In addition to Saturday’s game being a ranked Southeastern Conference contest, it will mark the return of a former Gator who played an important role in last season’s national championship.
On Saturday, when No. 25 Kentucky comes to Gainesville to face No. 14 Florida for the first of two meetings between the programs in conference play, starting guard Denzel Aberdeen will face his old ball club for the first time after leaving the Gators for the Wildcats.
“He’s helped their team quite a bit get right over these last couple of months and put them in a position where they’re competing,” said Florida head coach Todd Golden “It’s another game tomorrow and don’t anticipate it being an issue or distraction for us.”
Prior to joining the Wildcats, Aberdeen played a crucial role off the bench for Florida en route to the program’s third national championship.
The Orlando, Florida, native was Golden’s first pick off the bench to replace last year's starting backcourt trio of Walter Clayton Jr., Alijah Martin and Will Richard. He finished the season averaging 7.7 points and 1.7 rebounds a contest, missing just one of the 40 games last year.
Aberdeen was given his chance to shine with five starts when Clayton and Martin were injured.
In his five games as a starter, the 6-foot-5 guard averaged 14.4 points per game on 12-for-29 (41%) shooting from beyond the arc. During this span, Aberdeen had back-to-back 20-plus point efforts against then-No. 22 Mississippi State and South Carolina.
Against the Gamecocks on Feb. 15, 2025, he had a season-high 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting, leading the Gators to an 88-67 win in Gainesville.
In the game prior against Mississippi State on Feb. 11, 2025, he recorded 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting. In the second half, the then-junior recorded 14 points, including a 3-pointer early in the half that sparked a 17-0 run for the Gators.
While his production was limited after he returned to the bench, Aberdeen still provided valuable efforts to Florida’s run.
Against Maryland in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament on March 27, he recorded 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting in 19 minutes. Then, in Florida’s national championship duel against Houston on April 7, Aberdeen drilled a free throw with 19 seconds left, giving the Gators a 65-63 advantage, which was the final score of that contest.
That game would be his last as a Gator.
On April 22, the rising senior announced his decision to transfer from Florida to Kentucky after three seasons with the Gators.
“These past three years at the University of Florida have been nothing short of amazing,” Aberdeen said in a statement posted to his social media pages. “I'm truly grateful to have worn the orange and blue and to represent Gator Nation with pride.”
Jeff Goodman of the Field of 68 reported that Aberdeen requested a $1.5 million name, image and likeness deal, which the Gators declined. As a result, he moved to Lexington, Kentucky, where he reportedly agreed to an NIL deal worth up to $2 million.
“We would have loved to have Denzel back,” Golden said at SEC Media Day on Oct. 15. “There were other things that were more important to him than what we had to offer.”
Since then, he’s been crucial to Kentucky’s success, averaging 12.3 points and a team-high 3.2 assists per game.
In his third game of the season, Aberdeen set a career-high with 26 points against then-No. 12 Louisville on Nov. 11. He finished the game shooting 10-of-20 from the field, including 4-of-10 from 3-point range. He also led the team with seven rebounds. Ultimately, the Wildcats fell short 96-88.
Heading into Saturday’s game, Aberdeen has reached double-digit points in seven of his last nine outings, including 22 points in Kentucky’s 80-78 win over then-No. 24 Tennessee in Knoxville on Jan. 17.
“He was so good,” Kentucky head coach Mark Pope said after the Jan. 17 game. “He made every right decision. I don’t know if there’s anyone playing better than him over that last game and a half.”
Aberdeen has spent the majority of his time at the shooting guard position. As a result, his replacement, Xaivian Lee, will be tasked with guarding him.
“I'm expecting him to probably try and get off here,” Lee said. “If I was him, I would be doing the same thing. It's a cool opportunity for him, but I think for us, it's also equally cool for us."
While there were questions about Lee’s defense as he transitioned from Ivy League basketball, the Princeton transfer has held his own.
The Toronto native is second on the Gators in steals, averaging 1.2 steals per game, and has recorded at least one takeaway in six straight outings. Against Georgia on Wednesday, Lee tied his season-high of three steals and played an important role in keeping Jordan Ross scoreless in 17 minutes of action.
With Saturday’s game televised on ABC at 3 p.m., Aberdeen will make his return to the O’Connell Center surrounded by the bright lights of national TV.
Contact Jeffrey Serber at Jserber@alligator.org. Follow him on X @JeffreySerber.
Jeffrey is the spring 2026 men's basketball beat reporter and a second-year journalism sports & media major with a media, management and production minor. In his free time, he enjoys hanging out with friends and family, and rooting for the Miami sports teams
