Todd Golden didn’t love much about Florida’s exhibition against Baylor, and his postgame message to Denzel Aberdeen was blunt.
The top-ranked Gators came out of Sunday with an 82-76 double-overtime loss, and the most glaring issue was offense. Florida shot 25-for-72 overall and just 4-for-29 from 3-point range, a rough night that left Golden frustrated with how often the Gators never settled into a flow.
“We left a lot of points on the board that way,” he said. “And then I thought that we started pressing a little bit. We allowed those misses to affect us in the other parts of the game that don't require talent.”
Aberdeen was right in the middle of that struggle. The fifth-year guard, whose offseason path has kept him in the spotlight, went 3-for-17 from the field and missed all 10 of his shots from deep in his first unofficial game back with Florida. He did help push the game to overtime with a free throw with 20 seconds left and a jumper with 0.3 seconds remaining, but his shooting line was still a major factor in the loss.
“We're thrilled he's back. He's had a really good fall, played really well.
I thought he was not good today. I think he needs to be better,” Golden said.
“… I thought defensively, he was good, not great. So, first game back, I'm sure there were a lot of emotions for him and just trying to get back comfortable.”
Aberdeen’s return to Florida has been anything but simple. After transferring from the Gators to Kentucky following Florida’s 2025 national championship, then coming back this offseason, he still had to sort out his eligibility for a fifth year.
New NCAA rules did not include the class of 2022, and his situation bounced through the courts. A ruling in Colorado initially gave him that fifth year, then an appeal removed it, before Aberdeen ultimately received a temporary injunction last month that restored his eligibility.
Now he joins Boogie Fland in a backcourt that Florida believes can be a real weapon. Fland scored 13 points on 5-for-8 shooting Sunday, and Golden has been clear that the two guards can work well together.
“He and Boogie complement each other very well,” Golden said earlier this month. “Kentucky got better last year when Denzel started playing on the ball primarily.
I thought he did a really good job kind of assuming that role under tough circumstances. Making that switch in the middle of the conference season is not easy, and I think he did a really good job.
He had to shoulder a heavier load. I think he grew a lot that way.
“Coming back here, he'll start off the ball to start our games, but he'll be our backup point guard and he'll do a really good job and command the team that way. That experience I think was really beneficial to his growth as a player.”
Florida will need that growth to show up quickly. The Gators have No.
2 Duke, No. 7 Texas, No.
8 Tennessee and possibly No. 10 Houston on the schedule, and they open the season Nov. 2 against No.
14 Miami in Tampa.
In Other News...
Walter Clayton Jr. Just Hit An NBA Crossroads Florida Fans Will Track
Walter Clayton Jr.s NBA path has already taken another turn before hes had much time to settle in. The former Florida guard was drafted in the first round by the Utah Jazz, then shipped to the Memphis Grizzlies, giving Gators fans a familiar name to follow as he worked to carve out a place at the next level.
Memphis has now waived Clayton as it trims its roster to the leagues 15-player limit, putting him right back into a waiting game familiar to plenty of young pros. There is reported interest from other NBA teams for the upcoming season, which keeps his next stop very much in play and leaves Florida supporters watching to see where he lands next. [Read more 🡒]
Florida Just Forced A Very Different Season Conversation
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CBS Sports responded by bumping Florida up 10 spots to No. 24 in its latest college football rankings, a notable jump after one of the biggest wins of the weekend. It also came in a larger SEC reshuffle, with 10 league teams now sitting in the top 25 of that re-rank, a reminder that Floridas breakthrough arrived in a conference race that already has plenty of company at the top. [Read more 🡒]
Florida Recruiting Momentum Just Put More Pressure On Jon Sumrall
Floridas 2027 recruiting class has become one of the early headliners of the cycle, and the ripple effect is already being felt beyond Gainesville. By mid-October, the Gators had stacked 21 commitments and climbed into the top tier of the national rankings, with a class built around two five-star prospects and a broad mix of four-star and three-star additions on both sides of the ball.
Among the biggest reasons for the surge is wide receiver Easton Royal, who gave Florida another marquee win after starting his process with Texas. That kind of momentum matters because it changes the pressure around every recruiting battle Florida enters from here, especially with more high-profile decisions still to come and rivals now forced to keep pace with a class that is gaining real national traction. [Read more 🡒]