GAINESVILLE, Fla. – After bolstering the front court with a couple transfer portal acquisitions last week, the Florida Gators added scoring and defense on the perimeter over the weekend when grad-transfer guard Alijah Martin joined the 2024-25 squad.
It's been 17 years since UF had all-tournament representation at the Final Four, but the Gators can claim that pedigree second-hand once Martin, a three-year starter with nearly 1,500 points at Florida Atlantic, checks in for his fifth-year graduate season in a couple weeks.
The 6-foot-2, 185-pound Martin played the role of Robin to standout guard Johnell Davis' Batman the last three seasons in Boca Raton, as the dynamic duo took the Owls to unfathomable heights, highlighted by their improbable Cinderella run to the 2023 Final Four, where Martin poured in 26 points and grabbed seven rebounds before FAU lost its national semifinal to San Diego State in a heartbreaker at the buzzer.
Alongside Davis, Martin averaged just shy of 14 points per game in each of the last three seasons, each time garnering all-league honors (twice in Conference USA, once in the American Athletic Conference). Martin, with 1,476 points and 616 rebounds on his resume, is a career 53-percent shooter from the 2-point area, 37 from the arc and 76 from the free-throw line.
Alijah Martin
Defensively, he's outstanding on the ball (which the Gators definitely can use) and when it comes close-outs around the 3-point area, but could improve his ability to navigate screens.
In the bigger picture, though, Martin is an elite athlete who excels in transition, scores at all three levels and should allow the Gators to build on the big offensive season they had on the way to reaching the NCAA Tournament for the first time in three years.
At UF, Martin's new wingman figures to be
Walter Clayton Jr., who led the team in scoring (17.6 ppg) in his first season after transferring from Iona and is currently taking part in the NBA evaluation process with the option to return to school later in the spring.
Pairing Martin alongside Clayton and fellow senior
Will Richard, the wing who is also is dabbling in the NBA evals, should give the Gators plenty of perimeter punch. What it doesn't do, however, is fill the void at point guard – as in a prototype playmaker and floor general – left by the exit of fifth-year senior
Zyon Pullin, a first-team All-Southeastern Conference selection. Coach
Todd Golden and his staff are confident that
Denzel Aberdeen, whose development in the program showed up big-time late in the season, will be a prime on-ball option as a junior next season and that both Clayton (2.5 assist per game for his career) and Martin (1.4 apg) will make jumps in their ball-handing and distribution skills knowing that NBA teams is looking for improvement there.
The signings last week of forwards Sam Alexis (Tennessee-Chattanooga) and Rueben Chenyelu (Washington State) were significant in adding depth, athleticism length and ferociousness in the front court. The two should help the Gators improve overall on defense, with that element (in a perfect world) bleeding over into transition opportunites on offense. And just like the UF coaches expect Clayton and Martin to upgrade their playmaking-for-others skills during the offseason, they'll also want the two to commit to playing defense on a higher level.
UF currently has two scholarship openings, but would appear to have a base rotation of eight (four frontcourt, four backcourt), with freshman Isaiah Brown, due in this summer, a wild-card in the mix.
Remember, Golden likes to play a rotation of eight, maybe nine. The Gators played basically with eight in '23-24 (and down three scholarship players on game day) and managed to win 24 games.
The staff has laid out its '24-25 rotational vision with both the returning players and incoming new ones, so any additional transfers – especially highly sought-after ones – would likely alter those plans, but it's still April and a lot can happen during a college basketball offseason in 2024.
IN CASE YOU MISSED
* Harry Fodder: How Sam Alexis Fits In
* Harry Fodder: How Ruben Chinyelo Fits In
