While sophomore Boogie Fland and senior Xavian Lee are set to lead a revamped backcourt, freshmen Alex Lloyd and CJ Ingram come into the program as long-term projects to preserve Florida basketball’s success.
Heading into the 2025-26 season, Ingram has made a name for himself, getting his fair share of practice reps with the starters and other rotational players. Meanwhile, Lloyd has improved in camp and could see some time on the court on a more limited basis than Ingram.
"I love their confidence," senior center Micah Handlogten said. "You have them going at each other and at the starters every day in practice. I think that that's huge."
College is not the first time the two met. Throughout high school, Lloyd and Ingram faced each other three times at the AAU Peach Jams tournament, with Lloyd's team winning each time.
"His AAU team was pretty much the most dominating AAU team of all time," Ingram said. "They literally won it every year that I was in high school."
Since signing with Florida, the two have bonded, living together since the summer.
Now, they are bringing their competitiveness from high school to the collegiate level, already making an impact during practices in an attempt to set the foundation for the following years of Gators basketball.
Unlike Lloyd, Ingram was not always sure if basketball was the sport he would play collegiately. The Hawthorne native played basketball and football in high school and, for a moment, could have followed in his father’s footsteps. His father was a Gators’ tight end from 2006 to 2008 and was a captain of the 2008 national championship team.
Following a loss in the high school football playoffs, Ingram said, he spoke with his family and decided basketball was the sport he would focus on his senior year.
"Friday night lights in high school, it's pretty fun," Ingram said. "I miss it sometimes. But with the heat here in Florida, it helped me know that I made the right decision."
During his time at Hawthorne High School, Ingram averaged 24 points, 8.5 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 3.7 steals per game.
To elevate his game, Ingram transferred to Montverde Academy, a private college preparatory school that has produced talents like Cooper Flagg, Cade Cunningham and Scottie Barnes.
"When I was at Hawthorne, I was pretty much dominant in the area," Ingram said. "So going to Montverde, playing against guys that are high level. … Every day there was competition to get me ready for where I’m at right now."
His decision proved valuable, as he rose from a top 75 to a top 25 ranking (No. 21) in ESPN's 2025 Rankings.
On the flip side, Lloyd's journey to Gainesville was more direct.
A Miami native, Lloyd played high school ball at Westminster Academy, where he averaged 21.9 points, four rebounds, two assists and a steal per game. In his senior year, he averaged 27.9 points per game and had three 40-point games. By the end of his high school career, Lloyd was the 37th-ranked prospect in his class by ESPN.
Now living together, Ingram and Lloyd have strengthened their bond beyond playing against each other on the court.
"CJ is a great roommate," Lloyd said. "He's a great person to be around. He’s very fun, he likes to do things, I go roll with him, and we just have a very good bond that's going to continue to get stronger and stronger throughout the year."
During practices, the two have faced each other a handful of times, each getting a few reps with the starters, bringing different playstyles.
"Just being able to have them go up against us every day and just see how much better they’ve gotten, how much more confident they’ve gotten," Handlogten said. “It’s really nice to see them succeeding.”
At 6 feet, 6 inches tall and 205 pounds, Ingram gives Florida more size as a guard. He prides himself on his physicality on defense, he said, and he brings energy that pushes him to fight for loose balls and rebounds. However, he hopes to work more on his jumpshot.
Conversely, Lloyd, who is 6 feet 3 inches tall and 183 pounds, said his strengths are his ability to switch the pace, create his own shot and score at all levels. He added he's spent much of these practices ahead of the season learning to play point guard, as he rarely played the position in high school.
Additionally, Lloyd said he gained 10 pounds since setting foot on campus to become more of a physical presence.
"I know it's been a thing that I need to get in the gym, get something to eat, but it's been really easy here," Lloyd said.
As the team prepares for the season opener on Nov. 3 against Arizona in Las Vegas, the two freshmen prepare to learn from Lee and Fland.
"People are expecting a lot more, and we got to give a lot more than people expect," Lloyd said. "We have the group to not only meet that, but excel high above that and I feel like it's really gonna be a good backcourt this year."
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.
