talent I’m sure the Gators would take him happily and create some competition for power forward minutes. Brooks was a highly rated recruit coming out of high school with some one-and-done buzz but that hasn’t been the case, and instead he’ll be entering his fourth season in 2022-23. Brooks is a physical, athletic forward standing at 6’7” and it’s been his inability to hit the outside shot that has turned him into more of a four than a three. If he wants to remain at a top SEC program but get a fresh start, Florida could be a good home.
Felipe Haase
Mercer
Felipe Haase may be a familiar name to you because before Mercer he was at South Carolina where he got minutes right away as a freshman and sophomore before heading to Mercer where he had two productive years. Haase, 6’9” and 255 pounds, is in the exact mold of a lot of the centers Frank Martin had in his time at South Carolina–stout and physical, but not particularly athletic. However, one thing he can do that a lot of similar players can’t is shoot the basketball. Haase is a career 38% three-point shooter on just under four attempts per game, and in his last two seasons he’s a 40% shooter on over five attempts per contest. He’s also a fantastic passer who averaged 3 assists per game last season and would be excellent in the five-out Princeton inspired offense we expect from Coach Golden. Haase isn’t an impactful defensive player due to his lack of athleticism and heavy build but he’s a high level rebounder, as good of a passer as there is from the center position, and a proven shooter from outside.
Daniel Akin
Cal Baptist
The year was 2018. The Virginia Cavaliers, a one-seed, took the floor in the first round of the NCAA Tournament against the UMBC Retrievers. Taking the opening tip for Virginia was Jack Salt, a player who started for three seasons in the ACC. For UMBC…it was freshman Daniel Akin.
Of course UMBC went on to stun the world and be the first sixteen-seed to beat a one, and Daniel Akin was part of that victory. He is still playing college basketball and after getting a redshirt in the 2018-19 season due to injury and then the COVID year he is looking for a new home for his, count it, sixth season.
Akin spent last year at Cal Baptist where he averaged 11 points and 8 rebounds per game. He’s got good size at 6’9” and 220 pounds and is a decent defender, though he’s not particularly versatile on the offensive end. Golden would be looking at him for his experience and rebounding ability, and coming from Cal Baptist for a sixth year of college basketball he might be more than happy to come off the bench for a prestigious program like Florida. This might be the exact caliber of player the Gators could lure to play backup center, so it’s a name you could hear.
Emmanuel Akot
Boise State
Emmanuel Akot’s career hasn’t gone exactly as planned. The four-star recruit went to Arizona out of his school and was mostly a bench player before transferring to Boise State where he was able to get more of a role and showcase more of his playmaking ability. He’s a pretty true power forward at 6’8” and 210 pounds and isn’t exactly the PF-C the Gators are hoping for but he’s a veteran player with high pedigree that has never been able to totally figure things out and Florida’s staff might be the ones who think they could channel his athleticism into a more well-rounded game. Boise State was a quality Mountain West team last year and Akot averaged 11 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists while really improving his jumper to 39% from behind the arc. He’ll have plenty of suitors and with his talent the Gators may have interest.
Shon Robinson
San Jose State
This may be about the bottom of the barrel as far as options go, with all due respect to 6’9”, 205 pound Shon Robinson. Most of the players remaining in the portal are veterans but Robinson just completed his second year of college and Florida’s staff could see him as an upside play if they wanted to take a flyer on a player with some pedigree. Out of high school Robinson was a top-100 player according to ESPN and signed with Ole Miss, though he was seldom-used as a freshman before transferring to San Jose State. Playing behind a 7-foot veteran in Ohio State transfer Ibrahima Diallo, Robinson didn’t get to start much but was productive off the bench averaging 8 points and 5 rebounds per game. Robinson has an excellent frame and was a dominant rebounder while being solid on the defensive end, and there are physical tools there that show why he was a top-100 high school player. He hasn’t yet shot the ball at the college level (15-58, 26% last season) but in high school he was known as an excellent shooter and his form looks clean, suggesting that he might have some stretchability moving forward. Would the Gators want to take a flyer on a player with some pedigree that was formerly in the SEC? Perhaps. He might be willing to take a backseat for a season while he continues to develop physically, and if the jumper starts falling and he continues to rebound the ball he could earn a decent role early.