Florida Basketball is already looking down the road, giving out scholarships to Zed Key and Andre Curbelo. How do these two players fit into the program’s plans?
Florida Gators head coach Mike White has been very busy on the recruiting trail this past week. The Gators recently offered four-star 2019 shooting guard Dahmir Bishop a scholarship and then on July 3 offered a pair of 2020 prospects, three-star point guard Andre Curbelo as well as Zed Key.
Cuberlo is currently playing for his native Puerto Rico in the FIBA U17 World Cup. His best game of the tournament thus far, came in the opener against Turkey. In that game, he flirted with a triple-double. Cuberlo finished with 20 points, seven rebounds and seven assists versus the Turks.
Through three tournament games, he is averaging 10.3 points along with 4.0 assists and 4.0 rebounds as well as 2.6 turnovers and 2.0 steals. He has struggled with his shooting, knocking down just 33.3% of his shots (11 of 33) and is 0 of 8 from beyond the arc. However, the Long Island Lutheran high school product has done a good job getting to the foul line, cashing in on 9 of 12 (75%) attempts.
Puerto Rico won Group A (2-1) and advanced to the quarterfinals of the tournament. Puerto Rico was scheduled to face China on July 4 with a bid to the semifinals on the line.
According to Future 150.com, Curbelo is an intelligent player who possesses excellent handles and has a good feel for the game. He is a solid playmaker with the ability to shoot off the dribble and when spotting up. The 6-foot-1 lead guard is an excellent 3-point shooter.
Curbelo does have things to work on. Particularly on the defensive end, where he needs to improve both on and off the ball. He also needs to bulk up his upper body.
Curbelo is ranked 143rd in the nation overall by 247 Composite in the class of 2020. He is also slated as the class’ 35th best point guard. With UF’s offer in hand, Curbelo now has 10 scholarships on the table. The Gators are just the fourth Power 5 conference team to offer him with St. John’s, West Virginia and Rutgers being the others.
Key is a three-star prospect from Brentwood (NY). The athletic small forward has a lot of work to do, but he is versatile and has a high motor. Key, who is an excellent defensive rebounder, likes to attack off the dribble on the offensive end.
Key mainly needs to improve his 3-point shooting and finishing through contact. The 6-foot-7 wing also needs to bulk up as well as improve the skills of his game overall.
Next: SEC Preseason Rankings for 2018-19
Key has been building up his scholarship offers recently. He currently has 11 offers with the latest coming from UF, St. Bonaventure, Hofsta and Robert Morris. Cincinnati, Maryland, St. John’s, Rutgers and Villanova are other major programs pursuing him.