Photo: Alex Fudge; Credit: Zach Goodall
Florida Gators forward Alex Fudge is declaring for the 2023 NBA Draft after just one season in Gainesville, Jacob Rudner of Swamp247 reports.
The rising junior will forgo his remaining collegiate eligibility to test the professional waters.
As a former top 100-rated prospect out of Riverside (Jacksonville, Fla.) in the class of 2022, the 6-foot-8, 175-pound forward elected to continue his basketball career at LSU.
However, following the tumultuous departure of Will Wade from Baton Rouge, Fudge entered the transfer portal after one year with the Tigers looking for a fresh start as a sophomore. Pursued by several Power Six programs when he reopened his recruitment, the Jacksonville, Fla., native returned to the Sunshine State to expectedly serve as a critical two-way piece in Todd Golden's first campaign.
That wasn't the case.
Fudge began the season as a rotational forward in tandem with CJ Felder, working eight games in that role before an elevation to starting status against Stetson on Dec. 4. He held that post into SEC play, progressively improving with each outing.
Fudge's momentum was derailed, however, when a head injury suffered on the road against Mississippi State knocked him out of the lineup. He never returned to his previous level of play from that point — struggling with inconsistency in all areas of his game — and was passed over in favor of a small ball lineup that included Riley Kugel at the three and Will Richard assuming his former four spot.
Fudge finished his lone year in Gainesville averaging 5.8 points on 39.7% from the field and 22.9% from beyond the arc and 4.5 rebounds in 19.4 minutes per game.
Possessing considerable length, explosiveness and athleticism, Fudge presents intriguing intangibles for the next level, although his production didn't back up the potential.
His exit from the program makes him the ninth Gator to leave the team this offseason from 2022-23, joining Felder, Colin Castleton, Kyle Lofton, Myreon Jones, Kowacie Reeves Jr., Jason Jitoboh, Niels Lane and Trey Bonham.
The move opens up a fourth scholarship for the Gators to utilize in their transfer portal search efforts.
They have lured three portal prospects in EJ Jarvis, Micah Handlogten and Walter Clayton Jr. to Gainesville thus far to join two class of 2023 commits in Alex Condon and Thomas Haugh.
Florida will continue its roster reconstruction efforts with ample room to equip the unit to be more competitive on the national scale in 2023-24.
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