The confetti has long since been swept up for Florida Basketball and now the Gators are having to get down to the business side of things as they figure out their roster for 2025/26. Between graduations and transfers, Florida is going to look different one way or the other heading into their title defense campaign.
But two Gators in particular have the option to come back but also have the option to try and turn pro.
Which pathway they are going to choose is anyone's guess.
Florida Gators waiting on NBA Draft decisions
Alex Condon and Rueben Chinyelu declared for the NBA Draft, but both have until May 28 to withdraw and return to Gainesville.
Condon is in the classic boat of someone who could go late in the first round, but most mock drafts seem to have him in the front half of the second round. If Condon were to come back, he could play himself into being a lottery pick in 2026.
But as of now, Condon isn't thinking about 2026. Speaking to DraftExpress, Condon is solely focused on the NBA during his pre-Draft workouts:
"My mindset is that I'm fully in the process now and I'm treating it like I'm gonna declare for the Draft and stay in this Draft."
Chinyelu has the even more intriguing decision. He is not on the board of any mock drafts and he wasn't even invited to the main NBA Combine. He spent this past weekend at the G League Elite Camp trying to get an invite to the main Combine.
After going through workouts, he told reporters on site afterwards that:
"After everything, just seeing how teams feel about me. If there's a team that really wants me and wants to give me a contract, then I will definitely stay in the draft. But apart from that, if my feedback wasn't up to what I'm expecting, probably I'll just go back to school and go do what I have to do to get myself there. Because you work every day, every night grinding to just be playing in the big league."
What will Florida's lineup look like?
Between the two, Chinyelu is the more replaceable given the makeup of Florida's roster. If Chinyelu were to stay in the Draft, the Gators would lean on Micah Handlogten and rotate in Viktor Mikic and/or Olivier Rioux.
If Condon stays in the Draft it would have a domino effect on the entire lineup for the Gators. On paper Thomas Haugh could slot in at the 4, but Todd Golden has also talked about using Haugh at the 3 next season.
So if Condon stays, not only would Golden need to figure out who to put at the 3, but as of now, the Gators also don't have an obvious answer to rotate as a sub at the 4.