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Myron Medcalf
GAINESVILLE, FLA. — THIS OFFSEASON, months before the Florida Gators could focus on its pursuit of back-to-back national titles, a feat the program had previously achieved in 2006 and 2007, head coach Todd Golden first needed another championship roster.
He had known the best backcourt in America would graduate and push for spots on NBA rosters, but he couldn’t predict Denzel Aberdeen receiving NIL offers that would turn Florida’s new potential leader into what Golden called a «cap casualty,» ultimately departing for Kentucky. At that point, he didn’t know whether Alex Condon would remain in the 2025 NBA draft or return to Gainesville.
Through that draft process, though, not only did Condon decide to return, but he crossed paths with former Arkansas star Boogie Fland and tipped the scales of Florida’s title defense.
«I was like, ‘Come to the Gators. We might have to all run it back,'» Condon told ESPN of their conversation at a Brooklyn Nets workout. «So I don’t know if that swung his decision at all, but seeing him [commit to Florida] really helped me out with my decision.»
Fland clarified: «For sure, it added to my decision, especially when I knew everybody was coming back.»
UCLA Bruins as only the second school to achieve a two-peat more than once, Florida needed more dominoes to fall. A chance connection to an Ivy League star and a watch party at Golden’s house were the next foundational pieces in the Gators becoming only the second reigning champion in the past decade to earn a top-three ranking in the following year’s preseason AP Top 25 — expectations that they are collectively embracing.
«I think we need to lean into [the pressure] a little bit because this team at some point is going to fail,» Golden said. «That’s just the bottom line. And I would love to be able to say, we’re going to go 31-0 before the NCAA tournament. That’s not going to happen. I think for us to be the best we can be, we need to, at some point, deal with that — the frustration, the vulnerability, the disappointment — to really grow.
«If we try to protect our guys from that pressure, I’m not sure we’re ever going to be able to experience that.»
THREE DAYS BEFORE Princeton’s season finale, Xaivian Lee was mesmerized, watching Florida flirt with a 100-point game against Alabama from a dorm room in New Jersey.
The two-time All-Ivy League guard couldn’t believe what he was witnessing. There was a Walter Clayton Jr. to Will Richard to Condon whip-around that ended with a dunk. An Alijah Martin slam on a fast break. Thomas Haugh got a finish in transition, too. And Clayton stood out as the maestro of a furious attack.
That’s when Lee began to envision himself in a blue and orange jersey.
«I just remember they were playing really fast and Condon was getting a billion lobs and I thought that it was good offense,» Lee said about watching that game. «It was fun. It was fast-paced, flowing. And everything was open and they were getting up and down the court.»
After the Gators punched their ticket to the Final Four a few weeks later, Lee received a text from someone new. Golden had broken his own rule of not recruiting during the NCAA tournament — he didn’t want potential reports to distract his team — to capitalize on the fact that Lee and Haugh, teammates during prep school, had kept tabs on each other through a group chat, including Lee’s decision to enter the transfer portal.
A week after the confetti fell at the Alamodome, Lee committed to Florida.
Golden’s decision to limit recruiting during the postseason put Florida in a tough spot. By the time his team had cut down the nets after a come-from-behind win over Houston in the title game, he had an inkling that Lee would join the squad, but he still had more work to do. While the frontcourt seemed to be intact after a flurry of NBA-related decisions — with Condon, Haugh and Rueben Chinyelu opting to return — the backcourt still had more questions than answers after Aberdeen’s surprising departure.
Fortunately for the Gators, another elite guard was having second thoughts about his future.
Micah Handlogten (2.6 PPG) should play a bigger role this season — and a new pair of elite guards.
Lee and Fland both thrive with the ball in their hands, but they’ll have to share the load this season and find the same synergy that anchored last year’s backcourt. The frontcourt will also demand a few tweaks. Haugh will have to showcase a perimeter game and versatility he mostly demonstrated in spurts a year ago. Chinyelu and Handlogten will play more significant roles for a deep frontcourt, too. Are they ready for that? Condon was never the same after he suffered a midseason ankle injury last year, though he’s doing extra workouts on a stationary bike after every practice to increase his durability.
At this time last year, Florida had not yet been viewed as a real contender. The fanfare came later. That’s the difference between the two iterations of these teams: The expectations for 2025-26 were set at a high level before the season even tipped.
Golden knows the Gators can either run from them, or — like the 2007 and 2008 national title teams — use those great expectations to make history.
«We flew under the radar for a long time last season,» Golden said. «This year … we’re going to be preseason top-five most places, so we’re not going to have the ability to do that. And I want the guys that are back to feel the pressure and the pride of trying to repeat.»
