Florida Men’s Basketball Previews: Guards
The 2023-24 men’s college basketball season starts on Monday, Nov. 6, for Florida against Loyola Maryland, and the roster looks a bit different than it did in Year 1 under Todd Golden.
The program lost several players to the pros and transfer portal, but Golden and his staff worked hard to secure the return of at least one player and brought in some talented replacements.
Riley Kugel and Will Richard are the two familiar names on the roster, but it’s the players behind them that will decide close games for the Gators this year.
Here’s a look at every guard on the 2023-24 Florida men’s basketball roster.
Starter: No. 2 Riley Kugel (So.)
Stats:
YEAR | MPG | FG% | 3PT% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG | BLK | STL |
2022-23 | 23.0 | 45.6 | 37.6 | 66.3 | 2.8 | 1.0 | 9.9 | 0.2 | 0.8 |
Riley Kugel should start most games for Florida this season. Listed as a guard, Kugel is more of a wing player who can fit at either the 2 or 3 spot. He finished his freshman campaign with 9.9 points per game, but he was really just finding his groove in the Gators’ offense.
Still, NBA scouts took notice, and Kugel flirted with the draft before deciding to come back for another year in Gainesville. Kugel should put up double-figure points nightly. He was averaging more than 20 points per game over Florida’s final seven games last year.
Kugel’s goal is to win with Florida before he goes to the NBA. Playing for a national championship would be nice, but Kugel will be happy if he can leave UF with a winning record. He’s dropped some weight coming into his sophomore campaign and knows all eyes are on him.
Let’s see if he can be the offensive weapon Florida needs him to be this year.
Starter: No. 5 Will Richard (Jr.)
Stats:
YEAR | MPG | FG% | 3PT% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG | STL | BLK |
2021-22 | 27.6 | 46.8 | 32.6 | 80.4 | 6.0 | 1.8 | 12.1 | 1.2 | 0.8 |
2022-23 | 27.9 | 49.3 | 39.8 | 85.7 | 4.5 | 0.8 | 10.4 | 0.9 | 0.6 |
Career | 27.7 | 47.9 | 36.0 | 82.6 | 5.3 | 1.3 | 11.3 | 1.1 | 0.7 |
Will Richard transferred from Belmont before his sophomore year and shined in his first year with the Gators. He was just a few shots away from shooting 50% from the field and 40% from three-point range.
Richard is less likely to run the point and is better suited as a 3-and-D guard. He’ll punish defenders if he can move around without the ball and find a shot. Richard can score inside the arc as well and defends well considering his 6-foot-4-inch stature.
Kugel is the star of the team, but Richard is an excellent complementary piece with experience under Golden. There’s plenty of optimism that he’ll enjoy a breakout season this year.
Starter: No. 1 Walter Clayton Jr. (Jr.)
Stats:
YEAR | MPG | FG% | 3PT% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG | STL | BLK |
2021-22 | 16.1 | 43.4 | 35.7 | 78.7 | 2.2 | 1.6 | 7.3 | 0.8 | 0.3 |
2022-23 | 30.3 | 45.5 | 43.1 | 95.3 | 4.3 | 3.2 | 16.8 | 1.8 | 0.6 |
Career | 23.2 | 44.9 | 40.6 | 88.5 | 3.2 | 2.4 | 12.0 | 1.3 | 0.5 |
Walter Clayton is one of the two key backcourt additions Todd Golden acquired through the transfer portal this offseason, and he should be the Gators’ starting point guard to start the season.
The former Iona Gael is a strong defender and has solid vision as a passer. He’ll need to take the next step as a distributor if he wants to succeed in the SEC, but the overall jump he made from Year 1 to Year 2 is very promising.
Clayton is an elite free-throw shooter (95.3%) who also shot 43% from beyond the arc last year. Expect him to put up plenty of points this year.
Key Backup: No. 0 Zyon Pullin (Gr.)
