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<p>UF center John Egbunu walks onto the O'Connell Center court during Gators Madness on Oct. 2, 2015.</p>

UF center John Egbunu walks onto the O'Connell Center court during Gators Madness on Oct. 2, 2015.

Florida fans may have seen him on the bench last season.

At 6-foot-11, he’s hard to miss.

John Egbunu is done sitting.

He’s ready to play ball.

The redshirt sophomore from Nigeria transferred to UF in the summer of 2014 after playing one season at the University of South Florida.

NCAA transfer rules made him ineligible for the Gators last year, but he’s finally ready to take the court this season for new coach UF Mike White.

"He’s very, very passionate. He plays loudly. I wish all our guys would play loudly," White said of Egbunu.

"He’s very aggressive. He plays with a high level of intensity especially if the ball is in his hands or he’s around the ball."

Egbunu averaged 7.4 points and 6.2 rebounds per game in his freshman season with the Bulls, where he started in 31 games and became USF’s all-time leader in rebounding for a freshman with 198.

He admitted it was hard to sit out a year after transferring, but added he thinks it did him some good.

"It was tough, but at the same time it was a learning process for me," Egbunu said.

"I spent a lot of time working on my game and getting better, developing a lot of my weaknesses. It was time well spent."

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Not only did Egbunu work on developing his post skills, which he said he has improved, he also worked on improving his body. He said he has slimmed down from 270 pounds to 249, a change that will help him in what is supposed to be a fast-paced, running the floor type of offense that White is putting into place.

"I think it’s going to impact me a lot to play fast," Egbunu said of his weight loss.

"The new coaching staff wants an up-tempo style of play, so me losing weight is a plus because it helps me get up and down the floor a lot quicker."

In this new style of offense for the Gators, utilizing a big man doesn’t seem like a top priority, but White doesn’t want to miss out on the opportunity to tap into Egbunu’s full potential down low.

He can create such a forceful presence in the paint that White said he has to get the ball.

"It’s not challenging at all," White said about fitting Egbunu into his offense.

"I think most coaches would stand up here and tell you they’re going to do their best to take advantage of their strengths. We have a guy that can score it on the interior, we’re going to throw him the ball."

A strong post presence is something Florida missed last year following the departure of Patric Young.

Egbunu now steps in and has the potential to more than make up for that absence.

Coaches and teammates are excited about what they have seen from him in the offseason, offensively and defensively.

"He’s a dog. That’s all I can see. John Egbunu is a dog," said sophomore forward Devin Robinson.

"In a good way. He’s a man-child. He gets the ball, it’s going in. He’s dunking everything. He’s rebounding. He’s a man. It’s going to be a good presence down low."

Redshirt senior forward Dorian Finney-Smith was quick to compliment Egbunu’s athleticism, saying he can jump, run and has great feet.

Finney-Smith added that staying healthy and continuing to develop are crucial for Egbunu’s success.

Finally eligible and ready to contribute, Egbunu is one of many new faces on this Florida basketball team with the potential to play a large role and make an immediate impact in the new Mike White era.

"He’s done it at the Division I level. He’s had a great offseason," White said. "John is a very talented young man. We expect him to have a really good career."

Follow Alex Maminakis on Twitter @alexmaminakis

UF center John Egbunu walks onto the O'Connell Center court during Gators Madness on Oct. 2, 2015.

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