Gators Alex Condon Checking in on NBA Draft Prospects

His draft prospects are looking solid, but the Florida Gators forward/center will have to decide if they're worth leaving now

Condon has to see if his prospects are good enough | Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

Florida Gators forward/center Alex Condon will look into his draft prospects. According to Swamp247’s Graham Hall, Condon is eligible to return for a junior season if he chooses to. 

Condon is coming off a career year, 10.6 points and 7.5 rebounds per game while playing a starting role. He had seven double-doubles during the season. He scored a career-best 27 points against Alabama on March 5 and a career-best 15 rebounds against Ole Miss on March 8. 

He played a pivotal role in the Gators winning the national championship - their third overall and their first since they won back-to-back in 2006 and 2007. In the championship game, he had his best performance of the tournament, putting up 12 points, seven rebounds and four steals. 

Condon is the third SEC player this century to post at least 15 points and 15 rebounds in 25 minutes or less during conference play (Johni Broome, 2023; Glen Davis, 2006)

ESPN rates his draft prospects relatively high. Ahead of the Sweet 16, they ranked him No. 26 in their top 100 NBA draft prospects list. ESPN also has him as a late first-round pick, with the Suns taking him 29th overall. In this scenario, he’d be taken right behind his teammate and Most Outstanding Player for the tournament, Walter Clayton Jr. Clayton would be bound for the Boston Celtics. 

Being a first-round pick would only add to his underdog story, of which there are plenty to go around on the Gators' championship roster. Like everyone else, Condon wasn’t a top-100 draft prospect. In the 2022 recruiting class, he was the No. 32 center. While he was the second-ranked player from Australia, there were only two prospects. 

He still took the risk of passing on an Aussie rules football career and went to the United States to play college basketball. 

With his draft projections, it looks like that risk paid off. However, he has to decide if he thinks another season will improve his prospects or if he should go while the opportunity is there.