Denzel Aberdeen (1) is happy and cleared to play for the Gators in '26-27.
Backcourt in Motion: Gators Got Guards, Too
Friday, October 2, 2026 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
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By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Denzel Aberdeen re-enrolled at the University of Florida in May and wasted no time finding his way back to the practice gym. Though a full year removed from his last time in the building, Aberdeen remembered the push-button code to access the men's basketball locker room.
And once reunited with a half-dozen former-turned-current-again teammates from the 2025 NCAA championship squad, Aberdeen's fit back into the Gators' system was just as rote. Even with a backcourt mate he had never played with before.
How long did it Aberdeen to mesh with incumbent point guard Boogie Fland?
"About five minutes," Fland said.
UF associate head coach Korey McCray, who tutors the guards, put it this way: "They complement each other very well. Boogie does a great job of setting the table and Denzel does a good job of eating the food."
Denzel Aberdeen(1) andBoogie Fland (0) were opponents last season, but now they'll make up one of the most dynamic and veteran backcourts in the country. [Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images]
Their connection started not quite five months ago, so the Fland-Aberdeen duo has had countless repetitions together over that time, albeit all under a cloud of uncertainty. Aberdeen, who starred last season at rival Kentucky, transferred to UF in May and not long after was denied his appeal to the NCAA for a fifth season of eligibility. He opted for a legal challenge. Denzel Aberdeen
Now, that cloud is gone.
On Tuesday, Aberdeen watched his lawyers argue his case in Alachua County Court, where Judge George M. Wright ruled from the bench to grant Aberdeen a temporary injunction that made him eligible to suit up for a loaded Gators squad for the upcoming 2026-27 season that begins next month.
"It was very nerve-wracking," Aberdeen said. "But I'm good now."
So are the Gators, who with a starting five of four seniors and one junior – a quintet with a combined 279 career starts, four of them backed by national-championship pedigree – to go with a solid and experienced bench, is expected to be tabbed as the nation's preseason No. 1 team later this month.
The brightest spotlight on the Gators beams on the frontcourt of All Americans Thomas Haugh, Alex Condon and Rueben Chinyelu. Rightfully so. But don't underestimate (or overlook) the potential of the battle-tested and athletic backcourt.
"We could be deadly," Fland said.
After Tuesday's court proceedings, where Aberdeen was joined by his coaches and a trio of teammates, the group went back to the Hugh Hathcock Basketball Complex for an afternoon practice that had an extra vibe about it, what with their 6-foot-5, 190-pound shooting guard in the fold. Officially, that is.
The actual practice, though, looked the same.
"Similar to the practices we've had the whole [spring, summer and fall] because he's been practicing with us," Golden said at his weekly preseason media session Thursday. "It hasn't really changed much that way."
No, the transition actually was set in motion early in the spring, as Aberdeen, who started 35 games at Kentucky, averaged 13.5 points, 3.4 assists and shot 36.3% from the 3-point line, entered the transfer portal after the Wildcats' final game of the season.
CHARTING THE GATORS: Backcourt Breakdown A look at how fifth-year senior Denzel Aberdeen and junior Boogie Fland, now teammates, have fared in their college careers.
Amid the buzz last year of the NCAA leaning toward passing a "5-for-5" rule, allowing all student-athletes a full five seasons of competition, Aberdeen anticipated being granted the extra year. The Orlando native wanted to play it back in his home state at the school where he played his first three seasons and raised a trophy.
He didn't think he'd have to go to court to make it happen.
"I always thought I should get it just because I played against fifth years and sixth years and seventh years my whole [career], so I was just thinking that rule applies for us, as well," said Aberdeen, who in time found out – much to the dismay of he and fellow pending fifth years across the country – that the NCAA rule change announced in June would bypass the freshman class of 2022. "I expected to get approved, but things happen. I just thought it was right to try again."
The administration, coaches and players were in his corner throughout and were rewarded for it.
Boogie Fland will be the program's first point guard to start back-to-back seasons since Todd Golden arrived in 2022.
"We're going to have him for a fourth year in our program [and] he's a great player," Golden said of Aberdeen, who was the first guard off the bench during the title season and over a five-game stretch as a starter averaged 14.4 points and shot better than 41% from deep in five victories. "The capability has always been there. As we said, he played great last year [at UK}. I think you know his scoring prowess, his ability to take care of the ball and just knowing how he operates is going to be something that can help us a lot this year."
Aberdeen is a tough out with the ball, with the ability to score at all three levels. He plays with a good pace, too, and with his background as a combo guard can easily slide to the point to spell Fland when necessary (or to rotate 3-point specialist Urban Klavzar into the lineup) without the team missing a beat. Korey McCray
"Zel's a bucket," McCray said.
He'll likely be the team's late-clock option on offense, but his size, length and athleticism will also be a boon on the defensive end, where he improved during his season at UK as a full-time starter assigned mostly to guard the best scorer on the opposing team. At UF, though, that assignment will fall to Fland, one of the best on-ball defenders in the league last season when he started every game.
Defensively, the Gators ranked sixth in the country in efficiency in '25-26 and have four starters, including the entire front court (Chinyelu was Southeastern Conference and NCAA Defensive Player of the Year), back from that unit, plus Fland, who as Golden's first point guard to start consecutive seasons has drawn raves from the staff for a tremendous summer, especially during live scrimmages. Now roll Aberdeen into the mix and you have a veteran, ultra-experienced squad that has seen just about everything there is to see at the collegiate level.
"We both feed off each other's energy, especially on the defensive side," Aberdeen said of the tandem with Fland. "It's going to be just crazy things this year."
McCray compared it to having two quarterbacks on the floor.
"Zel is Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson, out there making plays," he said. "Boogie is Peyton Manning, picking you apart."
They can't wait to kick (or tip) off and see what it looks like for real.
