The Florida Gators got a massive addition to their roster on Thursday when Ohio's AJ Brown announced he would be coming to Florida out of the transfer portal. Brown is the older brother of current Florida guard Isaiah Brown and is expected to slot into the starting lineup for Florida.
With a variety of guys graduating or transferring, the starting lineup for the Gators is still up in the air when they attempt to defend their national title, but this is what we project Florida to look like come November.
AJ Brown slots in at the 2
When we did version one of a potential starting lineup, we noted that Brown was in the picture to slot in as Florida's shooting guard, and the real struggle was going to be getting Xaivian Lee and Denzel Aberdeen to fuse together.
Brown is essentially an upgraded version of Urban Klavzar. He shot 38.8% from three, but is a capable finisher at the rim when he does drive. Brown also takes care of the ball better than Klavzar, with one turnover every 21 minutes versus Klavzar's one every 19 minutes.
Brown also averages one steal every 20 minutes, whereas Klavzar gets a steal every 49 minutes.
Xaivian Lee runs the show
The departure of Aberdeen did clear up who would be the primary ball handler for Florida. As noted above and as we noted in the first version of our projected lineup, it would have been interesting to see how Lee and Aberdeen would have co-existed given both are at their best with the ball in their hands.
3 spot has a ton of options
Prior to Aberdeen leaving too, we figured Todd Golden would aim for a lineup composition similar to what he used to win a national title, with three traditional guards, a power forward, and a center.
And so if Golden still has plans to do that, AJ's brother Isaiah will get a look for an increased role. We could also see incoming freshmen CJ Ingram or Alex Lloyd, both top 40 players in the class of 2025, battle for this spot.
Also don't rule out Portal God Todd having more tricks up his sleeve.
But if Golden wanted to mimic an NBA lineup, this is where Thomas Haugh could make a bid to play the 3 spot if Golden feels he can slot into those demands.
Does Alex Condon come back?
At this point, the biggest unknown is whether Alex Condon stays in the draft or if he comes back to Gainesville.
Mock drafts have him right at the fringe range where he could go either way, though we would make the argument that if he develops one more year, he could be a lottery pick in 2026.
If he does stay in the draft, then Haugh will slot into this spot.
Depth of big men
Rueben Chinyelu is also in the draft process, but it would be surprising to see him actually stay in the draft.
If he does leave, Micah Handlogten will slot in as the primary center. Behind them are 6'11" Viktor Mikic and 7'9" Olivier Rioux.