Two former Florida players suddenly have a path back to college basketball

The Friday night news is that Judge Charlotte Sweeney of the U.S. District Court of Colorado is granting a preliminary injunction allowing athletes who were part of the class of 2022 and started their college careers in the 2022-23 season one more year of NCAA eligibility. For Florida specifically, this clears the way for Denzel Aberdeen to suit up with the Gators after he had previously exhausted his eligibility.

But Xaivian Lee and Micah Handlogten both also fall into a similar category as Aberdeen, and it wouldn’t be shocking to see either find a way back into college basketball for the 2026-27 season.

Micah Handlogten already has potential college interest

Even before the ruling from Judge Sweeney, Handlogten was starting to get linked with UNC for the upcoming season. Handlogten had previously entered the transfer portal but then wound up being a UDFA in the NBA Draft, and he wound up participating in the NBA Summer League with the Utah Jazz under an Exhibit 10 contract. He made two appearances this summer, including 11 minutes against the Portland Trail Blazers in a game where he had nine rebounds.

Handlogten would have been an interesting case study had this sweeping injunction not been passed after he broke his leg in the 2024 SEC Tournament, and it was believed he was going to redshirt the 2024-25 season. But as it was apparent Florida had a shot at the national title, Handlogten suited up the back end of the season, burning his redshirt at the time. He would go on to appear in 16 games that season as a rotational big man.

While most would have assumed his eligibility was exhausted, other players started to find a way to be eligible, including fellow former Gator Sam Alexis. Handlogten was very aware of the ruling and made a post on X right after the news broke.

It’s less clear what the plan for Lee is, though this ruling does pave the way for him to have one more year. He too went undrafted and became a UDFA with Cleveland with an Exhibit 10 contract. He made five appearances this summer with Cleveland, averaging 6.4 points per game.

Under the old system, even if neither player had exhausted their elegibility there wouldn’t have been a pathway back to college since they had signed a literal NBA contract. But the waters got muddied this past season, with literal NBA G-League players finding a way to come back and play in college.

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