GAINESVILLE — Florida begins its national title defense with a No. 3 ranking, and perhaps the nation’s top frontcourt and game’s top young coach.
Missing still from Todd Golden’s Gators is a shotmaker of Walter Clayton Jr.’s ilk.
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“We don’t have somebody that can make shots like Walt on this year’s team,” Golden said. “But not very many teams do.”
While Clayton’s NCAA Tournament heroics are unmatched, the Gators seek someone to step up in the clutch. Golden will have options entering Monday night’s season opener against No. 13 Arizona in Las Vegas during a Hall of Series doubleheader featuring Villanova-BYU in the night cap.
“It’ll potentially be a little different based on who we’re playing and what we’re doing,” Golden said. “It’s not something that we’re going to determine. And even if I had, I wouldn’t tell you right now.”
The effusive 40-year-old’s reticence is not only strategic.
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The Gators have talent, depth and experience, but also several new faces and players in new roles.
“Monday night’s a new challenge,” Golden said. “I’ve never been under the lights with those guys yet, so we’ll see what that looks like. I would say the biggest question marks are the unknowns more than anything else.
“It’s not like there’s one specific thing on my team that I’m like, ‘Oh man, I’m really worried about this.’”
The biggest unknown is a rebuilt backcourt following the departures of Clayton, Alijah Martin and Will Richard to the NBA.
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Transfers Boogie Fland (Arkansas) and Xaivian Lee (Princeton) will step in, giving Golden a pair of point guards with different skill sets and the ability to run the show.
The 6-foot-3, 185-pound Fland is an elite on-ball defender, able to create his shot and those for others, leading him to strongly weigh his NBA options after his first college season.
“I didn’t plan on coming back to school, originally, until I talked to Coach Golden,” he said. “When I came here, it didn’t feel like a visit. From the jump, they welcomed me, like I was family.”
Expected to handle the point against Arizona, Fland, who had offseason sports hernia surgery, sat out a 96-86 exhibition win Oct. 18 against Illinois. Lee filled the void with eight assists, just one turnover, and made five 3-pointers during a 17-point showing.
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“Xavian was awesome,” Fland said. “He did everything. Controlled the tempo of the game, controlled us as a team, made plays on defense, made the game easier for everybody.”
Having developed a synergy and rhythm with Fland the past two months, the 6-foot-4, 180-pound Lee is eager to team up against a talented Arizona squad led by senior point guard Jaden Bradley, who began his career at Alabama.
“There’s a lot of people out there questioning it,” Lee said. “I think our backcourt is also pretty good. I’m excited to just go out there and show that. We have good chemistry on and off the court.
“It will show when we play.”
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Preseason All-America power forward Alex Condon Jr., a 6-foot-11, 230-pound junior, returned for another season having trimmed his body fat to 5.5% while adding muscle. He’ll anchor a frontcourt featuring 6-foot-10, 260-pound powerhouse Rueben Chinyelu at center and 7-foot-1, 260-pound Micah Handlogten first off the bench.
Thomas Haugh, a 6-foot-9, 215-pound junior, moves to small forward, to capitalize on his long-range shooting ability and athleticism while creating mismatches for smaller opponents at his position.
“He’s adapted very well,” Golden said. “We thought it would be a pretty smooth transition. A lot of his skill set fits. We might give up a little playmaking in the halfcourt, but the size and athleticism will help us in the big picture.”
The Gators are sure to find out against Arizona, along with a non-conference schedule featuring a Dec. 2 visit to No. 6 Duke and Dec. 9 matchup with No. 4 UConn at the Jimmy V Classic in New York City’s Madison Square Garden.
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The Gators ended UConn’s bid for a three-peat during the second round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament and now look to join the Huskies as one of three programs since UCLA in 1973 to win back-to-back titles. UF also accomplished the feat in 2006-07, while Duke did it in 1991-92.
Against the Huskies in March, Clayton hit two clutch 3-pointers during the final three minutes to end UConn’s 13-game winning streak in the NCAA Tournament.
A key for the Gators this season will be finding a clutch shotmaker for when the game is on the line.
“Walt is incredible and it’ll be very hard to replicate what he did,” Lee said. “A big point of emphasis for the coaches and me and Boogie, especially, is just to be us and not trying to worry about filling his shoes. We want to be the guards of this year.
“Hopefully I can make shots like that and have his confidence, too.”
Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com
