Florida Basketball: Kerry Blackshear Jr. makes Gators Final Four threat in 2019-20

Virginia Tech grad transfer Kerry Blackshear Jr. has committed to Florida Basketball, setting up the Gators for a big 2019-20 campaign.

Kerry Blackshear Jr. has been one of the most sought after grad transfers on the market. He was one of the last dominoes to fall, but his decision rocked the college basketball world on Wednesday evening. Florida Basketball landed Blackshear over rivals Kentucky, Tennessee, and Arkansas.

Blackshear has had quite the interesting offseason. He announced to transfer the same day he entered his name into the NBA Draft, after he and Virginia Tech lost in the NCAA tournament to Duke. He was immediately the biggest name on the market, but he made us wait months before deciding on his future. Rumors were swirling nonstop regarding where Blackshear would land, with many believing he would return back to Virginia Tech. Reports of Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas, and more spread before Florida took the reigns of the highly-touted big man.

Last season, Blackshear averaged 14.9 points, and 7.5 rebounds. He shot 50.8% from the field, 33% from three, and 73.6% from the free throw line. Per 40 minutes, Blackshear averaged a 20-point, 10-rebound double-double.

Blackshear is a strong, inside out big man who can fill it up on both ends of the floor. His numbers don’t jump off the page, but he plays very smart basketball. His IQ is extremely high, and his offensive game is above average. Blackshear mostly scores in the paint, but he’s not a one trick pony. He averaged attempting almost two three pointers per game last season, and he drained one-third of them. The grad transfer only averaged 0.7 steals and 0.8 blocks, but he alters shots well due to his size and high defensive IQ. He doesn’t just play the ball, he plays the players off the ball that are around the rim.

The Gators roster already looked strong before Blackshear joining, led by a returning trio of Noah Locke, Keyontae Johnson and Andrew Nembhard. A pair of five-star prospects are arriving in guard Tre Mann and wing Scottie Lewis. Top-50 big man Omar Payne is the program’s future frontcourt piece but the addition of a senior with tournament experience can only boost Coach White’s team.

Florida fans will be ecstatic to have Blackshear in Gainesville. He might even remind Florida fans of a world famous Gator–Al Horford. Because of the addition of Kerry Blackshear Jr., I have pushed the Gators into the top 10 in my preseason top 25 list. They already were projected to be near the top of the SEC next year but now the expectations – instead of the goal is to win the league.