Florida’s Denzel Aberdeen ‘felt like it was fair’ to grant him another year of eligibility

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — When Denzel Aberdeen toured the Florida basketball facility in April, he still had the locker room code.

It hadn’t changed. Little had, really.

Aberdeen’s return to the Gators mostly has been smooth despite waiting five months to get cleared to play. Circuit court judge George Wright granted Aberdeen an injunction that provided him a fifth year of college eligibility.

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“I always thought I should get (cleared) because I played against fifth years, sixth years, seventh years my whole life,” Aberdeen said. “Just thinking that rule applies for us as well. … Feel like it was fair.”

The decision should make Florida a popular — possibly unanimous — choice as preseason No. 1.

“No other team in the country has what we got going on right now,” Florida forward Thomas Haugh said.

Aberdeen was the final piece — and an important one.

The 6-foot-5 guard played three seasons at Florida before transferring to Kentucky last year. He re-enrolled at Florida following an official visit — a mere formality — and started working toward finishing his undergraduate degree this summer.

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He has worked out and practiced with the Gators since, seamlessly rejoining teammates in nearly every aspect of their daily lives. The possibility of missing another year of college hoops, though, loomed.

“He trusted us and kind of the plan we laid out for him,” coach Todd Golden said. “Guys in our program, I think, would say the same thing. You would not know that this guy was kind of hanging in the balance of whether he’s going to go to play an additional year or not.

“I think it speaks to his maturity and his trust in us. I think he’s relieved now, but he does a good job of keeping his emotions inside. And it was never something that we were concerned about.”

Aberdeen expressed relief about the judge’s decision. He said waiting in the courtroom was more nerve-wracking than anything that happened in the 2025 national championship game against Houston.

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Publish date : 2026-10-01 20:11:00

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