"ESPN had him ranked as the number 1 grad transfer in the country, so there is more to Canyon Barry than just being the son of Basketball Hall-of-Famer Rick Barry."
After an impressive one year turnaround by Florida Gators head coach Mike White, Gators fans are looking forward to return to national prominence. If looking to next year’s recruiting class, you
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won’t find much. The Florida Gators 2016 recruiting class is currently ranked 60th in the nation according to
, and behind 9 of the other 13 SEC teams. So, why the optimism in Gainesville?
If you watched the Florida Gators basketball team this year, it was clear that this team had a renewed energy. The ball movement was amazing, and the defense was enthusiastic and well executed. If the Gators had been able to find some semblance of consistent shooting, they would’ve been a force to be reckoned with in the nation, not just the SEC.
Now in his second year, White has the attention of Gator fans, and they believe he is the one to lead their program in the post-Donovan era. Now, he’s finding ways to get it done in recruiting. Despite ranking 60th in the nation, Donovan and company snagged 4-star recruit Gorjok Gak after he was granted his release from his commitment to Oklahoma State. But, the real buzz this week is about the transfers White has landed.
Canyon Barry announced he is transferring to UF and he is eligible to play immediately. Considering that in his college career he has a 34.4 percent 3-point shooter, and he has a career free throw percentage of 76.5 percent, this is a huge gain for Florida in their shooting department. ESPN had him ranked as the number 1 grad transfer in the country, so there is more to Canyon Barry than just being the son of Basketball Hall-of-Famer Rick Barry.
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The Gators other grab this week is sophomore Jalen Hudson out of Virginia Tech. The numbers don’t jump off the page, but he did average 8.4 points per game while shooting 34.6 percent from 3-point range during his sophomore season.
Coach White is not necessarily looking for the most physically dominant players that he can find like at Kentucky. I think we can expect this type of recruiting in the future from White. He will be looking for smart, experienced sharp shooters to help spread the floor. If White can consistently land at least a couple athletic recruits from year to year to keep from looking to slow, I think we could be looking at a Florida team that resembles a Gonzaga, Duke or even a Wichita State type team. If you are a Florida fan, these are encouraging signs of stability and reasons for hope after a disappointing 2 years of college basketball.