GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Florida forward Alex Condon has withdrawn from the NBA draft and will return to school for his junior season, significantly boosting the Gators’ chances of repeating as national champions.
Coach Todd Golden said last week he was “cautiously optimistic” the 6-foot-11, 230-pound Australian would be back for another season. He got the news Tuesday, a day before the deadline for players to withdraw from draft consideration.
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Condon averaged 10.6 points and a team-leading 7.5 rebounds last season. He also blocked 49 shots. He notched seven double-doubles, scored in double figures 18 times and grabbed at least 10 boards 10 times.
Condon previously said he planned to stay in the NBA draft if it looked like he would be selected between 20th and 35th overall in the two-round draft.
His return nearly completes Golden’s revamped roster, which includes replacing its top three guards: Walter Clayton Jr., Alijah Martin and Will Richard.
Golden landed Princeton’s Xaivian Lee, a 6-foot-4 Toronto native who averaged 16.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 5.5 assists a game last season. He added guard AJ Brown from Ohio University a week later.
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But the biggest addition came last week, when former Arkansas guard Boogie Fland signed to play for the Gators. Fland averaged 13.5 points, 5.1 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 1.5 steals as a freshman with the Razorbacks last season.
Now, Lee and Fland will be paired together in a backcourt that could be even more explosive than the one that set the top two scoring marks in school history the last two years behind Clayton.
Condon was considered the final piece of the puzzle. He joins Rueben Chinyelu, Micah Handlogten and Thomas Haugh in what is expected to be one of the deepest frontcourts in the country.
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