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The Florida Gators are back on top after defeating Houston 65-63 in one of the best national title games this century. Floirda's relentless comeback after trailing by as many as 12 points against the Cougars capped one of the best, if not the best, Final Four weekends in college basketball history.
The theme for Florida's first national title team since 2007 was storming back to win in comeback fashion. In the second round of the NCAA Tournament against UConn, Florida was pushed to the brink by the two-time champs before closing the game on a strong run. In the Elite Eight against Texas Tech, the Gators trailed by as many as 10 points with less than five minutes remaining before Thomas Haugh and Walter Clayton Jr. took over.
It was more of the same in the Final Four against SEC foe Auburn. Florida had to overcome a nine-point deficit to advance to the title game. The Gators are the first national champion in the last 20 years to overcome a deficit of at least nine points in the Elite Eight, national semifinals and title game.
The newly crowned champs have work to do to put together another top-level roster. Clayton, Alijah Martin and Will Richard have all exhausted their eligibility. Haugh and fellow big man Alex Condon have NBA Draft decisions to ponder.
So, what's next for the Gators? Here are three storylines to keep an eye on heading into the offseason.
Who stays, who goes?
When Florida won its first national title in 2006, star players Joakim Noah, Al Horford, and Corey Brewer bypassed the NBA Draft and returned to school, and that decision paid off big time. All three players were all three off the NBA Draft board in the first 10 picks -- and they earned another championship ring to boot.
While Florida's top three scorers (Clayton, Martin and Richard) are out of eligibility. Two more key players -- Condon and Haugh -- have decisions to make about their respective futures. Both could go in the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft, and their decisions will be one of the biggest storylines of the college basketball offseason. Condon had more draft buzz coming into the NCAA Tournament, but Haugh shot up several draft boards thanks to his electric postseason play. He was Floirda's best forward/center throughout the NCAA Tournament.
Either player would be in the running as a potential preseason All-American candidate. Florida has incredible frontcourt depth, so even if Golden loses Condon and/or Haugh to the NBA Draft, Rueben Chinyelu and Micah Handlogten both have the option to return.
Another name to keep an eye on is reserve guard Denzel Aberdeen. If he comes back, there's a strong chance he's in the starting lineup on opening night. Aberdeen averaged 7.7 points in 39 games.
Florida used an unconventional blueprint
As CBS Sports' Isaac Trotter pointed out, Florida is the first team in the modern era to win a national title without a single top-100 recruit. The Gators have at least three players on the roster (Clayton, Condon and Haugh) who will play in the NBA this year or next, but none was considered a blue-chip recruit. It's a strategy that's hard to replicate going forward.
Winning a national championship will build momentum on the recruiting trail for Golden, but even then, the Gators have just two commitments in their 2025 recruiting class -- four-star forward CJ Ingram and four-star combo guard Alex Lloyd. The Gators built their roster by winning on the margins and identifying studs in the transfer portal. Clayton and Martin were both mid-major stars at Iona and FAU, respectively. Condon and Haugh were three-star recruits with little high-major interest.
All eyes will be on what Florida does in the transfer portal in the coming weeks.
Golden will have to replace multiple assistant coaches
With the 2024-25 season officially over, assistant coaches Kevin Hovde and John Andrzejek will take over the reins at Columbia and Campbell, respectively. Hovde and Andrzejek accepted head coaching jobs last month and elected to stay with Florida for the remainder of the season, pulling double duty through the postseason.
Andrzejek ran Florida's defense as the defensive coordinator, while Hovde was its offensive coordinator.
With the season over and Hovde and Andrzejek departing, Golden will pause the celebrations of winning a national title to find their replacements. One of them will be current Florida Director of Basketball Strategy and Analytics Jonathan Safir, who Golden said is in line for a promotion.
