Gators center Rueben Chinyelu was one of Florida's top returning frontcourt players who played a crucial role in carrying last year's success into the 2025-26 season. After playing all 40 games and averaging 6 points and 6.6 rebounds last season, Chineylu was primed for an expanded role this year.
It took a few games for the 6-foot-10, 265 pound center to find his footing, but Chinyelu thrived against Miami on Friday. Chinyelu put up 16 points and 10 rebounds in Florida’s 82-68 victory. He also has been a defensive anchor for Florida through the first four games.
"[Rueben] has been awesome for us the last two games," said junior forward Alex Condon after Florida's victory over Miami on Sunday. "He's being the guy he is in practice every day. We've always seen that from Rueben the past two years, and he's really starting to get the hang of that and emulating that in the games."
After an offseason where he briefly tested NBA waters, Chinyelu returned to Florida looking to embrace his expanded role in leading the team and improve on the offensive end.
However, in Florida's first two games against Arizona and North Florida, he was outperformed by senior center Micah Handlogten, who had a double-double in each of the two games. Since then, Chinyelu has changed the course to deliver dominant performances against Florida State and Miami, earning his own pair of double-doubles.
Taking on Arizona in Las Vegas was going to be a challenge for the Gators as a whole, but Chinyelu was at the core of Florida's struggles on the night, logging four points in 18 minutes on 2-for-6 shooting from the field.
Additionally, his one rebound played a significant role in Florida's inability to match Arizona's aggression on the boards. The Wildcats had a 21-12 rebounding advantage at the half and scored 50 paint points.
On the other hand, Handlogten finished the contest with a double-double, recording 11 points and 12 rebounds on 5-for-5 shooting from the field in 23 minutes.
Chinyelu's night finished early, as he fouled out with 5:30 left in the second half. As a result, Arizona's Koa Peat and Jaden Bradley were able to attack Florida's basket with success, finishing the night with a combined 57 points
"We've got to dominate the boards," said head coach Todd Golden after the Arizona game. "Thursday's gotta be a great advantage for us on the glass."
That Thursday, Florida hosted a North Florida team that was much undersized compared to the Gators. Still, Chinyelu was not as dominant as Handlogten.
The Nigerian finished the contest with 8 points and nine rebounds compared to Handlogten's 17-point, 13-rebound double-double. Despite finding more success on offense, Chinyelu did finish the night with two turnovers and tied for a team-high three personal fouls.
Chinyelu's inability to keep up with Handlogten raised questions for Golden ahead of Florida's game against Florida State on Veterans Day.
"Micah has played at an elite level, so I wouldn't necessarily hold that against Rueben," Golden said. "Rueben's done a good job. He will continue to get better as the year goes on."
Golden's confidence in Chinyelu paid dividends as the junior logged his first double-double of the season against the Seminoles.
He finished the night with 10 points and a career-high 16 rebounds. His ability to dominate on the glass proved valuable with his seven offensive rebounds. One of his offensive rebounds came off a Thomas Haugh missed free throw, leading to a Boogie Flame three-pointer that cut Florida's deficit to one at the 13:19 mark in the second half.
The Gators went on to win against the Seminoles 78-76 that night, despite trailing 40-37 at the half. Thanks to Chinyelu, Florida outrebounded its in-state rival 58-36, including a 17-8 advantage on offensive rebounds.
"We just go out there and make sure that we execute, get the board," Chinyelu said after the game. "Every night's going to be different, but just being able to embrace that path and know that that's what we're supposed to do. It's supposed to look like that every night."
Chinyelu continued his dominance against Miami on Sunday.
In addition to his double-double, Chinyelu registered two blocks and a steal. He also played an important role in slowing down Malik Reneau, who averaged 21.3 points on 64% shooting from the field through Miami’s first three games. Against Chinyelu and the rest of the Florida frontcourt, he scored 22 points, but on 35% shooting from the field.
Chinyelu looks to continue his assertive ways when Florida hosts Merrimack at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center on Friday at 7 p.m.
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.
