Florida Gators Transfer Profile: Trey Bonham
By Nolan Fluke
In college basketball, with every new season comes new faces. With the transfer portal hitting all-time highs, coaches are looking to bring in experienced transfers to fill their spots instead of recruiting out of high school. After the Florida Gators lost three players to the portal, head coach Todd Golden got active and brought in 4 new transfers, including Trey Bonham, to upgrade his roster. Who are these transfers and can they help the Gators back to the top of the SEC?
Hail Florida Hail will be highlighting each one of these new transfers and bringing our fellow Gator fans insight on their pasts, along with their potential future impact.
After highlighting Will Richard, the next profile is junior transfer from the Virginia Military Institute, Trey Bonham.
Player History: Trey Bonham, G
Trey Bonham was a 0 star high school prospect who enrolled at Virginia Military Institute. In his two seasons as a Keydet, he has started 36 games and averaged 11.3 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 2.9 assists. His shooting was excellent with a 48.7% field goal percentage, 36.9% three-point shooting, and 79.2% from the free throw line.
In his freshman season, Bonham was named to the Southern All-Freshman team followed by an All-Conference 3rd team in his sophomore season. He has proved himself to be a top guard in his conference ranking 4th in assists and 15th in scoring. He is a more than capable playmaker with an ability to shoot the ball to match it.
In his last season at VMI, Bonham put up13.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 4 assists on 47.8% from the field, 34.8% from three, and 82.6% at the line. He started all 29 games for VMI and helped keep them at .500 with a 16-16 season (the year before his arrival VMI went 9-24).
How will this high-level play in a mid-level conference transfer into the Florida Gators in the SEC?
Bonham’s Fit as a Florida Gator
Bonham is a ball-dominant point guard. He can score the rock and he can pass it. For the Gators, he can absolutely do that it just won’t be in the starting lineup. With Kyle Lofton running the 1st unit for the Gators, Bonham is going to have to settle as the backup guard.
Running the bench unit, Trey has the ability to penetrate the defense and get paint touches. This translates into scoring opportunities for himself and his teammates outside the arc. Florida is going to want to shoot plenty of three-point shots and adding a guard like Bonham is going to help push that style of play for Coach Golden.
Bonham‘s biggest asset for Florida is his passing. He gets credited with 28% of all of his team’s assists when on the floor, a huge percentage for a younger player. Although Lofton will be playing heavy minutes and running the floor, I think Bonham will make the most of any minutes given to him and have a chance to learn from one of the best pure point guards in the country.
Another asset Bonham brings to the table is his athleticism. His speed in transition helped push the pace for VMI and created a lot of transition scoring. Secondly, his agility and fluidity of movement allowed him to convert a lot of tough buckets through some physical defense. Coming to Florida, Bonham’s physical abilities could help Florida push the pace and be a threat under the rim.
In Summary
Two years into the NCAA, Bonham has blossomed into a skilled guard capable of running an offense while playing with a skillful blend of scoring and playmaking. Coming off the bench, Bonham will attract defensive attention with his ability to drive and create open shots for his teammates .
He might even have a chance to own the pick and roll with Colin Castleton if given the opportunity to play together. With Castleton’s height and Bonham’s speed and attacking ability, opposing teams might have a lot of trouble defending the rim.
Playmaking, scoring, athleticism, a huge pickup for Golden’s bench.
Keep up with the Florida Gators here.