Former Gators Wing Alex Fudge Attending NBA G League Elite Camp
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Photo: Alex Fudge; Credit: Zach Goodall
Two Gators are heading to the Windy City.
Florida forward Alex Fudge will join center Colin Castleton in Chicago for the NBA G League Elite Camp on Saturday and Sunday, an NBA spokesperson shared with All Gators Friday morning.
Fudge — a two-year rotational piece at the collegiate level — was one of 44 players invited to the camp.
Coming over from LSU during the 2022 offseason, Fudge presented the exact stretch-four skill set the new regime looked for when targeting power forward talent, albeit unpolished.
Impressed by his on-court performance in the offseason regimen, Gators head coach Todd Golden described Fudge as "the definition of an impactful player" in the months leading up to the 2022-23 campaign's opening tip-off. The first-year head coach expected his 6-foot-9, 194-pound four to produce as such when the regular season began in November.
However, the Jacksonville (Fla.) native didn't live up to that moniker in his lone year in Gainesville.
Fudge's time at UF began slowly, coming off the bench in rotation with starting four CJ Felder. Recording more minutes per game than Felder, despite the starting dynamic the two worked with, Fudge carved out a firm niche early in the season.
It eventually resulted in him overtaking Felder in the starting lineup eight games into the year, enduring ups and downs throughout the longevity of out-of-conference play.
As he began to find his groove in the SEC slate, playing at a career-high level as he displayed the aggressive tendency to attack the basket both as a scorer and rebounder, a head injury suffered on the road at Mississippi State derailed his momentum. Fudge exited the contest against the Bulldogs one minute into the second half on Jan. 21 and was sidelined for the ensuing contest against South Carolina.
He returned for Florida's SEC/Big 12 Challenge showdown against Kansas State, where he was noticeably limited despite just a one-and-a-half game absence.
Enduring a slump throughout the remainder of the season, Fudge finished his Florida career averaging 5.8 points on 39.7% from the floor and 22.9% from three, 4.5 rebounds and 0.8 blocks per game.
While serviceable numbers, the talented wing left more to be desired, especially during the Gators' push for tournament play in February.
However, despite the lack of overall production, Fudge elected to enter the 2023 NBA Draft after two collegiate seasons, banking on his impressive wingspan and explosive athleticism to shine brighter than the cloud of inconsistency at Florida.
Those traits highlight his potential at the next level, and several scouts are taking notice.
On Saturday, he has the opportunity to win over NBA scouts with a promising performance during the two-day event in Chicago, and earn an invitation to the NBA scouting combine May 15-21 if he excels at the camp.
The road to selection looks to be an uphill battle for Fudge under the circumstances, but a G League contract to elicit further growth from a consistency standpoint aligns as a plausible scenario depending on his outing.
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