Two former Florida players now have a route back to college basketball.
That possibility opened Friday night when Judge Charlotte Sweeney of the U.S. District Court of Colorado granted a preliminary injunction giving athletes from the class of 2022 who began college in the 2022-23 season one more year of NCAA eligibility. For Florida, that ruling immediately clears the way for Denzel Aberdeen to return to the Gators after previously running out of eligibility.
The same decision also puts Xaivian Lee and Micah Handlogten in the conversation for a possible college return in 2026-27.
Handlogten was already drawing some attention before the court ruling. He had been linked with UNC for the upcoming season, after first entering the transfer portal and then going undrafted in the NBA Draft.
He also spent time with the Utah Jazz in NBA Summer League on an Exhibit 10 contract, making two appearances this summer. One of them came against the Portland Trail Blazers, when he played 11 minutes and grabbed nine rebounds.
His case had already been unusual. Handlogten broke his leg in the 2024 SEC Tournament, and the expectation had been that he would redshirt the 2024-25 season.
But when Florida had a real shot at the national title, he returned late in the year and burned that redshirt. He went on to play in 16 games as a rotational big man.
Even with the assumption that his eligibility was finished, the shifting landscape around college basketball created another opening. Former Gator Sam Alexis found a path back as other players began getting cleared, and Handlogten was clearly tracking the news. He posted on X as soon as the ruling came down.
mood pic.twitter.com/jMjsmQzquR
- Micah Handlogten (@MHandlogten) August 1, 2026
Lee’s situation is less settled, but the ruling still gives him a lane back to college basketball. He also went undrafted and became a UDFA with Cleveland on an Exhibit 10 contract. This summer, he appeared in five games with Cleveland and averaged 6.4 points per game.
Under the old rules, neither player would have had a college path once they signed a literal NBA contract. But that line has already been blurred this season, with literal NBA G-League players finding a way back to college.
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Florida Finally Got The Answer On Denzel Aberdeens 2026-27 Status
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For Florida, the ruling mostly confirms what Todd Golden and Scott Stricklin had already been projecting, even as the guard was not covered under the NCAAs new five-for-five eligibility rules. It removes some uncertainty around Aberdeens future in Gainesville and keeps another experienced piece in play for a roster that has already had to track eligibility developments closely. [Read more 🡒]