How Thomas Haugh makes Florida offense click with 3 non-shooting bigs

JACKSONVILLE, FL — Basketball is all about spacing. Every offense is looking to create the most room for its guards and bigs to work while the defense counters by shrinking gaps and forcing decisions inside tight windows.

This season, Florida is putting the traditional thoughts on how to create efficient offense to the test with a unique three-big lineup where the best career 3-point percentage sits at 31.3-percent. There are many elements which help the Gators get efficient looks without modern floor-spacing from a stretch big, and the most important is junior forward Thomas Haugh.

As Florida tests and refines its theory through the non-conference schedule, here is a look at what make the unlikely possible. At the core, Todd Golden finds smart basketball players and trusts them to make smart plays.

Thomas Haugh’s impact

After playing a reserve role as a freshman, Thomas Haugh had a breakout season in 2024-25, turning heads across college basketball down the final stretch of games and sparking conversation about his NBA future. After lifting the national championship trophy in April, Haugh opted to return for his junior season and attempt to further boost his resume.

Early in the offseason, a combination of Florida’s roster moves and talk within the program suggested that Haugh could play more at the three, or small forward in more traditional basketball terms, to help create minutes for the most talented part of the roster. With Alex Condon, Rueben Chinyelu and Micah Handlogten also back in the frontcourt, there looked to be a math problem.

However, by moving the rangy athlete who stands 6-foot-9 up in the lineup, Todd Golden’s unit could use top-of-the-sport size on the defensive end without sacrificing perimeter defense. The lateral quickness and recovery speed of Haugh showed even last season that he could facilitate a super-sized lineup on that end.

How Haugh sparks offense

The offense entered the season with more questions to answer. Haugh is a 31.3-percent shooter from beyond the arc, with Alex Condon the second-best of the bunch at 29.7-percent.

Haugh has answered many of those questions early in the season, adding ball-handling responsibilities as he waits for the 3-point shots to fall at a higher rate. Even as he sits near his career mark for the season, he has found ways to use the space available to create easy offense for himself and teammates.

Florida often starts the half-court possessions with a horns set which places two bigs at the elbow, or a high-low setup on the blocks. That leaves Haugh on the perimeter, often in the corner or on the wing where most threes provide the threat of a kickout.

Given his lack of track record, many teams sag off him in that position, or hedge toward the ball-handler if the action starts near him. To counter this, Haugh uses his vision and understanding of spacing to move into open areas. Whether cutting to the rim, floating into the dunkers spot or setting an off-ball screen which gets a guard into his position there is no lack of movement.

Combined with his high-end athleticism, which is on display all over the court, he is able to move into these positions with speed and power which places pressure on the defense to collapse with him. This not only offers more space for his teammates, but offers him the chance to use his improved ball-handling to get to the rim with contact for free throws.

Perhaps the most valuable piece of value Haugh provides the Florida offense is the simple fact that every new element is additive, as he demonstrated Sunday night against Miami when he played spot minutes at the five following a string of injuries and foul-outs. He is still able to be used as a second screen in ball actions, crashes the offensive boards hard off the wing after finding the open lane, and never shows evidence that his usage impacts the intensity on defense.

Alex Condon, Rueben Chinyelu, Micah Handlogten all deserve credit for the early returns as well, along with Todd Golden, but it is Thomas Haugh who stands out as the engine which could make an unorthodox style work in defense of Florida’s national title.