Florida Basketball taking advantage of transfer portal this 2021 offseason

There was a time during the summer when the biggest college basketball news was the handful of coaching jobs that opened up. Now, there is a coaching carousel because dozens of jobs are available every offseason. The same thing has happened with players that decide to transfer. What used to happen here and there has become a madhouse of chaos with nearly 1,400 players in the portal right now.

In the midst of this year’s portal madness, a couple of teams have really worked things to their advantage. One is new Texas head coach Chris Beard who has already landed Timmy Allen from Utah, Kentucky’s Devin Askew, and Creighton bog man Christian Bishop. The other team that has done quite well for themselves on the transfer front is Mike White’s Florida Gators.

The portal usually giveth because it has taketh from teams, and for Florida, that is certainly the case. After a trip to the NCAA Tournament that resulted in a 2nd round exit at the hands of Oral Roberts, Florida Basketball saw its fair share of departures. Guards Tre Mann and Scottie Lewis declared for the NBA draft, as did forward Colin Castleton, with the former two the more likely of the group to stay in the draft.

In addition to those three, four others entered the transfer portal and three of those four have already found new homes. Most notably, one of the team’s best perimeter shooters, Noah Locke will play next season at Louisville and young forward Omar Payne will suit up for Brad Underwood at Illinois. Also leaving the program were depth players Ques Glover and Osayi Osifo. Osifo the 6-7 forward will hope for a bigger role with the Jacksonville Dolphins.

With so many holes to fill on the roster, White hit the transfer market hard and it has paid off in a big way thus far. Let’s look at the guys who will be joining the Gators next season.