This pair of Gators got All-SEC basketball nods
The 2023 college basketball regular season has ended, and the coaches of the Southeastern Conference have voted on who they believe the top players in the league are. Florida had two players featured across the various All-SEC teams released on Monday.
Senior forward Colin Castleton made the All-SEC First Team and the All-SEC Defensive Team, and guard Riley Kugel made the All-SEC Freshman Team. Castleton’s final year at the collegiate level was cut short on Feb. 15 against Ole Miss when he suffered a broken hand, but he accomplished a lot before the injury.
Castleton led the team in scoring (16.0 points per game) and rebounding (7.7 rebounds), but his defense was the most dominant part of his game. He finished the year ranked fourth in the country with 3.0 blocks per game and climbed to third all-time in program history with 194 rejections. His 2.49 blocks per game are a school record.
Kugel emerged relatively quickly as one of Florida’s best scoring options and he really took off in conference play. He scored in double figures in eight straight games to close the regular season, which is the longest double-figure scoring streak in SEC play by a UF freshman since Bradley Beal did it in 2011-12, according to the UAA.
Although Florida is losing Castleton next season, it has a bright, young star in Kugel to build around.
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