Kowacie Reeves sticks with Florida basketball after considering transfer portal move, per report

Basketball

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Image Credit: UAA

With a roster in the midst of a significant shakeup under new head coach Todd Golden, the Florida Gators are aimed at bringing in top transfers while retaining their best players from the prior regime. A significant piece of that puzzle appears to now be settled as freshman guard Kowacie Reeves has decided to remain with the program for the 2022-23 season.

247Sports’ Travis Branham reported Wednesday that Reeves had decided to enter the transfer portal with consideration of returning to Florida. Just over 48 hours later on Friday, Branham now reports Reeves has chosen not to enter the portal and will remain with the Gators.

Reeves was a bright spot for Florida in the postseason, averaging 16.3 points and 4.3 rebounds across those games. Though coaching changes do shake up rosters, particularly these days since the advent of the portal, Reeves was expected to remain at UF despite the new staff stepping into town.

It remains to be seen why Reeves flirted with a portal entry, if he ever chose to go that route, but the end result is that the Gators now return their top two players from a season ago as senior forward Colin Castleton has also decided to stay for a bonus season in 2022-23.

Reeves’ stauts somewhat overshadowed a recent commitment received by Golden from LSU F Alex Fudge, the No. 57 overall player in the Class of 2020. Fudge (6-foot-8, 175 pounds), a Jacksonville native, decided to return to his home state after averaging 3.3 points and 3.2 boards in just 13.9 minutes per game for the Tigers last season.

He was the second quality transfer acquired by Golden this offseason as former Belmont guard Will Richard announced over the weekend that he will transfer to Florida. Richard averaged 12.1 points and 6.0 rebounds for the Bruins last season and was among the top transfers on the market.

With Castleton and Reeves back plus Fudge and Richard in the fold, the Gators have a strong base to build upon next season. Florida still needs to find a floor general to distribute the ball after senior point guard Tyree Appleby chose to enter the portal without the expectation of a return. Also departing the program is senior F Anthony Duruji, who has decided to go pro, and junior F Tuongthach Gatkek.