Florida Gators Basketball 2022-23 Player Profile: G/F Niels Lane
Photo: Niels Lane; Credit: Zach Goodall
There's an uncharacteristic buzz surrounding Florida basketball in the summer months.
Seeing drastic turnover occur from top to bottom — with head coach Mike White, his assistants and four starters departing from Gainesville — the University of Florida brought in San Francisco head coach Todd Golden to take over at the helm.
While a mass exodus usually indicates that significant time is needed to rebuild, all the right pieces have fallen into the right places. The changing of the guard at the top of the program can serve as the pivotal turning point needed to surge back from the distressing state of mediocrity experienced as of late.
In an effort to reconstruct the program to its former status of consistency and excellence achieved under Billy Donovan, Golden made it a focus to draw in talented transfers to fill the bevy of holes the roster presented.
Adding on to the promising members retained from 2021-22, the Gators have compiled a more-than-capable unit to take the floor next season.
The mixture of new and familiar faces slates them to reconcile the program sooner rather than later under the new leadership.
In anticipation of Golden's first season in charge, AllGators plans to profile the 12 scholarship players occupying spots on the roster as they look to accomplish that mission in the upcoming season. We will start by examining the backcourt and work into the frontcourt over the next few weeks.
Kyle Lofton, Trey Bonham, Denzel Aberdeen and Myreon Jones have been converted thus far. Next up is Freehold, N.J. native Niels Lane.
Player History
Lane has endured a tumultuous career with the Florida Gators to this point.
Forced to work through uncharacteristic shooting woes and minimal minutes in the first two seasons, Lane looked destined for the transfer portal as a non-factor in Florida’s lineup despite being a second-year player.
He failed to see action in the first eight games of nine in January and provided little reason for an elevation of his role when he did see the floor in blowout victories or against tune-up opponents. However, as turmoil arose for the Gators following an impressive 6-0 start to the year, the former staff began to look for answers by mixing up the lineup.
Those changes were mainly made in the backcourt. It benefitted Lane.
Despite having minimal in-game experience, Lane came in off the bench and pieced together a few promising contests in a row. That streak started in the SEC/Big 12 challenge on Jan. 29.
Proving he was ready to compete against the level of competition Florida was facing as they neared the second half of conference play.
From that point forward, he became a frequent face in the Gators' game plan, whether that came for him in his three games as a starter or in rotation off the bench.
His numbers on the stat sheet — compiling three points on 53.5% shooting, two rebounds, 0.3 steals and 0.3 blocks per game — failed to reflect the contributions he made to the squad on the defensive end.
His junior season projects to be his best yet in a scheme that fits his play style more than the previous.
2022-23 Season Role/Projection
Every great team needs a lockdown defender. Florida has just that in the junior guard Lane.
While Jones is the most likely to step into the starting role to being the season, the two-guard is the most fluid position as it pertains to the ability to upward growth.
Elsewhere, starting spots seem to be firmly set. Kyle Lofton will command a majority of playing time at the one, same with Kowacie Reeves at the three, while Colin Castleton and Alex Fudge anchor down the front court.
Lane and Belmont transfer Will Richard could be the beneficiaries of that evident room for movement.
As a result, if he is able to implement an offensive presence into his game, even enough to make defenders respect him as an occasional scorer, he could carve out a considerable role in the rotation and even insert himself into the starting lineup.
His explosive athleticism to elevate above the rim will aid him in that endeavor. Providing a semi-legitimate threat as a shooter is the next step he’ll need to take.
However, even if he remains as a defensive ace, Lane will still serve meaningful minutes for the Gators in 2022-23, especially when operating against opposing teams with a dynamic number one scoring option.
He can smoothly jump between the two and three spots in the floor for the Gators due to his quickness and length to guard any type of player placed in front of him.
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