It’s opening day, and when the defending national champions make their debut on the court, they come into this season with a complete makeover in their backcourt.
While the Florida Gators' frontcourt retained all four of its rotational players, last year’s team saw all four guards depart. Walter Clayton Jr, Alijah Martin and Will Richard were all drafted to the NBA while Denzel Aberdeen transferred to Kentucky.
Now, with a new-look backcourt, Florida will look to defend its national title without some of its biggest stars.
“I want the guys that were here to take pride in defending and doing everything they can to get us back there,” head coach Todd Golden said.
Transfer Starters
Transfers Xavian Lee and Boogie Fland are going to take on the majority of minutes in the back court, with Fland expected to be the point guard and Lee at shooting guard in Florida’s starting five.
Still, Golden plans on giving both the freedom to bring the ball up the court.
“They both have the freedom if they get the rebound to bring it,” he said. “It’s the benefit of having two guys that can play the position.
After a freshman year at Arkansas cut short by a wrist ligament tear, Fland decided to join the Gators. The Bronx native was a McDonald’s All-American out of high school, becoming the first to join the Gators since 2019.
In his 16 games with Razorbacks, Fland averaged 13.5 points and 5.1 assists along with a 3.72 assist-to-turnover ratio, which was second in the SEC last year. He also shot 36.5% from beyond the arc last season.
Fland also brings great speed and often leads the charge on fast-break opportunities during practices. On top of his ability to facilitate on offense, Fland brings lockdown perimeter defense for the Gators as well.
“In practice every day, he’s a defensive menace,” said senior center Micah Handlogten. “He gets steals, he’s in the lanes, he’s getting up into people’s bodies and forcing them to have a tough time handling the ball. It’s really good.”
The question for Fland is whether he will fully recover from his injuries last season, and how will he work alongside Lee?
After three years at Princeton, Lee came to Florida after dominating the Ivy League.
The Toronto native was a unanimous vote for the 2024 and 2025 First-Team All-Ivy League teams. Lee came to life in his sophomore season, starting all 29 games for the Tigers and averaging 17.1 points, including nine 20-plus point outings and three double-doubles.
The following year, Lee kept up his offensive productivity, averaging 16.9 points a game, shooting 36.6% from three and posting an Ivy League season-high 2.43 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Lee brings an ability to score on all levels and make plays, with Alex Condon calling him one of the best passers he’s ever played with.
One concern for Lee is his physicality. At 6-foot-4 and 180 pounds, he might find trouble going against more physical guards on the defensive end than he’s used to from his time at Princeton.
Still, there’s promise for the senior guard, especially with his already established connection with Thomas Haugh, as the two played in high school together.
“He definitely evolved from what I've played with him at Perkiomen,” Haugh said. “There's obviously still a little bit of chemistry there. I love playing with him, too. He makes crazy passes to you, and he's a great competitor."
Urban Klavzar
Klavzar is the only member of last year’s rotational backcourt to return to the team, but his role was limited due to several factors.
Klavzar faced eligibility issues heading into the 2024-25 season due to his experience playing professional basketball overseas with Real Madrid and Universidad Católica de Murcia Club de Baloncesto. As a result, the Slovenian native was not cleared to play for Florida until a road matchup on Nov. 15 against FSU.
After months away from the team and the game, Klavzar struggled early. He was recruited to Florida based on his three-point making abilities but missed 12 of his first 13 attempts as a Gator.
During conference play, he settled in.
After starting guards Clayton and Martin sustained injuries, Klavzar had his best stretch of performances. During one game against Oklahoma, he played 23 minutes and made two of his four attempted threes, finishing the contest with 10 points — his highest as a sophomore.
However, once it came to the postseason, Klavzar's time was cut short due to his lack of physicality and inability to create his own shot.
As a result, he didn’t see the court when the Gators reached the Final Four. And before that, he had just two minutes in the Sweet 16 matchup against UConn and only three minutes against Maryland in the Elite Eight.
Now, this season, he looks forward to becoming a more consistent option off the bench for Golden, having a full season with the team, and constantly improving his physicality.
“I feel like physically I got a lot of pounds up and I think I'm trying to get better defensively,” Klavzar said. “I know how physical our conference is, especially the guards are really physical and fast, so you got to be ready.”
Incoming Freshmen
Florida brought in two freshman guards, Alex Lloyd and CJ Ingram, to fill the void of last year’s losses.
So far, Ingram has gotten more reps with the starters in practice than Lloyd.
Ingram, who played his first three years of high school basketball 30 minutes from Gainesville at Hawthorn High School, has a family connection to the University of Florida. His father, Cornelius, was a tight end for the Gators and was the team captain for the 2008 national championship team.
At Hawthorne High School, he averaged 24 points, 8.5 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 3.7 steals across his three years.
After he decided to give up high school football, Ingram transferred to Montverde Academy, where he averaged 12.7 points and seven rebounds per game in his senior season. As a result, he rose from a top 75 to a top 25 recruit in his class after his one year at Montverde.
At 6-foot-9 and 215 pounds, Ingram is a more physical presence than Lloyd, with Golden’s staff looking for him to continue improving offensively.
“What I like about my game is how hard I play, having a motor,” Ingram said. “I’m always going to try to make the play on defense and make the right rebound. The things I need to work on -– a lot of people say my jump shot, of course. I agree with them, but that’s why you stay in the gym.”
Conversely, Lloyd brings more of an offensive presence and less physicality than Ingram.
At 6-foot-3 and 180 pounds, the Miami native came to Gainesville from Westminster Academy. In high school, he averaged 21.9 points during his three varsity seasons, including three 40-point games during his senior campaign.
After his time in Miami, Lloyd finished as the 37th-ranked prospect in his class by ESPN.
The Gators hope that Lloyd continues to put work in the gym while learning from his early exposure to playing against the starters in practice.
“Physically, I've been getting better, eating better,” Lloyd said. “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.”
Fighting for minutes
With a potential last spot in the backcourt, brothers Isaiah and AJ Brown are competing with each other for a chance to get minutes.
AJ, a redshirt junior transfer from Ohio, is coming off a campaign where he averaged 13.2 points on 38.8% shooting from distance. His season was cut short after he tore his labrum. AJ was cleared days before fall camp started, so the staff will want to see more from him before he gets time on the court.
“He still needs to get in better shape,” Golden said. “From a physicality standpoint, he's where he needs to be to be able to play.”
Younger brother Isaiah was a member of last year’s team but spent most of the season on the bench. The four-star recruit appeared in 19 games for the Gators, totaling 36 points.
After a year on the bench, Isaiah is doing his part to be a more consistent option for Golden with the hopes of making an impact off the bench.
"My word of this season is consistency," Isaiah said. "I'm staying consistent with everything I do, as playing hard, hitting shots and doing the little things that the team needs is something I've been working on."
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.
