Alex Condon's 'Winning Plays' Spark Turnaround Performance Against Kentucky

Florida Gators forward Alex Condon received criticism, including some from a program legend, for his seven-turnover game against Georgia. His performance against Kentucky silenced the critics.

Florida Gators forward Alex Condon recorded his first double-double in nearly two months against Kentucky. | Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- A seven-turnover outing last week against Georgia earned junior forward Alex Condon considerable criticism from a Florida Gators legend.

"I tell you what Alex Condon has got to be better. He is too good to have 7 TO’s. Hopefully a performance like this one will spark some fire in him for the remainder of the season." Patric Young, a member of UF's 2014 Final Four team, tweeted. "Around this time last year he disappeared and Tommy Haugh and (Rueben Chinyelu) carried the front-court."

That criticism, after which Young clarified that he thought Condon was an "awesome" player and "better than (he) was," was noticed by head coach Todd Golden, who said Young was "too critical" of Condon.

"He’s a damn good player. There’s very few guys in America that you take over him," Golden said on Friday. "Condo is one of those guys that people want to poke and prod at, but the guy is on the right side of winning most every night. He deserves a lot of credit for that."

Safe to say, Golden was right, and without Condon, Florida may not have held on in its 92-83 win over Kentucky on Saturday. Condon recorded a 14-point, 11-rebound double-double in the win, Florida's first at home over the Wildcats since 2018, with 10 points and seven rebounds coming in the second half.

"People want to poke at things about our team or about our personnel when we're not doing everything perfectly, but you look at the big picture, and how many guys in America would you trade Alex Condon for?" Golden told Florida Gators on SI after the win. "I can't think of any at that spot."

Florida Gators forward Alex Condon recorded his first double-double in nearly two months against Kentucky. | Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

Golden specifically pointed to Condon's defense and presence in the paint, where he is averaging 1.4 blocks per game and is third in the league in rebounds per game (eight).

"It's his winning plays, it's his effort that's unmatched, and it's why he's such a great player,” Golden said.

Condon, meanwhile, kept it about the "team resolve" rather than his individual performance when asked about Golden's praise after the win, saying the team's effort in the second half and poise down the stretch is what ultimately won the game.

"I'm really happy about just the total effort from the lads," Condon said.

Now, Condon and the Gators turn its attention to the final three weeks of the regular season with a big target on their backs as the SEC's top-seeded team at the moment. Six games remain, including a rematch with Kentucky in Lexington on March 7, as Florida looks to win its first SEC regular season title since 2014, the same team Young starred for and the program's last Final Four team until Condon's Gators last season.

"That's something we haven't won yet at our time at Florida. So, it's definitely a goal for us, but, we just got to take it one game at a time," Condon said. "We got South Carolina coming up soon, and I think a good team would just be like, ‘Okay, it's another game,’ but Todd just said it in there that really great teams treat every game like it's a Final Four matchup. So we got to have an elite mentality before every game and come together as a team.”