Chinyelu's Return Boosts Gators' Title Hopes

0:00On May 1, Florida basketball is sitting pretty at the top of those way-to-early rankings for next season, after locking in two-thirds of there. Starting front court, Thomas Howe and Alex Condon pulled out of the NBA draft to run it back one more year, and most of the rosters on board for another shot at glory. The big wildcard here is Rubin Cheneyelu, last year's defensive player of the year. His 22-year-old Nigerian big man has one more year of eligibility left, and he's still feeling out his NBA stock with scouts before deciding. His next move. Experts crowning the gators early are banking on Cheneyelu, suiting up in Gainesville again since jumping pro might not pay off big right now. His draft projections got folks talking, but a deep tournament run could boost his value even more while he caches NIL checks. Here this week, ESPN's Jeremy Wu dropped his 2026 NBA draft bigboard and mock, sliding Cheneyelu at number 43 overall, and a pick at number 49 to the Denver Nuggets.

1:04That's mid to late second round territory, leaving room to climb if he dominates college one more time. Gator fans are holding their breath to the withdrawal deadline on May 27, but all signs point to Cheneyelu, lacing up orange and blue. Again, setting Florida up for a monster run.