Gator Hoops: What's Next? The Return Of Boogie Fland Could Inspire Todd’s Rebuild.

Todd says goodbye to these two stars. But guess who's coming back? (UAA Photo)

They didn’t quite pull off the double-double natty dream, but don’t let that blur the picture. This was a special group.

They will be remembered — not for what they didn’t get, but for how close they came to grabbing hold of something that borders on basketball immortality.

Todd Golden’s 2025-26 Florida Gators gave us a season to savor, a ride that felt like it might never end.

It was a team stitched together by belief, toughness and just enough swagger to make Gator Nation lean forward in its seat and whisper, “Why not us?” As it had been the year before. And for a while there, it looked like it just might be again.

They didn’t quite pull off the double-double natty dream, but don’t let that blur the picture. This was a special group. The kind that bonds through long nights, tough wins and the shared understanding that they were building something bigger than themselves.

Years from now, they’ll still be talking about this run — the bus rides, the locker room speeches, the moments when they knew they had something. You can’t ever take that away from them.

Still, it’s only natural to wonder about the “what ifs.” In those final ticks against Iowa, you couldn’t help but think about the missing piece — the one who took his talents to Kentucky. Maybe one extra play, one extra body, one extra option changes everything.

But that’s not a knock on the ones who stayed and fought. Not even close. This team earned its place in Florida lore the hard way, stacking wins and proving they were a #1 seed despite five early losses.

You could tell they were stunned when the game against Iowa ended everything so abruptly. And in their hearts, they felt this was rightfully theirs and they were on a mission to win it again. When they did not, it was a shock to their system.

Now comes the part that defines programs, not just seasons. What’s next?

Well, Todd Golden is next, on lockdown, if you believe Scott Stricklin, who dismisses the rumors about UNC and Kansas.

“Todd wants to be at the University of Florida. I wish all those programs really good luck,” Stricklin said. “Todd’s going be here for a long time.” Golden has shown he can build. He’s shown he can develop. And maybe most importantly, he’s shown he can get a team to believe it belongs on the biggest stage.

The other good news came Thursday when Boogie Fland announced he was returning. Goods news for the Gators, but good news because he should not be scapegoated as the result of the last play after he so brilliantly defended the Hawkeyes’ best player,  Bennett Stirt, the rest of the night.

I know what you’re thinking: That Boogie’s decision could prompt others to do the same. And it could. In fact more good news came rolling in at deadline: Guard Urban Klavzar will return for the 2026-27 season.

These things need to keep coming around. Otherwise we’re staring at a roster that could tilt in two very different directions.

If Micah Handlogten gets his waiver and returns to anchor the interior… if Alex Condon and Rueben Chinyelu hear their names whispered more in second-round projections than first and decide another year in orange and blue is the better play… then watch out. That’s not a rebuild. That’s a reload.

That’s a team with unfinished business.

That’s a team that could kick the door down next March.

But if those pieces move on — as players often do in this modern era — then Golden faces a different kind of challenge. Not a step back, necessarily, but a step into the unknown.

New faces. New chemistry. A new identity to be forged from the portal and the practice floor.

And maybe that’s okay, too.

Because what this past season proved is that Florida basketball is no longer searching for relevance — it’s living in it. The standard has been reset. The expectations have changed.

The Gators aren’t hoping to compete anymore. They’re expected to.

And whether it’s with returning stars chasing one more shot or a fresh cast writing its own story, the foundation is there. Strong. Steady. Built by a team that came close enough to greatness to taste it — and left the door open for the next group to walk through.

That’s how legacies are built. And in Gainesville, the climb feels far from over.

Especially after such good news about Boogie.