With college basketball season on the horizon, it's soon to be the time of year when Florida Gator fans have something to look forward to and aren't begging daily for a coach to get fired. The Gators enter the 2025/26 campaign as defending national champs and have reloaded to make another deep run.
And longtime college basketball analyst Dick Vitale is among the believers that the Gators will repeat in 2026.
Dick Vitale thinks the Gators are awesome
Vitale wrote a piece for ESPN where he highlighted 12 reasons why he was fired up for the new season. Leading off his list was none other than the Florida Gators:
"Can you say back-to-back national champs, baby? Florida's roster is deeper than the Atlantic Ocean, with Alex Condon returning after pulling out of the NBA draft. He's a shot blocker, rebounder and low-post beast. Add in Rueben Chinyelu's rim protection and Thomas Haugh's stretch-four skills, and you've got a paint presence that will punish opponents.
But here's the kicker: Todd Golden added two electric guards in Boogie Fland, a five-star dynamo who can light it up from deep, and Xaivian Lee, a combo guard from Princeton who's as slick as they come. This team's got talent, size, experience and a coach who knows how to push the right buttons. The Gators are chasing a rare repeat -- and they've got the juice to do it!"
As Vitale points out, the Gators have returned their entire frontcourt from last season, and there have been some rumblings that Thomas Haugh is going to attempt to play the three spot this season, which would put him, Alex Condon, and Rueben Chinyelu on the court at the same time.
Florida's size was something almost nobody could match last season, and it should be a huge factor again in 2025/26.
But after losing its entire backcourt, what has people excited about this squad is that it seemingly reloaded through the transfer portal. Xaivian Lee is going to be a bit of a wildcard as he steps up into SEC play from the Ivy League, but if Arkansas transfer Boogie Fland morphs into who fans think he will morph into, there is minimal reason why Florida shouldn't be a contender this season.
Florida opens its season next Monday in Las Vegas against Arizona before its first home game on 11/6 against North Florida.
The Gators enter the season ranked No. 3 in the AP top 25, behind Purdue and Houston.