Inside The $10 Million Race To Keep Florida Men’s Basketball On Top

Walk into nan Florida hoops analyzable and nan first point you’ll spot is simply a trophy case. Inside it is simply a shrine to nan Gators’ history, astir prominently nan men’s program’s back-to-back nationalist titles successful 2006 and ’07. Both nan charismatic NCAA trophies and nan much visually appealing clear-glass hoops presented by nan NABC reside there, arsenic good arsenic nets from those tourney runs.

That beautifully manicured postulation of title memorabilia lives successful stark opposition to nan coaching staff’s offices, wherever galore of nan program’s 2025 title relics presently reside, a mini reminder of reaching nan apex of nan assemblage hoops world.

But uncovering nan woody NCAA title trophy that caput coach Todd Golden hoisted jubilantly successful San Antonio now sitting unassumingly connected nan area of executive adjunct Tracy Pfaff’s desk? That feels retired of place. 

That impermanent location for assemblage basketball’s biggest prize serves arsenic a bully reminder of conscionable really fleeting winning a nationalist title is successful today’s landscape. The last buzzer sounded astatine 10:09 p.m. CT connected April 7. The squad partied good into nan night, past sewage connected a level backmost to Gainesville, Fla., nan adjacent time … and that was that. 

By Wednesday, less than 40 hours since confetti fell, Golden and his unit held meetings pinch imaginable returning players trying to fastener successful contracts for 2025–26. The squad was honored astatine nan shot team’s outpouring crippled that Saturday and hosted a cardinal transportation portal enlistee early nan adjacent week. Then, nan full starting 5 near Gainesville for offseason workouts pinch NBA draught decisions looming.

“You aftermath up connected Tuesday greeting and you’ve won nan nationalist title and you conscionable get backmost connected nan bus. You travel location and watch TV that nighttime and you’re like, ‘All right, well, gotta effort to do that s--- again,’ you know?” Golden says.

The pursuit started pinch nan Gators playing catch-up. The transportation portal had been unfastened for 15 days erstwhile Florida won nan title. The marketplace for apical players was spiking because of fears that nan imminent support of nan House v. NCAA colony could reset nan market, putting restrictions connected extracurricular NIL deals successful the caller revenue-sharing era that besides capped nan magnitude each schoolhouse could salary its players. Golden told his unit to eschew recruiting nan portal while nan squad was still playing. He didn’t want his existent players to deliberation nan unit was distracted from nan task astatine hand. The lone objection was Princeton constituent defender Xaivian Lee, a precocious schoolhouse teammate of guardant Thomas Haugh. Golden called Lee successful nan week starring up to nan Final Four to definitive general interest. Even nan activity nan Gators did anterior to nan tourney connected negotiating pinch imaginable returnees Haugh and Alex Condon had to beryllium ripped up, some because of nan market’s detonation and those players’ worth having accrued successful nan March run. No subordinate is wholly unmovable successful 2025, and Florida had to beryllium capable to connection adjacent to marketplace worth to debar immoderate chance of its stars getting wandering eyes. 

“This is simply a production-based business, and wherever we were connected March 9 was a batch different than wherever we were connected April 7,” Golden says. 

It quickly became evident nan $5 cardinal to $6 cardinal nan Gators budgeted for nan 2025–26 roster successful early March wouldn’t spell astir arsenic acold arsenic they thought. Golden had plentifulness of reliable conversations pinch diversion head Scott Stricklin and nan program’s apical donors to excavation together nan rate basal to support Condon, Haugh, 6' 10" halfway Rueben Chinyelu and 7' 1" large man Micah Handlogten and lure apical portal targets for illustration Lee. Guard Denzel Aberdeen, a Florida native, amazingly hitting nan portal and landing a payday northbound of $2 cardinal from Kentucky only added to nan urgency. While it whitethorn person been somewhat easier to person those conversations caller disconnected a championship, nan shortfall was steep: Florida needed much than $10 cardinal to build different title-caliber roster. 

“If we want to make judge we’re successful position to perchance get backmost to making a heavy tally successful this tournament, this is what was retired there. This is what our guys could person gotten,” Golden says of those philanthropist conversations. “I deliberation everybody [in assemblage basketball] had that, ‘Wow, this is retired of control’ or, ‘This is simply a batch much than past year’ conversations among their staffs, their donors, nan group supporting their program.” 

Lee, a supremely talented scorer, committed connected his sojourn aft being wowed by nan Gators’ in-depth scheme to return his crippled to nan adjacent level while competing successful nan reliable SEC. Eight days later, Haugh confirmed he was returning contempt initially putting his sanction successful nan NBA draught pool. “I knew I wanted to beryllium backmost successful school, and I didn’t want to not springiness my full 100% to nan predraft process,” Haugh says. Florida sold Haugh connected nan chance to play much connected nan helping arsenic a junior, pinch a starting spot unfastened astatine nan 3 alternatively of his domiciled nan erstwhile twelvemonth arsenic a ace sub astatine nan four. It could thief boost Haugh’s draught banal and fto nan Gators get each their champion players connected nan level astatine nan aforesaid time. If each went according to plan, Haugh could person Condon to return astatine his accustomed powerfulness guardant slot and nan Gators could clasp arguably nan champion frontcourt successful nan country. 

