GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) – When Denzel Aberdeen toured the Florida basketball complex in April, the locker room code was still in place.
It hadn’t changed. It was very little, really.
Aberdeen’s return to the Gators has been mostly smooth, despite a five-month wait to be cleared to play. Circuit Court Judge George Wright issued an order this week granting Aberdeen a fifth year of college eligibility.
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“I always thought (the cleanup) was necessary because I’ve played against fifth-years, sixth-years, seventh-years all my life,” Aberdeen said Thursday. “Just to think that rule applies to us as well… I feel like it was fair.”
The decision should make Florida a popular — perhaps unanimous — No. 1 preseason pick.
“No team in the country has what’s going on right now,” Florida State offensive lineman Thomas Haugh said.
Aberdeen was the last piece – and an important one.
The 6-foot-5 guard played three seasons at Florida before transferring to Kentucky last year. After the official visit, he re-enrolled in Florida — just a formality — and began working toward his bachelor’s degree this summer.
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Since then, he has worked and practiced with the Gators, seamlessly integrating with his teammates in nearly every aspect of their daily lives. The prospect of losing another year of college hoops loomed.
“He believed in us and the plan we had for him,” coach Todd Golden said. “Guys in our program, I think, would say the same thing. You wouldn’t know if this guy was going to play an extra year or not.
“I think it speaks to his maturity and trust in us. I think he’s relieved now, but he’s doing a good job of keeping his emotions inside. And it’s never been something we’ve been concerned about.”
Aberdeen said he was satisfied with the judge’s decision. He said waiting in the courtroom was more frustrating than anything that happened in the 2025 national championship game against Houston.
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He initially tried to convince the NCAA that he should count his freshman year in Gainesville as a redshirt season. The Orlando native played just 12 games in 2022-23, scored 19 points in just 41 minutes and asked to opt out of another year of eligibility.
But the NCAA rejected that request and has since adopted an eligibility model that would allow players in each sport five years of eligibility starting the clock when they turn 19 or graduate from high school, whichever comes first.
That change led to lawsuits from four-year players in the high school class of 2022, like Aberdeen.
“We felt he had a very compelling case,” Golden said. “He’s a great example of a student-athlete who’s progressed toward a degree and stepped in when he needed to. And the NCAA has been pretty clear that they think five years is a good time for student-athletes to graduate, so we felt good about that.”
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Now, the Gators feel their chances are better on the field than they are on the court.
Haugh, Alex Condon and Rueben Chinyelu all gave up NBA riches to return for their senior seasons. Point guard Boogie Fland and seven role players, including sixth Southeastern Conference Rookie of the Year Urban Klavzar, remained in Gainesville for another title run.
The defending national champion Gators defeated Aberdeen three times last season before losing to Iowa in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. That play destroyed many Florida players, especially Haugh, and helped keep the core intact.
Aberdeen watched from afar and knew he wanted to rejoin Florida. He appeared in 35 games for the Wildcats last season, averaging 13.5 points, 3.4 assists and 2.5 rebounds. He came off the bench at Florida the previous two years and averaged 7.7 points as a junior in 2024-25.
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“He’s back in his comfort zone,” Gol said. “He’s playing really well. We called on him to play really strong defense. He took a lot of pride in that. He hit the ball well. I think he’s going to have a great year for us.”
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