Florida basketball: Myreon Jones using extra eligibility to remain with Gators for 2022-23 season

Basketball

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Image Credit: GatorsMBK / Twitter

New head coach Todd Golden is in the midst of formulating the Florida Gators’ basketball roster ahead of the 2022-23 season. While he has hit the ground running in recruiting and exploring the transfer portal, Golden has also been focused on an even more important area: retaining the team’s star players.

That trend continued Sunday with Golden informing CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein that guard Myreon Jones plans to use his fifth year of eligibility to remain with the Gators next season.

Jones, who transferred to Florida last season after spending his first three collegiate campaigns at Penn State, started 21 of 33 games but averaged just 8.5 points while shooting 35.5% from the floor and 32.1% from 3-point range. All three were career-low statistical averages for Jones as a starter after he posted 14.3 points and shot better than 40% both from the field and beyond the arc during his two years starting at PSU.

Still, Jones’ talent was apparent, and he not only had dominant games but lights-out scoring stretches for the Gators at different points during the season. If he can find more consistency under Golden in his bonus year of eligibility — granted to all college athletics amid the COVID-19 pandemic — he could put bolster his resume.

Jones is the third Florida player that Golden has essentially re-recruited. Senior forward Colin Castleton is also using his extra year of eligibility to remain with the Gators, and freshman guard Kowacie Reeves decided to stay with the program after flirting with an entry into the transfer portal.

Castleton, who fought through an injured shoulder that bothered him throughout the campaign, averaged team-highs of 16.2 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.2 blocks last season as UF’s most valuable player. Reeves was a bright spot for the Gators in the postseason, averaging 16.3 points and 4.3 rebounds across those games. He may become the team’s top playmaker in 2022-23.

In addition to the three key roster retentions, Golden received commitments from a pair of transfers. LSU F Alex Fudge, the No. 57 overall player in the Class of 2020, 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. Belmont guard Will Richard announced over his transfer last weekend. 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, Reeves and Jones back — plus Fudge and Richard in the fold — the Gators have an extremely strong base upon which they can build 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.