At the tail end of the Gators’ postseason run, forward Thomas Haugh emerged as a key player in Florida’s championship aspirations.
Haugh was the Gators’ sixth man, averaging 9.1 points and six rebounds throughout the regular season. However, he quickly found success on the national stage and averaged 11.7 points and seven rebounds across the NCAA Tournament.
His role is expected to increase even more heading into the 2024-25 season. With new acquisitions like guards Boogie Fland and Xaivian Lee, it also could look different.
This season, Haugh has been in the gym, working on transitioning from a power forward to a small forward, focusing on his ability to cover the wing and expand his game beyond the arc. With this change, Florida aims to capitalize on its height advantage and provide a role model for younger players on the team.
"My goal as head coach is to get my best player on the court as much as we can," said head coach Todd Golden. "Tommy has the ability to go back and forth a little bit from playing on the wing or playing in the middle of the floor in the trail, and there's a lot of really positive tradeoffs for playing him in that spot."
At 6-foot-9 and 215 pounds, Haugh was initially used as a power forward, with the coaching staff looking to use his size at the trail. However, with Will Richard getting drafted to the NBA this summer, Haugh will take over as the starting small forward.
"I think it's working out great,” Haugh said of the change. “Getting a lot more comfortable."
Florida’s junior forward said that during his workouts with NBA teams, many teams saw his potential at the three, and so he looks forward to having the opportunity to play that same role in college.
"Teams in the net level kind of see me as that," he said. "Being like an outside wing and slasher cutter who knocks down shots."
Last year, Haugh spent most of his time backing up junior forward Alex Condon. When he did start, Haugh averaged 13.2 points per game. When Condon suffered an ankle injury in a regular-season game at Mississippi State, Haugh thrived, falling just short of a triple-double with 16 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists
Now, with the position change, Haugh can play alongside Condon in the starting lineup.
"It's going to be tough for other teams," Condon said. "We're going to have three guys going to the glass every time."
To excel on the wing, Haugh will need to continue improving his shooting from beyond the arc. In his first year, he shot 25.5% from three-point range, but those numbers improved to 34% last year.
Haugh showed his three-point shooting potential in the Elite Eight matchup of the NCAA tournament against Texas Tech. With Florida down nine with less than three minutes to go, Haugh caught fire from downtown, hitting two three-pointers to ignite Florida’s offense. The Gators went on to defeat the Raiders, 84-79, and Haugh finished with 20 points, shooting 4-6 from beyond the arc.
To continue improving his ability beyond the arc, Haugh said he put a lot of work into his 3-point shot.
"This summer went great for us," he said. "I was able to stay on the wing a little bit and work on that stuff and pick up."
One challenge Haugh might face on the wing is on the defensive end. He will have to handle the responsibility of guarding quicker and more athletic players than he was used to in his previous position.
However, Condon said he doesn't think Haugh will have an issue defending on the wing.
"I don't think defense will ever be an issue for Tommy," he said. "I think he's always going to compete really hard, make plays defensively."
One benefit of playing Haugh on the wing is that it helps add height to Florida's starting lineup. With Haugh, Condon and junior center Rueben Chinyelu, Golden's team will have three players in the starting lineup who are at least 6-foot-9.
"Defensively, it just gives us incredible length and athleticism out on the floor, great rebounding, the ability to cover up a lot of mistakes, having a lot of those guys back there," Golden said.
Haugh's transition will also play an important role in developing sophomore guard Isaiah Brown into a small forward.
Brown appeared in 19 games last year, mainly as a backup for Clayton. He spent a lot of time on the scout team last year, but with Denzel Aberdeen transferring to Kentucky, Golden and his staff will look for Brown to learn from Haugh and become their small forward in the future.
In order to have younger players like Brown learn from him, Haugh said he’s adopted a leadership role on the team and looks to grow further vocally.
“I think I’m a leader by example,” he said. “I’m just going to go out there and do my thing, and hopefully they follow me by example. I know coach Golden gets on me about not talking enough, so I’m going to try to work on that.”
With all the adjustments and pressure on the line for Haugh, Golden said he's confident in the decision to move Haugh to the wing.
"Tommy has proven the ability to be a good wing," he said. “He knows how to shake up and get a catch and shoot. He knows how to go downhill going right."
Haugh will make his debut Nov. 3 when Florida travels to Las Vegas, Nevada, to take on Arizona in the Hall of Fame series.
Contact Jeffrey Serber at Jserber@alligator.org. Follow him on X @JeffreySerber.
Jeffrey is the Fall 2025 enterprise and men's basketball beat reporter and a second-year journalism sports & media major. In his free time, he enjoys hanging out with friends and family, and rooting for the Miami sports teams.
