Circumstances may have changed, but Tommy Haugh remains the same

(Photo by Chris Spears)

“The more things change, the more they are the same.” – French philosopher Jean-Baptiste Alfonse Karr

When he arrived at the University of Florida, largely unknown but possessing the one thing that can’t be coached – tall – Tommy Haugh was largely viewed as a project and a bit of a reach for Todd Golden. Three years later, Haugh’s circumstances have changed dramatically. He has added some muscle and the fuzz that adorned his cheeks when he came to Gainesville from New Oxford, Pennsylvania is being replaced by long hairs that will stiffen with time to create the possibility of growing a full beard. He’s an All-American and a lock for the short list of preseason player of the year in both the Southeastern Conference and the nation. To keep him from succumbing to the lure of the NBA where he was a lock to go in the late stages of the draft lottery, Haugh has NIL deals that for a college basketball player are borderline stratospheric. His girlfriend can only be described as spectacular.

To paraphrase Chris Rainey, it’s good to be Tommy Haugh these days. Circumstances have certainly thrust him into the limelight while giving him opportunities that were only dreams three short years ago, but the circumstances haven’t changed him. He has the college basketball world on a string, but he remains the same humble, likeable young man who excels at being a great teammate. He hasn’t gone off the deep end with the money although he and roomie/best bud Alex Condon do plan to trade in their fishing boat for one that’s a bit bigger.

“A blessing” is how Haugh described all the good things that have happened to him when he spoke to members of the media Tuesday morning after a workout that left him with sore abs. Throughout the 16 minutes he spoke Tuesday, Haugh injected the words blessed and blessing into his answers on several occasions. That’s not false modesty. That’s the real Tommy Haugh.

Haugh said, “Obviously, there's so much more that I want to be ahead for me, but I think looking back on how I got here or the position I'm in today is I need to do that a little bit, do a little reflecting because it's just all a blessing. It's kind of crazy when you like think about how it all went down. I still feel like it's like a dream and stuff like that, but, you know, it's – I don’t know – that’s just the luxury of being here at the University of Florida.”

There is a rather simple explanation for how Haugh has transformed from project whose height was his best asset into a genuine star whose goal it is to help the Gators win another national championship. He is where he is because he has refused to be outworked. He is a poster child for what late nights in the gym and coachability will do for you. He is like a sponge when it comes to turning a concept into positive action on the court. How else can you explain how a freshman whose bricks at the foul line could have qualified him for a union card became a valued piece of a national championship rotation as a sophomore and an All-American who switched from the post to the wing as a junior?

As a sophomore, the Gators couldn’t have won the national championship without Haugh’s contributions off the bench, particularly in the final three games in which double digit deficits were erased. He was the surprise three-point bomber (4-6) when the Gators came from 10 down to beat Texas Tech in the Elite Eight game. He was the tough rebounder and defender (7 rebounds, two blocked shots, a steal) when the Gators rallied from 12 down in the second half of the semifinals against Auburn. He was on the floor for his defense in the final minutes of the championship game when the Gators held Houston to only three points in the final 4:17.

Last season was a breakout year. He led the Gators in scoring (17.1), grabbed 6.1 rebounds per game and was a box score stuffer whose contributions at both ends of the floor helped the Gators to the SEC championship and a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. That the Gators were upset by Iowa in the second round was part of the reason why Haugh made the decision to forego the NBA to return to Florida for his senior season. That’s not to say the decision to return was easy.

“I took awhile to think about it,” Haugh admitted. “Probably like three weeks, four weeks. It was close.”

Teammates who are also best friends such as Alex Condon, Rueben Chinyelu and Boogie Fland wanted Haugh to return. After one year in basketball purgatory at Kentucky, Denzel Aberdeen wanted to come back to Florida where he is seeking a waiver from the NCAA that will allow him to play a fifth season and graduate from UF where he spent his first three seasons.

