Gators Assistant High on New Guards

The Florida Gators lost guards Walter Clayton Jr., Alijah Martin, Will Richard and Denzel Aberdeen this summer with the first three departing for the NBA and Aberdeen transferring to Kentucky. 

This left a gaping hole in the Gators' backcourt heading into next year, but head coach Todd Golden is not new to piecing together a roster. Landing commitments from Boogie Fland, Xaivian Lee and AJ Brown from the portal this summer to pair with Urban Klavzar, Isaiah Brown and incoming freshman Alex Lloyd, Florida has rounded out its guard rotation for next season.

Fland and Lee rank as the No. 6 and No. 29 overall transfers, according to 247Sports, and Brown is labeled as the No. 65 overall transfer. 

Gators associate head coach Carlin Hartman talked about these three transfers on his recent appearance on former UF quarterback Shane Matthew’s podcast, starting with Fland.  

“Boogie comes in from Arkansas, a familiar foe to us,” Hartman said. “A tremendous talent… and very dynamic in terms of how he is as a player, offensively, and it’s going to create some havoc defensively.”

Fland is expected to assume one of the starting roles next season for the Gators and justifiably so. He was one of 25 finalists for the Kyle Macy Award, which is given to the nation’s top freshman. Additionally, in his first season in the SEC, he averaged 13.5 points and 5.1 assists per game, despite missing 15 games to a thumb injury. 

His running mate is projected to be Lee.

Lee joins from Princeton and reunites with his former high school teammate, Thomas Haugh. The former Ivy League point guard averaged 16.9 points, 5.5 assists and 6.1 rebounds per game and shot a career-high 36.6 percent from 3-point territory as a junior last year, making him one of the most coveted players in the portal this offseason. 

“I know a lot of people have seen his highlights,” Hartman said. “He can really handle the basketball. He can really push it up the floor, make shots and create for others.”

As good as his rankings and numbers were, though, there has been one worry among the fans and media about his jump from Princeton to Florida. Many have asked if Lee will be able to carry over his production from his previous school into one of the most physical basketball conferences. 

However, Hartman rebuffed those concerns. 

“I know there were some questions, like can a guy from the Ivy League come in and have the kind of success you want,” Hartman said, “but what people need to remember is the proof of concept that we have. Walt came from the MAC conference, Will came from Belmot and Alijah came from FAU. Those are not SEC leagues. We feel Xaivian is going to be able to do the same thing.”

The last of the trio is Brown from Ohio University. The brother of current Gator Isaiah Brown, AJ averaged a career-high 13.2 points per game last season on 47.1/38.8/82 shooting splits. He’ll bring some necessary shooting off the bench next season for the Gators and overall experience to a team that lost nearly all of it in the backcourt. 

“He's just a really efficient scorer, a guy that can finish from two, really shot the ball well from three last year – a guy, as we're putting these pieces together, will provide punch for us and a guy that can make shots,” Golden said. 

With these three newcomers for Florida, Hartman believes the best is still yet to come next season. 

“We got some really good, veteran pieces in the backcourt that are going to help our program moving forward,” Hartman said.

Florida begins the 2025-26 season on Nov. 3 in Las Vegas against Arizona.

More From Florida Gators on SI