Florida Basketball: Why Alijah Martin is the most important team transfer for 2024-25

Long in the past are the days of supremacy from Florida, as their back-to-back national titles are now nearly two decades ago. However, Todd Golden has done a pretty sharp job in his first two years getting this Gators program back in the right direction. Florida bounced back nicely this past season and was back in the Big Dance for the first time in three years. Of course, simply making the NCAA Tournament isn’t enough for this program.

Last year saw the Gators lean heavily on incoming guard Walter Clayton Jr. and they’ll get their leading scorer back again this upcoming season. Freshmen forwards Alex Condon and Thomas Haugh return but the frontcourt lost plenty of talent, with Tyrese Samuel graduating and 7-footer Micah Handlogten moving on. Getting Will Richard back is another win, though the Gators are also losing Zyon Pullin in the backcourt too.

With a few holes to fill, the Transfer Portal became a necessary tool for Golden and his staff and they managed to land some intriguing talent. The first name of note is Rueben Chinyelu, a Nigerian center who spent his freshman year at Washington State. Another notable addition to that frontcourt is Sam Alexis, a power forward who comes fresh from Chattanooga and should become both a starter and reliable weapon.

Today’s focus instead turns towards that third and final transfer, as the Gators welcomed Alijah Martin to town. A 6’2 wing from Mississippi, Martin spent the last four seasons down at Florida Atlantic and was critical during the Owls’ run to the Final Four in 2013. He was a starter and major scorer in each of the last three seasons and has made nearly 37% of his 3-point attempts in his career. Last year he averaged 13.1 points and 5.9 rebounds in his only season in the AAC, nabbing Second Team All-AAC honors.

Martin has been an All-League player and put up at least 13 points a game in each of the last three seasons. He was one of the biggest cogs in the machine that was Florida Atlantic in recent years. He’s a reliable long-range scorer who can cause chaos all over the court. He ranked Top 10 in the AAC in steals and has had great metrics on both sides of the ball. While maybe not the most important piece of that recent Owls dominance, he’s certainly a massively talented guard.

We’re effectively throwing Martin and his talent into a talented backcourt that already includes Clayton and Richard. This was an important move for the Gators because there’s not a lot of depth or experience behind those two in the rotation. Between the returning players, transfers, and freshmen there was going to be depth and talent in the frontcourt, but Martin really strengthens this lineup on the ball.

However, with what the Gators lost in recent months, it’s fair to wonder if this team got better or worse in the offseason. Florida scored 100 points in a Tournament loss and have found themselves trying to replace several of those most prominent scorers. Did this coaching staff get enough talent in the offseason to make another run at the postseason and an SEC crown? Will the final collegiate campaign for Martin produce more fireworks?