Florida basketball rises in CBS Sports rankings after transfer portal additions

Florida men’s basketball head coach Todd Golden has stayed busy during the current transfer portal period, and the Gators are on the rise in the CBS Sports rankings because of it.

CBS Sports insider Gary Parrish updated his Top 25 And 1 rankings Sunday night, following a flurry of key transfer additions across the country, and the Gators moved up four spots to No. 17 in the nation. The main reason for the jump is the portal additions of former Florida Atlantic guard Alijah Martin and Chattanooga forward Sam Alexis.

Both Alexis and Martin should compete for significant minutes, and perhaps starting roles. Florida returns a good group of players too, though, including two starting guards — Walter Clayton Jr. and Will Richard. Both are testing draft waters, but they are expected to return unless they get high evaluation grades.

Golden is only losing three players that factored into the rotation last season. Tyrese Samuel’s presence will be missed down low, especially with Micah Handlogten recovering from a gruesome leg injury, and Zyon Pullin was an All-SEC talent who ran out of college eligibility.

There’s also guard Riley Kugel, who had draft buzz at this time a year ago but fell out of favor under Golden at Florida. He has entered the portal and committed to Kansas, which sits at the top of CBS Sports’ rankings.

Florida is also losing redshirt sophomore forward Aleks Szymczyk, who missed the entire season with an injury.

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