Yes, We Know Tommy Haugh Must Go, But …

There are 24 million reasons not to, but Gator fans can dream about Haugh returning, can't they? (UAA Photo)

‘You mean there’s still a chance?’

Somewhere between the deli counter at Publix and the checkout line, hope was born.

A guy on TwitterX swore he’s got inside information that Thomas Haugh is coming back. His source? “The guys down at Publix.”

Well now. If we’re taking recruiting tips from the cold cuts department, go ahead and pencil Florida into the Final Four and throw in a BOGO national title.

Because that’s about what it would take.

Let’s be honest here, and just a little bit cynical about it: Tommy Haugh is not turning down roughly $4.5 million next season — the estimated  opening act of a four-year, $24 million NBA payday — to come back for another tour of UF duty, no matter how good the chicken tender sub is.

You can wish on it. You can dream on it. You can even tweet it.But don’t bet your mortgage on it.

First off he may not be a lottery pick although it looks like he is right in line as the 14th choice. But this gives us hope. And you understand why folks are clinging to the idea.

He was born to be a Gator — even way up there in Pennsylvania. Cut his teeth as a disciple of Tim Tebow, growing up with a Gator logo on his lunchbox in new Oxford.

We need to go slow here and burn the candle of hope, carefully exploring every possibility. Because players like Haugh don’t come around often and he's a true treasure. Not like this. Not packaged this way. Not with that combination of grit, growth, and good old-fashioned basketball conscience.

A year ago, he was the high-motor guy on a championship team — valuable, yes, but still filed under “glue.” This year, he became the whole toolbox.

Seventeen points a night. Six boards. A little bit of everything else. He stretched the floor, or at least made you think about it, doubling his three-point output and firing away with the kind of confidence that makes coaches sleep better and defenders lose theirs.

But numbers don’t really tell you who Thomas Haugh is.

Start with the dirty work — the kind most folks avoid like a tax audit. Offensive rebounds in traffic. Defensive rotations that actually rotate. Loose balls that mysteriously end up in his hands because he wanted them more than the other guy.

He defends. He switches. He scraps. He slides his feet like a guard and bangs like a forward. One possession he’s chasing a wing to the arc, the next he’s holding his ground as a small-ball five.

That’s not common. That’s currency.

And then there’s the part NBA people love most: He doesn’t need the ball to matter.

Haugh cuts. He runs. He makes the extra pass. He plays like a guy who understands that five-man basketball is still, at its best, five-man basketball. In a league full of usage rates and isolation sets, that’s practically revolutionary.

Sure, there are nits to pick if you’re in a picking mood. He’s 22. He’s a “tweener,” whatever that means this week. His three-point percentage (32.6%) still needs a nudge from “interesting” to “reliable.”

But here’s the thing: Guys like this tend to stick because they defend. They stick because they rebound. They stick because they don’t hijack possessions or disappear when the game gets hard. And if that jumper keeps trending north, then you’re not just talking about sticking — you’re talking about staying.

For a long time. For a lot of money.

Which brings us back to Publix.

Would it be a dream if Tommy Haugh came back to Gainesville? Absolutely. With Todd Golden reloading and a core that could make some real noise, it would be the kind of storyline that keeps us all happy.

But dreams, like deli rumors, have a way of running into reality.

And reality says this: Thomas Haugh has given Florida everything it could reasonably ask for — and then some.

He’s been a paragon of effort, a craftsman of the little things, and, yes, a purveyor of unmitigated joy.

Now it’s time for him to go get paid.

Even if the guys at Publix aren’t ready to admit it.