UF forward Alex Condon (left) tangles with Duke counterpart Cameron Boozer (12) during the heavyweight matchup on Dec. 2 at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Harry Fodder: I Asked Gators Who 'My' Wizards Should Take at No. 1
Tuesday, June 23, 2026 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
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By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The 2026 NBA Draft has been billed as the league's deepest in a couple decades, headlined by a list of franchise-altering talent, with Brigham Young forward AJ Dybantsa, Kansas guard Darryn Peterson, Duke forward Cameron Boozer and North Carolina forward Caleb Wilson in the first tier.
As far as University of Florida faithful go, Tuesday night's proceedings probably would have been more interesting had Thomas Haugh, a projected lottery pick, kept his name in the pool, but Gator Nation is no doubt cool with the decision to return for his senior season.
But even minus Haugh, yours truly has a big-time vested interest in this particular draft.
I was born in Washington, D.C., and several lifetimes ago — as a senior in high school, in fact — I was running through traffic with my buddies across M Street in Georgetown when the Washington Bullets won the 1978 NBA championship, led by a trio of future Hall of Famers in Wes Unseld, Elvin Hayes and Bobby Dandridge.
That season, I was at the Eastern Conference-clinching Game 6 against the loaded Philadelphia 76ers (Dr. J, Bobby Jones, Darryl Dawkins, George McGinnis, Doug Collins, World B. Free) for a thrilling 101-99 win at Capital Centre that went down to the last shot. I went to two of the three '78 Finals games against the Seattle Supersonics (Dennis Johnson, Gus Williams, Jack Sikma, "Downtown" Freddie Brown), including a 117-82 wipeout win in Game 6 that sent the series back to Seattle, where the Bullets clinched the crown with a 105-99 victory that remained the last time a visiting team won a Game 7 in the Finals until LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers did so at Golden State 38 years later.
The Bullets had a chance to go back-to-back. They faced the Sonics (now the Oklahoma City Thunder, for you Gen Z-ers) in the '79 Finals, but lost that rematch in five games. That was 47 years ago. The Bullets, who changed their name to the Wizards in 1997 due to gun violence in D.C., have not sniffed relevance since. In fact, the team's 47-year run without so much as reaching a conference final round is the longest such stretch of ineptitude by a franchise in any of America's four major professional leagues (NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL).
Well, Washington has the No. 1 overall pick Tuesday, so I have a dog in this fight. And I want the meanest, baddest dog out there.
"Dybantsa," UF sophomore CJ Ingram said. "With that size, that length, that shot-making. That's who I'd take."
Brigham Young forward AJ Dybantsa scored 22 of his 29 points in the second half of the Cougars comeback win in the Jimmy V Classic last December at Madison Square Garden. The game was the first of a double-header, with UF facing Connecticut in the nightcap. [Photo by Getty Images]
Ingram came out of the same prep class as all of the big-time one-and-dones in this draft. He faced Dybantsa, who led the nation in scoring at 25.5 points per game as a freshman, on the club circuit and during his one year Montverde (Fla.) Academy. Ditto Peterson, the Huntington (W.Va.) Prep prodigy, who was a holy terror on the summer circuit, but had a checkered freshman season. Peterson was great at times, especially on offense, but also pulled himself from games due to cramping.
Plenty of NBA folk in the know see Peterson as the better talent (marginally over Dybantsa), but there are questions. Not about his skill, though.
"He can really score and really shoot it," Ingram said. "When you're guarding him, you have to be careful. You can't get up on him too close 'cause he blow right by you."
UF sophomore guard Alex Lloyd was a member of the same recruiting class. Not only did Lloyd, a standout at Miami Westminster Academy, compete against all those great players, he played with Boozer and Wilson on the Nightrydas Elite, one of the most dominant AAU teams of their generation.
Playing alongside Boozer and Wilson, while also matched up on the floor against Peterson at times, Lloyd had thoughts on the candidate pool, as well.
"I'm taking Cam. I've seen him work. I've seen how he carries himself. I've seen his basketball IQ and how he adjusts to people with the way they guard him, and that's where I think he has an advantage on the other three," said Lloyd, who watched last December as Boozer torched the Gators for 29 points and six rebounds in the Blue Devils' thrilling 67-66 win in the ACC/SEC Challenge last December at Cameron Indoor Stadium. "And he's a winner. That's what separates him from the rest, I think."
Others in the UF basketball building were of the same mindset.
"AJ is a really good player, but I just think Boozer is better," said Gators coach Todd Golden, who recruited the Boozer twins hard two years ago. "If I'm comparing Cam to Dybantsa or Peterson, and it's my franchise, I believe in Cam Boozer. All he does is win. He won in high school. He won in college. He was [Atlantic Coast Conference] and national player of the year as a freshman. I just think the body of work is better. He has the look of that guy who has the best chance of hitting."
Assistant coach and numbers-cruncher Jonathan Safir agreed: "He's won at every level, been statistically productive at every level and he's an analytical monster."
After Washington, Utah has the second pick, followed by Memphis, Chicago and the Los Angeles Clippers. An overwhelming consensus of mock drafts have put the expected order at Dybantsa, followed by Patterson, Boozer and Wilson in that fortunate top four, with a mixed bag of guards (depending on which teams like whom) in Illinois' Keaton Wagler, Arkansas' Darius Acuff Jr., Louisville's Mikel Brown Jr. or Houston's Kingston Fleming falling next.
Taurean Green spent two seasons with the Chicago Bulls on the player development side. When asked his pick of the bunch, Green wanted a refresher course on who the Wizards had in the front and backcourts -- like anyone would know or care, given they've averaged less than 17 wins three seasons running -- but ultimately couldn't come off Dybantsa as the choice.
Kansas combo guard Darryn Peterson (22)
Washington made midseason trades for a couple veteran all-stars in point guard Trae Young and center Anthony Davis. Both were injured at the time, with Young returning to play in just five games. Davis, terminally injured it seems, did not play at all.
"I would consider Cam because AD is not going to stay healthy and Cam can slide right into the post," Green said. "I do like Peterson, but I don't know how reliable he is with all that's gone on. With that pick, you're the franchise player. The face of the franchise has to be durable. Dybantsa is the guy I got to go with."
Dybantsa is the odds-on favorite to be that No. 1 choice, but as a long-suffering Bullets/Wizards fan I'll be delighted with anyone who could get me running on M Street again. Or in my case (47 years later), walking with a purpose.
As far as University of Florida faithful go, Tuesday night's proceedings probably would have been more interesting had Thomas Haugh, a projected lottery pick, kept his name in the pool, but Gator Nation is no doubt cool with the decision to return for his senior season. 
