The top three scorers are gone from Florida’s national championship team. Now, Todd Golden will look to incoming transfers Xaivian Lee and Boogie Fland to buoy the Gators’ chances of repeating.
Few teams in college basketball benefitted from NBA Draft decisions as much as the defending national champion Florida Gators. Head coach Todd Golden was already expected to return three major pieces from his national-title-winning team in Thomas Haugh, Reuben Chinyelu and Micah Handlogten. Then, Alex Condon‘s decision to return to Gainesville solidified arguably the best frontcourt in the country.
But while the frontcourt should remain elite thanks to all the returning talent, the team’s vaunted backcourt was always set to depart. First-team All-American and NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player Walter Clayton Jr. exhausted his eligibility, as did Alijah Martin and Will Richard. Add in Denzel Aberdeen‘s outgoing transfer, and 61.7% of Florida’s scoring from last year is suddenly gone.
Thankfully, another NBA Draft decision yielded even more offseason results for the Gators. Arkansas transfer Boogie Fland first elected to return to college after a stellar freshman season, and he committed to Florida shortly thereafter.
Between Fland and fellow transfer addition Xaivian Lee (Princeton), Florida reloaded in the backcourt with two of the country’s premier off-the-dribble scorers. Per 247Sports’ Isaac Trotter, both ranked in the 97th percentile or better in pull-up jumper volume this past season. Ohio transfer AJ Brown supplies a kick-out weapon who rated in the 88th percentile in catch-and-shoot last season.
Florida’s quest to contend for a national championship repeat hinged on finding not just good but elite replacements for their outgoing quartet. On paper, Golden appears to have found his fits.
Lee reactivates Florida’s clutch gene
Walter Clayton Jr. was an All-American regardless, but it was his efforts in the clutch that made him a March Madness legend. The former Iona transfer lit up opposing defenses time and time again down the stretch of close games during the regular season and the NCAA Tournament, seemingly flipping a switch whenever Florida needed him to to win games. Replicating his level of late-game success is near-impossible, but Xaivian Lee carries an exceptional clutch reputation in his own right.
While Clayton led the country in effective field goal percentage among players with at least 35 clutch minutes and a 30% or higher usage rate (278 eligible), Lee led the nation when upping the minimum to at least 70 clutch minutes played (81 eligible). Lee and Clayton were two of only 21 qualified players in college basketball last season to rate in the 80th percentile or better in each of usage rate, points per 40 minutes, eFG%, and assist rate in the clutch. Lee was the only to do it in over 70 clutch minutes.
Percentiles are not always created equally, and that is evident in Clayton’s scoring volume in the clutch. His 53.1 points per 40 clutch minutes were second-most in the country to Duke’s Cooper Flagg, and outpaced Lee’s 37.4 by quite a margin even if the percentiles were both 98th or better. Still, Lee scored plenty down the stretch for Princeton and contributed more outside of scoring in the clutch than Clayton. Lee also rated in the 80th percentile or better in offensive and defensive rebounding rate in the clutch, as well as Hakeem percentage.
There is certainly a difference between playing in the SEC versus in the Ivy League, which Lee will have to overcome. Still, the clutch gene is ever present.
Fland thrives at — and pushes — tempo
For all Lee’s intrigue, he is not Florida’s highest-profile transfer addition. Lee ranks as the No. 31 overall transfer by EvanMiya and No. 27 by ESPN’s Jeff Borzello, but Boogie Fland is in the top 10 of both lists — and holds the No. 1 spot in the former. A five-star recruit, Fland immediately emerged as a go-to scorer and playmaker for Arkansas last season. He started each of the Razorbacks’ first 18 games, averaging 15.1 points and 5.7 assists as a freshman.
A hand injury derailed his season, keeping Fland out until the NCAA Tournament. A fully healthy version will be extremely dangerous in Gainesville.
Fland particularly thrives in transition. Nearly one-third of his attempts came in the first 10 seconds of the shot clock last season, rating him in the 81st percentile for attempt rate. He also scored at a .567 eFG% clip early in the shot clock. His volume and efficiency taper off later in the clock, as shown by a .408 eFG% in the middle 10 seconds of the shot clock (23rd percentile FGAr) and a .355 eFG% in the final 10 seconds (48th).
The quicker he attacks, the better.
While Arkansas played fast last season (86th in average possession length), it paled in comparison to Florida’s tempo (41st). The Razorbacks attempted 38.9% of their shots in the first 10 seconds of the shot clock, compared to the Gators at 43.8%.
Not only is Fland better at pace, but he enforces it as well. Arkansas rated in the 96th percentile for transition volume (21.4% of possessions) with Fland on the floor last season compared to the 54th percentile when he sat or was injured (16.9%). The stylistic fit in Gainesville is clear.
Lee and Fland replenish playmaking, title hopes
Florida’s elite shot-making was its calling card throughout the NCAA Tournament. It was the unassisted, contested jump shots that earned replay after replay — especially from Walter Clayton Jr.
Perhaps lost amidst those highlight-reel moments was that Clayton also ranked in the 91st percentile for assist rate and in the 83rd percentile for assist-to-turnover ratio last season. He was one of only 61 players in the country to notch those percentiles while also carrying a usage rate over 23%.
The replacements point to plenty of hope for continued creation out of Florida’s backcourt. Lee and Fland were two of only six players in the entire country to rate in the 96th or better percentile in both assist rate and assist-to-turnover ratio while exhibiting a usage rate over 23% last season. Three of the other four were at least honorable mention All-Americans: Purdue’s Braden Smith, Marquette’s Kam Jones and Drake’s Bennett Stirtz.
On its own, bringing back Condon, Haugh, Chinyelu and Handlogten would have solidified Florida as at least a preseason Top 25 team for 2025-26. But with the blueprint already in place, Todd Golden knew what he needed in the backcourt to build his next championship roster: self-creating, tempo-pushing guards with the clutch gene.
With commitments from transfers Boogie Fland and Xaivian Lee, it is hard to imagine two players who better fit that bill. Setting a championship-or-bust expectation is unfair for any team, but with an elite returning frontcourt and two stud guards added to the mix, Florida is a clear threat to repeat.
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