The Gators have four seniors on the 2018-2019 men’s basketball team, with one being a walk-on, that leaves Florida with only 3 scholarships for the 2019 recruiting class, barring there are no transfers or early entrants into the NBA Draft.
In August, 5-star point guard Tre Mann made a pledge to head coach Mike White and staff, followed in early September by 6’3 point guard Alex Klatsky. Klatsky committed to UF as a preferred walk-on, despite scholarship offers from Seton Hall, Eastern Kentucky, and Niagara. This leaves the Gators with 2 open scholarships remaining for the 2019 class.
The following list details several highly sought after targets of the Florida coaching staff.
Point Guards:
With two lead guard commits and two already on the squad, the Gators will be four-deep at the point guard spot next year with Mike Okauru, Andrew Nembhard, Mann, and Klatsky. Therefore it is safe to say Mike White doesn’t need more point guards.
Wings:
Lester Quinones, (6’5, SG, 4-star) recently announced that he would spend his senior season at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fl. Quinones, originally from New York, has taken an unofficial visit to Florida, but with nearly 30 power five offers it clear Quinones is wide open. LSU, St. John’s, Georgetown, and Kentucky all recently visited him at IMG.
Harlond Beverly, (6’4, SG 4-star) originally from Detroit, Beverly now attends Montverde Academy and is a top 115 guy nationally. Picked up an offer from the Gators over the summer, but a commitment seems far from likely. Xavier, Baylor, and Michigan State are likely his top 3 with Depaul being a team making a strong push for Beverly recently.
Matthew Hurt, (6’9, SF, 5-star) has blue blood written all over him, sadly Florida isn’t one of them. On the bright side, there is another 5-star wing the Gators have a legit shot at getting.
Scottie Lewis, (6’6, SF, 5-star) attends the same school as Gator commit Alex Klatsky, Ranney School in New Jersey and is down to two programs UF and Kentucky. UK already has 2 small forward commits for 2019 in Dontaie Allen and Khalil Whitney, so Gator fans have a reason to be excited.
Christian Brown, (6’7, SF, 4-star) the top 25 prospect has recently cut his list down to 7, Seton Hall, NC State, South Carolina, Clemson, Georgia, Florida, and UNLV. Being from Columbia, SC, Frank Martin’s Carolina squad, and Clemson are likely at the top of Brown’s list.
Antavion Collum, (6’7 SF, 3-star) recently announced a top 7 of UNLV, Missouri, Florida State, Ole Miss, Louisville, Florida, and Georgetown, but went ahead and pulled the trigger on Ole Miss Tuesday, September 25.
Chris Ledlum, (6’6, SF, 4-star) has shot up the national recruiting rankings this past summer by pulling in 34 Division 1 offers. The 4-star wing recently had an in-home visit with Mike White and also with Patrick Ewing of Georgetown the day before. Other schools high on Ledlum include Seton Hall, Pitt, Harvard, Yale, and Notre Dame.
CJ Walker, (6’8 SF 5-star) from Orlando Christian Prep, has narrowed his list down to Arizona, LSU, Oregon, Miami, and Florida. The fast-rising 5-star has already taken official visits to Miami and then Oregon this past weekend. A visit to UF was scheduled for the weekend of October 6 but then pushed it back due to SAT testing. Walker will be in Gainesville October 12-14.
Donta Scott, (6’7, SF, 3-star) has 12 offers to date, and is not a high priority for the Gators. Scott, who is a native to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania has taken official visits to Maryland, Seton Hall, Temple, and has visits planned in October with South Carolina and La Salle. The top 150 prospect is no longer considering UF.
Seth Lundy, (6’5, SF 4-star) trimmed his list down to 4 schools, eliminating the Gators from consideration. His top four consists of Marquette, Louisville, Virginia Tech, and Penn State.
Post:
Omar Payne, (6’9 C 4-star) a Florida native, has narrowed his list down to 5. FSU, LSU, Louisville, Ohio State, and UF. The top-45 recruit has visited or has visits scheduled for all of them and it appears that Mike White and staff are leading the way for his recruitment at the moment. Payne will most likely make a decision before the first signing period in November.
Chandler Lawson, (6’8, PF, 4-star) has taken official visits to Kansas, Ole Miss, and has a visit to Georgia Tech planned for October 5.
Moulaye Sissoko, (6’10, C, 3-star) has a lengthy list of offers and interest but doesn’t appear to be close to making a decision soon. The big man from Mali holds an offer from the Gators but is not the number one post priority.
Jason Jitoboh, (6’9, C, 3-star) has official visits scheduled with Florida for October 5, and that will be followed up with a visit to Illinois the following week, and then a trip to Louisville in November on the 8th.
Balša Koprivica, (7’ C, 4-star) is attending Montverde Academy for his senior year and will most likely be a spring commit, as Koprivica has nearly 20 high major offers and is still wide open in his recruitment.