Haugh was in California doing workouts arranged by his agents at The Team when he got a surprise call from Aberdeen.

“He was, like, sitting in, like, my couch in my house,” Haugh recalled. “I was like, bro, what are you doing here? And he was like, ‘I think I'm going to come back. Like, I'm trying to come back,’ and I was like, oh, dude, that's crazy!”

Crazy enough that a starting five of Haugh, Condon, Chinyelu, Fland and Aberdeen backed up by the deepest and most talented bench in the country. The Gators are a virtual lock for the No. 1 ranking when the preseason polls come out prior to the start of the season on November 2 in Tampa against Miami.

Eleven Gators return from last season’s team, joined by Aberdeen, Euros Arturas Butajevis and Domen Petrovic and freshman Jones Lay. The competition in pickup games has been fierce.

“It is insane,” Haugh said. “It’s the pickup games and stuff this year. You got the new dudes and, like, (Alex) Lloyd's out there hitting, like, eight threes a game and stuff like that. It's crazy, and I think any... I don't know if any team ever had this much depth.”

That kind of roster has Haugh and teammates in a “national championship or bust” mentality, one that is sure to grow in intensity and focus as the days, weeks and months melt away. There will be pressure for sure, but with so much veteran leadership it should prove to be manageable.

A pair of phone calls factored prominently in Haugh’s decision to return for one more season with the Gators. First there was an approximately 45-minute phone call with longtime Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green that was arranged by Will Richard, a teammate of Green and Haugh’s Florida teammate on the national championship team. Green talked freely about the NBA and how it is as much about business as it is basketball for the players.

If in the same circumstance as Haugh and trying to decide to go pro or stay in school, Green said he would choose school.

A second phone call, this one between Haugh’s mom Jenn and Walter Clayton Jr.’s mom Cherie was eye-opening. Drafted by the Utah Jazz in the first round after the Gators won the 2025 national title, Clayton was traded midseason to the Memphis Grizzlies.

“The NBA life is no joke,” Haugh said. “I think my mom didn’t really realize that until she talked to Walt’s mom a little bit. Like, you can get traded any day of the week. You’re not out there getting dinners with your guys every night or going on fun trips and stuff like that. It’s a job. For my mom, it kind of put it into perspective. She was on my back, ‘Hey, we might want to think about going back.’”

So teammates, advice to stay from an NBA star and family left money as one of the final considerations. All the while Haugh was debating his decision, Todd Golden was working with agents Joe Smith and Aaron Klevan from The Team, Florida Victorious and other NIL sources to put together a monetary package that Mark Long of the Associated Press reports approaches $7 million. Because Haugh is so genuine with good looks to go with a refreshing personality, there could be more endorsement money on the horizon.

Convinced that returning to Florida was in his best interests, Haugh called Todd Golden, who flew out to California with his entire coaching staff. Prior to lunch in Los Angeles, Haugh told the coaches he was returning.

“It was awesome,” Haugh said. “He came up and, you know, he gave me a hug, and then I FaceTimed my parents, and my mom started crying, and my dad didn't really … my dad's just nice.”

Since making the decision to return to Florida, Haugh still goes to the gym late night to hoist a few shots. He constantly works on aspects of his game that he wants to improve such as more use of his left hand, better shooting from the three-point line and better understanding of most of his playing time on the perimeter.

The daily routine isn’t much different than it has been the last three years and, as always, it centers on the concept of hard work, being the best teammate possible and always putting the University of Florida in a good light no matter what he’s doing.

“It’s crazy and a blessing that I can attribute that to the hard work I’ve put in the last couple of years,” he said. “My parents, the way they raised me – I just want to represent the University of Florida the best I can. They’re investing that much in me and I want to invest the same amount of time and practice and hard work back to the university.”

Time marches on which means circumstances are constantly evolving and changing. The circumstances have changed during the past three years but the circumstances haven’t changed Tommy Haugh. Not one bit.