From left: Micah Handlogten, Alex Kovatchev, Alex Condon and Thomas Haugh during Monday's first practice of the '25-26 season.
MBK Notebook: Gators Open Fall Practice
Monday, September 22, 2025 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
Share:
By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The 2025-26 Florida men's basketball team had a gathering recently at Coach Todd Golden's house where they watched the SEC Network documentary "Repeat After Us," which relived the Gators' back-to-back national-championship teams of 2006 and '07.
They didn't watch it for motivation, but more so for guidelines. Senior writer Chris Harry
"It's tricky, because unlike 20 years ago we don't have our whole starting five back," Golden said Monday. "On a macro level, our goal is to win again, but with this team, specifically, we're not talking a lot about repeating. We are talking about doing everything we can to play deep into March."
Sort of like a different band of Gators did six months ago. And like this current band – which took the floor Monday afternoon for the first official fall practice of the 2025-26 season – wants to do six months from now.
UF returns three players who logged starters' minutes from the '24-25 squad, plus another four scholarship players who logged regular-season minutes and climbed the ladders to cut down the postseason nets on the way to going an astounding 36-4 and claiming the program's third NCAA title and first in 18 years. The Gators said goodbye to the three-headed heart and soul of that team – the perimeter trio of Walter Clayton Jr., Will Richard and Alijah Martin – but welcomes back a four-man front court rotation that will be the best and deepest in the country, while adding a pair of marquee transfer guards on the outside.
Technically, there's really nothing to repeat because the team will be so different.
"Coach talked to us about not being focused on repeating. That's a word I think that dwells in the past a bit," said junior centerAlex Condon, a '25 third-team All-Southeastern Conference selection who bypassed a chance to go to the NBA during the offseason. "It's going to take a lot for this team to go all the way, but I think we have the capability to do it."
Junior forward Alex Condon throws down during scrimmaging Monday.
And the experience, what with three projected starters – Condon, along with junior center Rueben Chinyelu and junior forward Thomas Haugh – who averaged at least 19 minutes per game, with each expected to play even more this season. Same for 7-for-1 senior center Micah Handlogten, who is bigger, stronger and figures to be a force off the bench, while playing starters' minutes.
The additions of transfer guards Boogie Fland (from Arkansas) and Xaivian Lee (first-team All-Ivy League at Princeton), plus increased, more defined roles for returnees Urban Klavzar and Isaiah Brown will be the starting points on the perimeter, with other roles for reserve spots playing out and being decided over the course of the next nearly six weeks of practice.
UF opens the season Nov. 3 against Arizona in Las Vegas.
Don't be surprised, come next month, if Florida debuts near the top of The Associated Press preseason rankings or is picked to win the Southeastern Conference, something the program has not done since 2014.
Last year, UF debuted at No. 21 and was selected to finish sixth in the league.
From hunters to hunted.
"It's college basketball. At this level, there's a lot of pressure, in general," Haugh said. "Obviously, [repeating is] going to be in the back of our minds, but I think this team's mature enough and confident enough to move on to the next year, and we're going to go out there and show it."
Last March, while the Gators were on their postseason spree, assistant coaches Kevin Hovde and John Andrzejek were hired away to head-coaching jobs at Columbia and Campbell, respectively. Dave Klatsky
Hovde was UF's offensive coordinator. The Gators ranked No. 2 nationally in offensive efficiency. Andrzejek was in his first year as defensive coordinator. The Gators went from No. 94 in defensive efficiency pre-Andrzejek to No. 6 on his watch.
Now, they're both gone.
Golden will assume the lion's share of the offensive duties (with plenty of input from the rest of the staff, includingKevin Olsen, the team's new director of basketball strategy and analytics), while promoted assistantJonathan Safirand newly arrivedDave Klatsky, by way of New York University, will tag-team overseeing the defense.
"I think those guys, specifically, will be tasked with making sure we're on target for where we are and what we need to do," Golden said of his defensive coaches. "The good thing about defense is there is some technicality to it, but it is a lot more about effort and enthusiasm and about being physical and playing hard. I think those guys will do a good job on that side of the ball."
