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Florida's star forward, Alex Condon, has been a projected first-round pick for much of the year, but now he's testing the NBA draft waters to determine whether he'll go pro or return to Gainesville for a third season with the Gators.
Condon is looking to enter the NBA as a first-round pick. A lottery pick projection would almost guarantee his departure from UF, but a first-round projection will force him to weigh his options. Anything less and he's returning to Florida, with no thoughts of transferring to another high-profile program, such as Duke.
"There's no way I could go to any other school," Condon told ESPN's Jonathan Givony. "If I have confirmation from NBA teams that I'm in the 15-30 range, if something is guaranteed, I will consider keeping my name in. I have a great situation at Florida. It would have to be something pretty special, my family would have to agree that we can't turn that down."
With Walter Clayton Jr. and the rest of Florida's starting backcourt moving on from the program, Condon figures to be the main focus of Florida's starting lineup. The Gators already ran the offense through him, but the goal would be for Condon to score a bit more, earn the same All-American nod Clayton did and move into the lottery range. His defense and rebounding are already as strong as can be.
"We play through the bigs at Florida," Condon said. "My job is to get the ball to our guards and then crush the glass. My defense is NBA-ready. I already know how to switch ball-screens and stay in front of smaller guards, which you need to do in the NBA. I still have a lot of room for improvement, especially offensively. Most guys have been playing a lot longer than me. The next thing I need to tap into is my shooting. I shoot very well in drills but need to transfer that to games. If I come back to school, I will shoot it with more confidence."
Of course, Condon would also aspire to lead Florida to a second-straight national championship. While it's extremely difficult to do, Florida is one of two teams to do it since 2000, and only eight teams have completed the feat all-time.
"This was a surreal season," Condon said Wednesday. "There was so much depth on this team, and we all played unselfishly. A lot of guys stepped up in big moments. We had a great team, and that's the reason we won the championship."
Todd Golden is busy working in the transfer portal to complete Florida's roster for next season. He knows where Condon stands and has to plan for life with or without him as things remain up in the air. Thomas Haugh will return next season, as will Micah Handlogten. Both came off the bench to replace Condon and Rueben Chinyelu last season.
Haugh played starter minutes and Handlogten burned his redshirt and returned from a serious leg injury suffered at the end of the 2023-24 season. Both could easily step into a starting role if Chinyelu and Condon leave. Sam Alexis has re-entered the portal after one season with Florida.
Golden has secured a new starting point guard, too, Princeton transfer Xaivian Lee. Denzel Aberdeen is transferring out, leaving Urban Klavzar as the other guard in the mix. Four-star combo guard Alex Lloyd is also joining the program. Golden hasn't played many freshmen since taking over the program, but Lloyd is the No. 40 overall recruit in the 2025 class. Four-star small forward CJ Ingram could also get time at the wing, and Florida is still targeting more transfer additions.
Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Florida basketball F Alex Condon talks NBA draft plans with ESPN
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Condon is looking to enter the NBA as a first-round pick. A lottery pick projection would almost guarantee his departure from UF, but a first-round projection will force him to weigh his options. Anything less and he's returning to Florida, with no thoughts of transferring to another high-profile program, such as Duke.
"There's no way I could go to any other school," Condon told ESPN's Jonathan Givony. "If I have confirmation from NBA teams that I'm in the 15-30 range, if something is guaranteed, I will consider keeping my name in. I have a great situation at Florida. It would have to be something pretty special, my family would have to agree that we can't turn that down."
With Walter Clayton Jr. and the rest of Florida's starting backcourt moving on from the program, Condon figures to be the main focus of Florida's starting lineup. The Gators already ran the offense through him, but the goal would be for Condon to score a bit more, earn the same All-American nod Clayton did and move into the lottery range. His defense and rebounding are already as strong as can be.
"We play through the bigs at Florida," Condon said. "My job is to get the ball to our guards and then crush the glass. My defense is NBA-ready. I already know how to switch ball-screens and stay in front of smaller guards, which you need to do in the NBA. I still have a lot of room for improvement, especially offensively. Most guys have been playing a lot longer than me. The next thing I need to tap into is my shooting. I shoot very well in drills but need to transfer that to games. If I come back to school, I will shoot it with more confidence."
Of course, Condon would also aspire to lead Florida to a second-straight national championship. While it's extremely difficult to do, Florida is one of two teams to do it since 2000, and only eight teams have completed the feat all-time.
"This was a surreal season," Condon said Wednesday. "There was so much depth on this team, and we all played unselfishly. A lot of guys stepped up in big moments. We had a great team, and that's the reason we won the championship."
Florida's 2025-26 roster outlook
Todd Golden is busy working in the transfer portal to complete Florida's roster for next season. He knows where Condon stands and has to plan for life with or without him as things remain up in the air. Thomas Haugh will return next season, as will Micah Handlogten. Both came off the bench to replace Condon and Rueben Chinyelu last season.
Haugh played starter minutes and Handlogten burned his redshirt and returned from a serious leg injury suffered at the end of the 2023-24 season. Both could easily step into a starting role if Chinyelu and Condon leave. Sam Alexis has re-entered the portal after one season with Florida.
Golden has secured a new starting point guard, too, Princeton transfer Xaivian Lee. Denzel Aberdeen is transferring out, leaving Urban Klavzar as the other guard in the mix. Four-star combo guard Alex Lloyd is also joining the program. Golden hasn't played many freshmen since taking over the program, but Lloyd is the No. 40 overall recruit in the 2025 class. Four-star small forward CJ Ingram could also get time at the wing, and Florida is still targeting more transfer additions.
Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Florida basketball F Alex Condon talks NBA draft plans with ESPN
Continue reading...
