Florida landed 7-foot-1 shot blocker Micah Handlogten Monday as coach Todd Golden continued to remake the Gators through the transfer portal.
Handlogten transferred from Marshall University, where he averaged 7.6 points and 9.8 rebounds while also blocking 75 shots to earn 2023 Sun Belt Conference freshman-of-the-year honors. Golden pursued Handlogten, one of the top big men in the portal, to help replace All-SEC post player Colin Castleton — a premier rim protector who averaged a UF-record 2.49 blocks during his three seasons. He recorded 78 blocks in 25 games before breaking his hand Feb. 15 against Ole Miss.
Handlogten arrives with endless upside. He needs to grow offensively but did shoot 66% from the field. Handlogten moves well for a player his size and showed playmaking skills, averaging 1.2 assists and 1.3 steals.
“We believe he is just starting to scratch the surface,” Golden said in a statement. “He’s a proven rim protector, rebounder, and rim finisher and we believe he has the capacity to expand his game — specifically on the offensive end.”
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Handlogten notched 8 double-doubles and posted 14 double-figure rebounding games, highlighted by a 20-point, 19-rebound night — 9 of them on the offensive end — against Coastal Carolina.
The Huntsville, N.C., native was a two-time all-state player at Southlake Christian Academy. He averaged 17 points, 13 rebounds and 4 blocks as a senior.
Handlogten is Golden’s second signee from the transfer portal, joining 6-foot-8, 220-pound Yale forward EJ Jarvis, a graduate transfer who averaged 11.4 points and 5.5 rebounds as a senior and totaled 64 blocks in 62 games at Yale.
On Tuesday, Iona transfer guard Walter Clayton Jr. is expected to choose between the Gators and St. John’s, which recently hired Rick Pitino, his coach the past two seasons with the Gaels.
The 6-foot-2 Clayton is a Lake Wales native once recruited by UF to play defensive back. He averaged 16.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists last season at Iona while shooting 43.1% from 3-point range and a nation-leading 95.3% from the free-throw line.
This article first appeared on OrlandoSentinel.com. Email Edgar Thompson at or follow him on Twitter at @osgators.
