Micah Handlogten likely to redshirt next season, Todd Golden says
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Gators will likely be without starting center Micah Handlogten next season. Handlogten plans to redshirt in 2024-25, Florida coach Todd Golden revealed on Friday.
The 7-foot-1 Handlogten suffered a season-ending broken left leg in the SEC Tournament title game. He averaged 5.3 points, 6.9 rebounds and 19.0 minutes in 33 games as a sophomore (32 starts).
Now he will spend the next year recovering his injury.
“He’s doing great. He’s probably going to redshirt this year,” Golden told Gators Online. “I think that from just talking to him, the number one key in my mind is like his comfort and his recovery. Knock on wood he had a great surgery. Everything at Vanderbilt went really, really well.
“We were fortunate to get him in there as quickly as we did. And, just talking to him, it would be best for him to know that he doesn’t feel pressured to get back quick, which we didn’t want him to feel anyway. So, when we had that conversation, it was great. It provided clarity to him. It gave him comfort.”
Handlogten was injured in the first two minutes of the conference championship game and had to be carted off the court in a scary scene. After his surgery in Nashville, he rejoined the team for the NCAA Tournament and provided a “big lift” for his teammates and coaches.
Golden said that Handlogten even recruited transfers Sam Alexis and Rueben Chinyelu to the program. With Handlogten likely out next season, Chinyelu will help fill the void at center along with SEC All-Freshman Alex Condon.
Moreover, having clarity on Handlogten’s status helped the Gators to add Chinyelu to their frontcourt.
“Before we got Rueben and Sam, you know, if guys were looking at us and they saw Micah coming back, starter. Like, we knew it would be hard for him to come back, but they wouldn’t really think about, ‘Well is he going to be back in time or not?’ Like it was going to be a little bit difficult. So, having clarification on that, and Micah’s such a great dude. Like he helps us recruit these other bigs. He’s an awesome young man.
“But it was good for Micah, good for our program and now he can just pour all his efforts into his rehab and not feel the pressure of ‘I need to try to get back on the court by November.’ My hope is now, obviously not next year but the year after, he should be an absolute monster as he comes back fully healthy with a lot of confidence on the leg. So, his recovery is going as well as it could. His mentality has been amazing. I’m really proud of him and the way he’s gone about it. So, he’ll be back.”
