Gators (from left: Denzell Aberdeen, Thomas Haugh, Arturas Butajvas, Alex Lloyd, Alex Condon, CJ Ingram, Boogie Fland, Alex Kovatchev) vs. the sand dunes during their trip earlier this month to train in California.
West Coast Workout Warriors
Thursday, August 20, 2026 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
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By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Two years ago, the promise and potential of the 2024-25 Florida basketball team was rooted in the chemistry and camaraderie the players, both old and new, forged during a ferociously competitive summer of workouts in their home gymnasium.
The seniors led the way.
"That was the closest team I'd ever been a part of," recalled UF forward Alex Condon, a sophomore on that squad – with Alijah Martin, Will Richard and Walter Clayton Jr. playing the Alpha roles – that went on to capture the NCAA title. "It translated to the games, having each other's back on the court and off."
The Gators were a tight team last season, bouncing back from a so-so November and December by high-balling through the Southeastern Conference in route to their first league championship in 12 years before a crushing second-round loss against Iowa in the NCAA Tournament. The sting of that defeat played a big part in the decisions by the team's upperclassmen – Condon, forward Thomas Haugh and center Rueben Chinyelu – to delay a crack at the NBA and return for their senior seasons. Woven into their choice to return was also a commitment to lead like the accomplished seniors they had grown to become.
So, last month, Condon and Haugh hatched a plan for a group of players to go on a retreat, of sorts, that emphasized basketball and bonding. With the help of their California-based agent, the duo arranged for a week's worth of workouts at the elite Academy USA in Los Angeles, then pitched the idea to Gators coach Todd Golden.
The notion of a handful of athletes sequestering themselves at a boutique training venue is something from the Tom Brady or Steph Curry playbooks; as in big-name pros organizing high-end professional training sessions.
Well, welcome to the NIL age, folks.
"This is not a thing that would have happened five years ago," said Golden, whose team reported for a mandatory players meeting Wednesday on the eve to the start of fall semester classes. "When they brought it to my attention, I thought it was awesome, but I also told them that I wasn't going to help set it up. It wasn't going to be a player-led thing with directives coming from above. They would have to run with it as leaders of the team. Guys were either in or out."
Eight of 'em signed up. On Aug. 9, Condon, Haugh, Boogie Fland, Denzel Aberdeen, CJ Ingram, Alex Lloyd, Alex Kovatchev, Arturas Butajvas, plus manager Ryan Webster, headed west. The remaining seven players on the roster either were unable to go or were internationals that were overseas, including Chinyelu, who went home to see family in his native Nigeria for the first time in three years.
Consider the trip a jump-start to the start of preseason fall practice, which commenced Thursday with a morning in the weight room. The Gators will be in the gym pickup in the afternoon.
Outside the USA Academy in Los Angeles.
The week-long California excursion paired the Gators with renown basketball trainer Olin Simphis (aka "The Guard Whisperer"), whose 50-some NBA clients have included the likes of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Kevin Durant and Stephon Castle, to name a few.
The Simphis training methods focus on shot creation, decision-making, footwork, balance and discipline. The pace is relentless.
The Gators were up and at the "Dojo" early each morning. They were split into two groups, with the guards on the floor and the bigs in the weight room. When the sessions were done, they flip-flopped. Twice, the training was taken off-campus to the beach. No, not to wade into the Pacific Ocean surf under the perfect skies, but for grueling sprints over the sand dunes at Malibu and Santa Monica. The swimming came afterward.
"Some of the hardest workouts of my life," Kovatchev said.
The evenings were free and spent together, eating at nice restaurants or browsing the fancy shops like the ones at LA Live.
Post-workout yoga stretch.
Oh, and there was that outing to Six Flags Magic Mountain, the theme park where the ride on Tatsu – a coaster that stands a 170 feet and hits 62 miles per hour with riders suspended face down – had a malfunction that left the players hanging above the park for 20 minutes until maintenance personnel figured things out.
Sounds fun, right?
"No," Aberdeen said. "That was crazy."
The brainstorm of taking the trip, however, was anything but. Especially with the level of work the players put in collectively at the gym.
"It reminded me of two years ago, the way we were all getting along like a family, but working out so intensely," Condon said. "That level of conditioning, we hope, will help us all get that second-half advantage that me and Tommy have with our conditioning. We want the whole team to buy into it to the point we can really just punish teams in the second half."
Beach bonding at Malibu.
The start of classes officially (sort of) began the run-up to the '26-27 season. The carryover from their (sort of) mini-camp in LA began this week, as well.
Back to school, back to work for the squad expected to be ranked No. 1 in the nation when the first polls come out in October.
"We were a close team last year, but the way the season ended I think made us even closer," Ingram said. "It made us realize what we have to do each and every day to not have that feeling again. So, a little adversity in us all coming together was a great thing. It's going to help."
