Florida Basketball Freshman Profile: Aleks Szymczyk is an underdog looking to shine
By Nolan Fluke
As Coach Golden takes the reigns of the Florida basketball program, he gets to bring in his first ever Florida recruiting class. His inaugural recruits include the names Denzel Aberdeen, Riley Kugel, and Aleks Szymczyk. These three freshman are the newest to join the Gators, and their first year development could be huge for the future of the program.
Leading into their first years in Gainesville, Hail Florida Hail is going to take the time to highlight each recruit and let our Gators fans learn more about these young talents.
After covering Riley Kugel and Denzel Aberdeen, we close off this series with the signee. A 6’10 forward from Frankfurt, Germany, Aleks Szymczyk.
Florida Basketball Player Overview: Aleks Szymczyk
If you love underdog prospects with little to no recruiting reputation who came onto the NCAA scene from nowhere, then Aleks is your guy. This German big man is coming into Golden’s program as a 0 star unranked high school prospect.
I can not list high school statistics at the same rate as our other prospects simply due to a lack of publicly available numbers. However, from Aleks‘ highlight tapes, the eye test can tell you that this young man has promise in the Gators lineup.
Szymczyk’s Fit as a Gator
Why take an unranked and unknown international prospect over a forward with recognition on this side of the Atlantic? Because not many forwards can splash three-point shots off screens and hit turnaround fades in the post. Aleks is a project player and shows serious flashes of potential as a very good all-around offensive player.
He has the ability to shoot outside the arc, attack the rim off the catch, and make plays out of the post. Obviously, Golden is not expecting this young man to be the next Nikola Jokic, but his game is very capable of being a playmaking big who can stretch the floor.
Not to mention, Aleks can hold his own on the defensive end of the floor. He is a capable shot blocker who can use his large frame to contest shots at the rim. His quick feet allow him to protect the rim and guard other forwards on the perimeter, a valuable asset in a big man.
On the Gators, Aleks will likely not be a factor this season. As with the other freshman, he will get minimal minutes as the more experienced starting lineup takes a large sum of the minutes. However, if he can get that three to fall, I can see him cracking a larger role than the other freshman due to the Gators lack of spacing at the forward position.
In Summary
Aleks is a fun signing. International players are hot right now due to the popularity and success a select few have received at the NBA level. Though he is not on their level, he provides the well-rounded fundamental base any coach would be happy to have on his roster. He can play traditionally out of the post while also bringing the ball outside the arc and providing some floor spacing. Not a lot of NCAA forwards have this ability, especially on the Florida basketball roster.
Szymczyk’s development is one to keep an eye on throughout his college career, and hopefully Florida fans can watch it from start to finish. If his flashes of potential turn into consistent production, there is no telling the damage he could do to the SEC.