Florida embraces championship expectations that come with Chinyelu, Condon, Haugh back

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida coach Todd Golden insists his team is ready for everything that comes with being the overwhelming favorite to win a second national championship.

Pressure? No problem. Getting everyone’s best shot? Bring it. Needing to stay on edge for five months? That should be relatively easy given the way last season ended.

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“I don’t feel as stressed going into the season,” Golden said. “Last year, carrying the torch of the national championship into the season was a lot, and we had a new team. We had some returners, but we had a new team.”

It showed. The Gators started 5-4, fell out of the AP Top 25 College Basketball Poll and then dropped their Southeastern Conference opener. They struggled to make shots from 3-point range and didn’t find their identity and hit their stride until early January.

None of it should have been that surprising given the Gators lost arguably the best backcourt in school history, the trio of Walter Clayton Jr., Alijah Martin and Will Richard.

Now, though, no one should be shocked if they are favored in every game.

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“We know we’re going to have a lot of expectations,” Golden said. “But we’re not as worried about it this year. I think we’ll collectively, myself included, be more prepared and better ready to handle that earlier in the year.”

Florida (27-8, 14-2 SEC), which lost to ninth-seeded Iowa in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in Tampa, returns four starters and is counting on guard Denzel Aberdeen to get a fifth year of eligibility through the judicial system. He has a court date scheduled in Alachua County, with hopes of landing a temporary injunction against the NCAA.

Aberdeen’s petition for a fifth season was denied before the NCAA adopted the “5-for-5 rule.”

“I think Denzel has the best case, individually, of any guy that’s kind of in this situation of dealing with the NCAA’s confusing, operative system that they’re employing right now,” said Golden, pointing to Aberdeen playing just 40 minutes as…

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Publish date : 2026-09-25 16:33:00

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