By: Eric Fawcett -- April 24, 2025 With an open spot in the starting lineup following the departure of Denzel Aberdeen and the NIL and pedigree to go after a big name the Florida Gators have honed in on one of the top players that remain in the transfer portal–USC’s Desmond Claude. Transfer Portal Target: USC’s Desmond Claude | GatorCountry.com
Sounds like a good one ET, gotta like that length! Hmmm I wonder if KY will "buy him" too, just to keep him from UF? Sounds like a considerable bag may be required. Speaking of possibilities, ET, have you or Eric heard anything further about that young man (guard) from Australia that is friends with Condo? Apologies, I forget his name. I wonder if coach Todd is still kicking that idea around?
I may be wrong.. usually am.. but I believe the young man from Australia may have some issues with his eligibility due to playing for a pro team? I think I read that somewhere.
Ben Henshall is the Aussie and IMO is the missing piece that fits well with what we've got committed via the portal already. I got the impression from Neil Blackmon's pod that it's maybe more about coursework and qualifying but could have interpreted that wrong. I think Henshall is the best fit and hope we can figure it out with him. Eric touches on it in the article but it's hard to see the fit with Claude and Lee together.
Yep. We've got Xaivian, we're all set at point guard. Now we need a shooter. I think Henshall would be our best option.
I get the concern over Claude and Lee together, but I also wonder if it could be great. A 6'4" and 6'6" back court with sick handles and the ability for each to break down a D one on one could really put pressure on a team. Sure, on paper it doesn't seem perfect, but could it be effective? The lack of shooting is kinda hard to ignore, though.
Something tells me he's our first choice - but trying to figure out if he can be eligible is forcing the slow play of everyone else. That something is actually nothing at all. Just a complete guess that may be logical.
We also need an enforcer like Martin and Claude at 6' 6" is closer to fitting that bill. And as Eric wrote, he's also a pick 'n roll specialist.
Hard to know. I still don’t see it happening, and I hope it doesn’t happen. Kid is not a good fit with us. Doesn’t defend or shoot well. We already have a ball dominant lead guard. If he came at Aberdeen’s price for Aberdeen’s role, maybe, but I don’t see that happening. Plus, Aberdeen is a better defender and shooter.
When factoring in the wait for the NBA tryout ending date of 5-28, please remember that none of this is happening in a vacuum. To begin with, there are many well credentialed NBA draft projections that show all the guys we have or want, except Boogie, as second round picks (Chinyelu is not rated even in the second round). I'm sure Golden knows top NBA personnel guys who can confirm that and also give feedback on how those guys are doing in workouts. Golden will know well in advance of 5-28 where these guys stand with the NBA. Add Henshall and Claude....it's Final Four time again, baby! I hope....
He's definitely not a replacement for Zel. But you might be surprised how good Lloyd will be for us though. Why do think Claude isn't a good fit here? Quality wing players are hard to come by.
But he's not a wing player, he's a ball dominant lead guard, which we already have. As rserina said, not a great defender, and he's a 27% 3 pt shooter in 3 college seasons. I agree that he's not a great fit. He'd be an interesting piece at the 3 if we didn't expect Tommy to be getting a big chunk of minutes there.
On Lloyd, I am very bullish, but he is young and rail thin, plus Golden doesn’t love to play young guards. On Claude, he really isn’t a wing for us because he doesn’t shoot or rebound well. He plays on the ball exclusively, mostly in ball screens. Not a bad player at all, but doesn’t give us the shooting, defense, or upside we need at guard right now.
