Alex Condon Named SEC Co-Player of the Week After Dominant Two-Game Stretch
Florida’s frontcourt just got a little more national attention - and for good reason. Junior forward Alex Condon has been named SEC Co-Player of the Week, sharing the honor with Texas A&M’s Rashaun Agee after a pair of performances that turned heads across the conference.
Condon’s week was nothing short of a statement. In Florida’s 47-point demolition of South Carolina - the largest margin of victory in an SEC game in program history - the 6-foot-11 forward flirted with a triple-double, finishing with 10 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists.
It was the kind of all-around effort that doesn’t just show up on the stat sheet - it sets the tone. His passing from the high post helped orchestrate Florida’s halfcourt sets, and his presence inside kept South Carolina on its heels from the jump.
Then came Sunday, and Condon turned it up another notch. Facing a ranked Alabama squad, he tied his season-high with 25 points and added seven boards, six assists, two blocks, and two steals.
No turnovers. Just clean, efficient basketball from a player who looked every bit the part of a First-Team All-SEC talent - and maybe more.
It was a bounce-back week for Condon, who had been held to just one point in Florida’s previous game, a nine-point loss to Auburn. But head coach Todd Golden wasn’t concerned, and his faith was rewarded in a big way.
“I think he just had one bad game against Auburn,” Golden said after Sunday’s win. “He was awesome before that when we won five in a row.
Anytime something negative happens - a loss, a bad shooting night - it becomes the focal point. We told Alex, ‘You’ve been awesome all year.
Don’t let one game change your mentality.’”
Golden pointed to Condon’s eight assists against South Carolina as a sign of his growing impact beyond scoring. But Sunday’s performance was the total package.
“Today, he looked like a First-Team All-American,” Golden said. “Twenty-five points, seven rebounds, six assists, no turnovers, two blocks, two steals.
That’s a hell of a ball game, man. I thought he was aggressive, decisive, and played with great physicality.”
Condon, for his part, has kept things simple. The outside shot hasn’t been falling the way he’d like, but that hasn’t stopped him from impacting the game in other ways. His ability to facilitate from the interior has been a key cog in Florida’s offensive rhythm.
“Coach Hartman came to me and said, ‘Three-point shots aren’t falling. Don’t worry about it.
Don’t let it affect the rest of your game,’” Condon said after the Alabama win. “So I just focused on getting to my spots in the paint and facilitating for the other guys.”
The recognition marks the first time this season Condon has earned SEC Player of the Week honors - and it comes at a time when the Gators are gaining steam in conference play.
But Condon wasn’t the only Gator making waves.
Sophomore center Rueben Chinyelu was named the Naismith Player of the Week after a pair of dominant performances of his own. He posted back-to-back double-doubles, tallying 14 points and 11 rebounds in the win over South Carolina, followed by 14 points and a career-high 17 boards against Alabama.
Chinyelu now leads the SEC with 13 double-doubles this season, a mark that also ties him for sixth in Florida history. His rebounding numbers are elite - fourth in the nation in total rebounds per game (11.4) and sixth in offensive rebounds (4.2). And he’s been a rock in the Gators’ lineup, starting all 62 games over the past two seasons and anchoring the team to a 52-10 record in that span.
The Enugwu-Agidi, Nigeria native continues to be a force in the paint, not just cleaning the glass but also altering shots and setting the tone defensively.
Now, with both Condon and Chinyelu firing on all cylinders, Florida is looking like a team nobody wants to face. And the timing couldn’t be better - the Gators are set to face Texas A&M on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. ET in College Station, where Condon and Agee, the SEC’s two Players of the Week, will go head-to-head.
Circle that one. It’s shaping up to be a battle in the frontcourt.