TOMMY BOY
Haugh, the 6-foot-9, 215-pounder, will start at the small forward (or "3" spot) manned almost exclusively the last three seasons by Richard. Haugh started just five games last season, but played more minutes than any other front court Gator on his way to averaging 9.8 points and 6.1 rebounds.
Playing Haugh on the wing will mean three of those four outstanding "bigs" will be on the floor most of the time, which should equate to one of the best rebounding teams in the nation; also one of the most high-energy front lines.
But what of Haugh's role change on offense and the outside shooting from that spot that is required?
"Tommy has proven the ability to be a good wing. He knows how to shake up and get a catch and shoot. He knows how to get downhill going right," Golden said. "Really good basketball players kind of figure it out, and he's one of those guys, and we still have the ability to play him at the ["4"] when we want to get 'Condo' some rest. He's an elite playmaker in the middle of the floor. And my hope is, offensively, we'll take care of the ball really well this year with this group, and we should be elite on the offensive glass. He just allows us to continue to raise our floor with this specific team."
Since Haugh got on campus in the summer of 2023, there have been comparisons (body type, athleticism, feel, skill) to Chandler Parsons, who struggled early on his career and grew into the program's first SEC Player of the Year by the time he was a senior. Haugh really has never struggled, but rather accepted whatever role his coaches put him in. He is way ahead of Parsons' timeline and now will put his wares on display in his third collegiate season.
"I'm going to embrace it," Haugh said.
He improved his free-throw shooting from 46.7% to 79.4 and his 3-point shooting from 25.5% to 34.0 from his freshman to sophomore season and is looking to make commensurate sophomore-to-junior strides.
TWO POINT GUARDS
Right now, Fland projects as the Gators' first point guard ("PG1," as they say) after averaging 13.5 points during his injured-marred season with the Razorbacks in '24-25. Fland finished second in the SEC in assist-to-turnover ratio.
But do not sell short Lee's ability on the ball ("He's fantastic," Golden said of the former Princeton star's passing), which will make his skills as a playmaker and shot-maker all the more dangerous in the new-look UF offense.
Both Fland and Lee averaged more than five assists per game at their previous stops last season, more than any UF point guard has averaged over the previous five seasons.
"With him playing off the ball, we want to get him in positions where he's a decision-maker and a playmaker," Golden said of Lee. "So you want to get him there whether it's a [dribble handoff] action or a you let him bring it up, let him play over a ball screen, where he's getting downhill, going to his right hand. He's very capable as a playmaker going left or right as well. Honestly, one of his best talents is his ability to play-make both ways, but my point is that we just need to get him into positions where he can make plays. And so, getting him downhill to his right hand off some different actions that we can run with Boogie starting the offense will be really good for us and make teams guard both sides of the floor."
Two years ago, Handlogten started 32 of the 33 games he played at between 230-235 pounds. He's 260 now and moving as well as he ever has. "He's playing great and is as healthy as he's been in a long time," Golden said. … UF has two closed scrimmages scheduled for the preseason: Oct 18 against Florida International at the O'Dome, then Oct. 25 in Orlando against Illinois, which is expected to be a top-20 team. … Several hundred were in attendance Friday night at the Alachua County Sports and Event Center at Celebration Pointe for a reunion that welcomed back UF basketball players, coaches and support staff members dating back to the early 1960s. Hall-of-Fame coach Lon Kruger was there, as well as such past standouts as Andy Owens, Chip Williams, Andrew Moten, Stacey Poole, Craig Brown,Dan Cross, Eddie Shannon, Patric Young and, of course, Gator all-time scoring leader Vernon Maxwell, whose records were reinstated in time for his emotional return to the UF fold. "I think it was a long time coming and a great opportunity for us to get one of our best alums back involved in the program," Golden said. "Now, understandably, a relationship with a Gator great that was a little frayed prior to this past weekend is back. Anytime you can say that it's a huge win." Big props to former player and passionate program supporter Bill Koss for putting this first-of-its-kind event together.
