Alex Condon’s newest honor only adds fuel to Florida’s March Madness hopes

Coming into the 2025-26 season, Alex Condon was expected to be the primary face of the Gators. It was Condon who was getting the preseason All-American honors, and when fans talked about the frontcourt for Florida, it was Condon leading the way.

Condon’s season has been somewhat overshadowed by Thomas Haugh and Rueben Chinyelu, and Condon, at times, hasn’t been as productive as Gator fans would have liked. But his play over the last month has looked like that of the player Florida fans thought they would see all season, and Condon’s newest honor highlights just how key he is going to be for another deep March Madness run.

Alex Condon is up for a national award

Condon was named a finalist for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award, given to the best center in college basketball. Condon joins Graham Ike (Gonzaga), Flory Bidunga (Kansas), Henri Veesaar (North Carolina), and Zuby Ejiofor (St. John’s) as the five finalists for the award.

Condon’s play has been up and down at times this season. He had just eight points in the loss to TCU, was 4-11 shooting against Duke, and the real eye opener was when he scored just one point against Auburn, which also happens to be Florida’s last loss.

But since that loss, in the 11 games since, Condon has morphed back into the player who was seen as a potential 1st round pick coming into the year. In Florida’s last 11 games, Condon has averaged 17.2 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 1.4 blocks per game. Only once in this stretch has he dipped below 10 points (Texas A&M), and he has shot 61% from the field, well above the 49.7% he was shooting prior to this stretch.

Condon’s uptick in play is bound to create matchup nightmares for opponents in March Madness. Almost no one in the country is going to be able to match the size the Gators have up front. Teams are going to be forced to pick their poison, and Condon is making himself a poison no one wants to pick.