Condon, nan champion draught imaginable of nan imaginable returners, says going into nan NBA harvester successful May, he was really 60-40 to enactment successful nan draft. (Haugh, his champion friend, isn’t truthful sure. “I knew he was coming backmost from nan beginning,” Haugh says pinch a laugh.) Projected arsenic a precocious first-round aliases early second-round selection, Condon was intimately watching really Golden and nan Gators’ unit rebuilt nan roster. If he was going to spurn nan guaranteed statement for a prime successful nan No. 30 to 40 range, he wanted a existent chance to repeat.

“The pickups they sewage successful nan portal were beautiful important [to me],” Condon says. “Just to make judge we’re going to beryllium a title-contending squad again.” 

As nan Gators waited connected Condon and Chinyelu, who received a G League Elite Camp invite, to make their stay-or-go decisions, they were engaged moving connected landing nan missing piece: a move ballhandler to brace pinch Lee successful nan backcourt. The target was Arkansas defender Boogie Fland, who put his sanction into nan portal connected nan past time imaginable to support options unfastened but seemed much apt to enactment successful nan draft. A midseason manus wounded derailed a promising commencement for nan erstwhile five-star prospect, making his NBA banal a spot murky. Fland called it “very humbling” to see a 2nd twelvemonth of assemblage aft agelong projecting arsenic a one-and-done, but says he knew he had “more imaginable to pat into.” And nan burgeoning NIL marketplace wherever Fland is reportedly making millions made it a overmuch easier financial determination to see staying successful school. 

He was officially sold connected a assemblage return aft his first speech pinch Golden, who laid retired really they could thief Fland rebuild his banal by improving arsenic a finisher astir nan rim and adding muscle. A twelvemonth ago, Walter Clayton Jr. came backmost to Florida aft having been connected nan fringes of nan 2024 draft, elevated his game, group nan Gators’ single-season scoring grounds and became a first-round prime successful June. Alijah Martin transferred successful from Florida Atlantic for nan ’24–25 season, had nan champion twelvemonth of his profession and was drafted No. 39 by nan Raptors. The transportation was capable to person Fland to retreat from nan draught midway done nan harvester and, soon thereafter, he picked nan Gators. 

Condon saw a akin chance to jump up boards pinch different play successful Gainesville. He says 2025–26 will decidedly beryllium his past twelvemonth successful assemblage aft coming truthful adjacent to making nan jump this summer. He’ll get to show disconnected nan strides he has made arsenic a shooter and decision-maker that tin construe to nan adjacent level. “I consciousness for illustration I’m a different subordinate this year,” Condon says. 

It’s an offseason that couldn’t person been scripted overmuch better. 

So brings nan Gators to their adjacent challenge: sharpening this group into a championship-caliber team. 

Golden knows they person nan pieces, astatine 1 constituent during a believe huddle reminding nan squad they person “elite talent.” What needs to follow: Being “f---ing elite successful our mentation and elite successful our execution.” During a drill, he barks that if immoderate subordinate makes nan aforesaid protect correction they conscionable witnessed successful believe during a game, they tin caput to nan sideline without waiting for Golden to sub them out. 

Last play Florida played chiefly three-guard lineups pinch 6' 4" sharpshooter Will Richard astatine nan three. Now it will beryllium Haugh, a beingness 6' 9" guardant who made less than 1 changeable from beyond nan arc per crippled successful 2024–25. The Pennsylvania autochthonal looks leaner and much mobile, and offensively has quieted down his shooting mechanics and improved his handle. 

“My first twelvemonth I was present and past year, I didn’t really person nan skills to beryllium connected nan wing, I’ll beryllium honest,” Haugh says. “I didn’t consciousness comfortable dribbling nan ball, didn’t consciousness comfortable capable successful my shot. But this summer, I deliberation I took a large leap … I consciousness assured to beryllium successful that spot.” 

Between Haugh’s betterment from nan perimeter and Condon rebuilding his jump changeable during nan predraft process Florida’s unit is assured they’ll still abstraction nan level arsenic good arsenic past season. Lee brings immoderate of nan aforesaid off-the-dribble three-point prowess that Clayton did, while Fland, who has added 17 pounds of musculus since his arrival, is besides move astatine 3 levels. 

The biggest situation is nan much-discussed “hunted” label. For arsenic bully arsenic Florida was past season, it wasn’t until March that it was taken earnestly arsenic a title contender. 

“People were like, ‘Oh, they’re good, but are they really that good?’ ” Golden says. “And past we won nan SEC tourney and group were like, ‘Oh f---, they’re going to triumph nan nationalist championship.’ And we really had to set to that.” 

You’d beryllium hard-pressed to find a preseason Top 25 without nan Gators successful nan apical five. The players opportunity nan thrust is moreover stronger now that they’ve tasted success, and Golden has seen that manifest successful their approach. 

“They’re not moving from nan challenge,” Golden says. “These guys person each travel backmost and I consciousness for illustration they’ve worked moreover harder than they did past year. They’re not showing immoderate signs of being content.” 

Before a September practice, players and coaches alike bounce astir nan gym, power exploding from nan huddle, nan weight of nan impending pursuit to repetition obscurity to beryllium found. The infinitesimal of axenic joyousness and togetherness past quickly shifts to aggravated attraction arsenic Golden gets into nan instruction scheme for nan day.

“My first twelvemonth I was here, you’d spot a mates of group successful nan gym,” Haugh says. “Last twelvemonth you saw everybody successful nan gym and this twelvemonth you spot everybody successful nan gym. Nobody takes their disconnected days. Last twelvemonth was really cool and stuff, but we’re fresh to spell again.”

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