Stats:
YEAR | MPG | FG% | 3PT% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG | STL | BLK |
2019-2020 | 17.6 | 35.5 | 28.6 | 65.9 | 2.1 | 1.8 | 4.1 | 0.3 | 0.1 |
2020-21 | 31.4 | 47.9 | 39.6 | 80.0 | 4.9 | 4.5 | 12.1 | 0.7 | 0.0 |
2021-22 | 34.7 | 47.3 | 31.1 | 76.7 | 5.6 | 4.3 | 14.3 | 0.8 | 0.0 |
2022-23 | 33.9 | 48.6 | 39.4 | 77.1 | 4.4 | 4.2 | 18.3 | 0.9 | 0.1 |
Career | 29.0 | 46.5 | 35.2 | 76.1 | 4.1 | 3.6 | 12.0 | 0.7 | 0.1 |
Zyon Pullin is the other key transfer portal addition (UC Riverside) in Florida’s backcourt this season, but he’ll sit out the first three games as he serves a suspension. Pullin is different from Clayton in that he likes to attack the basketball and score closer to the hoop. His three-point shooting percentage still flirted with the 40% mark last year, though, so defenders can’t afford to sag off of him too much. He also just won the team’s preseason three-point contest.
It wouldn’t be surprising to see Pullin make his way into the starting lineup at some point this season, but his talents might be best served in a sixth-man role for the Gators. Florida’s three-guard starting lineup doesn’t offer a ton of opportunities for Pullin to work with the ball in his hands. Coming in when some combination of Clayton, Kugel and Richard needs a rest would allow him to maximize his scoring potential.
Rotational Pieces: No. 1 Denzel Aberdeen (So.) and No. 23 Julian Rishwain (Gr.)
The four guards above are likely to eat up most of Floirida’s backcourt minutes this season, but sophomore Denzel Aberdeen and graduate transfer Julian Rishwain will make some noise off the bench.
Aberdeen played 12 games as a freshman, scoring 19 points over 40 minutes of action. The sample size is too small to work off of with confidence, but Golden said that Aberdeen has made huge strides over the offseason. He won the team’s preseason dunk contest by leaping over Golden, and he should surprise people with his play this year.
“That [dunk] was just an example of how athletic he’s gotten,” Golden said to The Alligator. “He’s turned into a really good player.”
Rishwain played for Golden in San Francisco, shooting 43% from three-point range as a junior, but he struggled mightily in the following season under a new head coach. His season ended early thanks to a torn ACL, MCL and PCL, but he rehabbed quickly and is now healthy enough to play.
He’ll be a three-point threat off the bench for Florida and hopefully bounce back from his struggles a year ago.
Freshmen: No. 30 Kajus Kublickas and No. 33 Cooper Josefsberg
Todd Golden is always looking at international recruiting pool for talent, and he found Lithuanian point guard Kajus Kublickas.
With five guys ahead of him, Kublickas shouldn’t see too much time on the court as a freshman. Golden will need to get him on the court at some point to see what he’s capable of in-game, but there’s zero pressure for him to produce in Year 1. Still, Florida doesn’t have another true point guard on the roster.
Walk-on Cooper Josefsberg is the other freshman on the team. He played high school ball at Riviere Prep in Miami where he won a state title earlier this year.
Walk-Ons: No. 22 Bennett Andersen (Sr.), No. 12 Alex Klatsky (R-Sr.) and No. 20 Jack May (R-Jr.)
Rounding out the guards on the 2023-24 roster are three walk-ons — two returning and one (sort of) new addition.
Most Gators hoops fans know Alex Klatsky and Jack May. In fact, the Rowdies do a great job letting Coach Golden know when it’s time to put both guys in by chanting their names in a blowout.
Klatsky is a redshirt senior, so this is his last chance to sink a three and soak it all in. Godspeed, kid. May is a redshirt junior, so he has another year if he chooses to return.
Finally, there’s Bennett Anderson, who joined the team as a walk-on this year after three seasons as a team manager.
Golden loves his walk-ons because he was one himself. Hopefully, these guys get some playing time this year.
Read more
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Todd Golden is building the future of Florida Gators basketball
Florida basketball will keep up strong international recruiting under Golden
Florida wing named to 2023-24 preseason All-SEC Team
Florida basketball lands in middle of SEC preseason poll pack
Gators hoops has a pair of AP Poll votes in preseason rankings
Florida basketball earns votes in USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll preseason rankings
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