NCAA Basketball: Top 25 offseason team winners from 2023 transfer portal

8. Florida Gators

Incoming transfers: Zyon Pullin, Walter Clayton Jr., Julian Rishwain, EJ Jarvis, Tyrese Samuel, Micah Handlogten

Colin Castleton was one of the most important players in NCAA Basketball last season. And Florida proved it on the court, as they completely tanked when the team’s leading scorer/rebounder got hurt and missed the final month of the year. The hope is that the six newcomers, three each inside and out. can provide a better-balanced outlook for the Gators.

An early pickup for the Gators was Handlogten, a 7’1 center from Marshall. He averaged 7.5 ppg and 9.8 rpg. The Sun Belt Rookie of the Year isn’t much of an offensive threat right now but he played a huge role in turning Marshall into a good defensive unit, something they weren’t before he got there last season.

Samuel is more of the likely offensive weapon for Florida inside. At Seton Hall, the 6’10 forward averaged 11.0 ppg and 5.9 rpg in just 24 mpg. Jarvis, a transfer from Yale, was also a double-digit scorer. But besides the returning wing duo of Riley Kugel and Will Richard, it’ll be the backcourt that determines Florida’s fate.

Clayton was the leading scorer at Iona last season, averaging 16.8 ppg and 3.2 apg. And Pullin was the star of UC-Riverside, averaging 18.3 ppg and 4.2 apg. There’s a good chance that they’ll start together in the backcourt, with Rishwain, a capable sharpshooting guard from San Francisco, coming off the bench.