Gators Winning It All Wouldn’t Surprise ESPN’s Seth Greenberg

As Florida begins play in the SEC Tournament, ESPN's Seth Greenberg didn't hold his belief in the Gators back.

Will Richard (5), Thomas Haugh (10), Walter Clayton Jr. (1) and Alijah Martin (15) watch as Rueben Chinyelu shoots a free throw in the Florida Gators' win over Ole Miss. "In my opinion, they're a 1-seed in the NCAA Tournament," Rebels' head coach Chris Beard said. "I don't know if there's a more talented team in college basketball." | Kyle Lander / Gators Illustrated

The Florida Gators men’s basketball has certainly let the world know how good they are on the court in 2024-25. They’ve stumped the likes of No. 1 Auburn, No. 7 Alabama and No. 1 Tennessee on the hardwood this season as evidence to their talent. 

Additionally, with these types of displays being put on for the masses, it’s no surprise seeing them be a potential one seed for the NCAA Tournament. As a result, ESPN's Seth Greenberg on Friday said he would not be shocked to see the Gators dancing until the very end.

“Florida, to me, is the best team in the country,” Greenberg said on the Pat McAfee Show. “I would not be shocked if Florida wins the National Championship.”

He highlighted the backgrounds of the players on Florida’s roster, talking about their previous teams being mid-majors, while also mentioning the level of play from its guards being a factor.

“They have terrific guard play, dawgs at the guard position,” he added. 

Most of the outside perspective is locked on the trio of Walter Clayton Jr., Alijah Martin and Will Richard when this gets brought up and rightfully so. 

Walter Clayton Jr. was recently named First-Team All-American by The Sporting News' and is a semifinalist for the Naismath Player of the Year. | Kyle Lander / Gators Illustrated

However, it extends farther than just those three. On top of this trio, the Gators have relied on Denzel Aberdeen and Urban Klavzar coming off the bench, which both have thrived in their roles down the home stretch of this season. 

Aberdeen has been threatening off the bench, but has also been rewarded starts when the team was down Clayton Jr. and Martin due to injuries.  These same absences from this Gators duo led to more minutes for Klavzar as well, who provided very impactful minutes in wins over Vanderbilt, Auburn and Oklahoma. 

It isn’t just the guards that make this team dangerous, though. They're deep in the frontcourt positions too. 

Alex Condon has developed into one of the best big men in the SEC this year, earning All-SEC third team honors this campaign. And helping anchor one of the best defenses in the conference and sitting next to Condon is Rueben Chinyelu. 

Then, off the bench, teams are still having to see Thomas Haugh — one of the best off the bench in the SEC — and Micah Handlogten. 

Thomas Haugh has become one of the best sixth men in the country while also acquiring occasional starts as Florida has dealt with injuries this season. | Kyle Lander / Gators Illustrate

This team runs deep into their rotation and has relatively little drop off in the depth department when having to turn to it, which is one of the biggest reasons they are as good as they are.

The Gators will get to show off their talents again when they take on Missouri in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament on Friday. The contest between the Tigers and Gators is slated to tip at 7 p.m. and will be televised on SEC Network.