Florida basketball adds second key transfer in CJ Felder from Boston College

Basketball

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Image Credit: Boston College Athletics

Though the Florida Gators basketball roster is in significant turmoil, it added two key pieces on Friday to fill in for some players that have decided to leave the program. Hours after the Gators landed a commitment from UMKC graduate transfer guard Brandon McKissic, one of the top players in the transfer portal, they picked up another pledge from Boston College sophomore forward CJ Felder.

Felder (6-foot-7, 230 pounds) averaged 9.7 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.2 blocks in 27.8 minutes per game for the Eagles last season, all improvements from his freshman campaign. He also improved his outside shot and became more consistent across the board for Boston College. He announced his decision on Instagram.

McKissic (6-foot-3, 195 pounds) averaged 17.2 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists last season for UMKC. He shot a ridiculous 42.9% from three over 18 games and was named the Summit League’s Defensive Player of the Year.

Though McKissic will only have one year of eligibility remaining as a graduate student, he is a Day 1 starter for Florida, which will lose four players from their backcourt. Felder, who started 35 of the 50 games he’s played over the last two seasons, is less certain to be in that starting five but should see significant playing time given the departures in the frontcourt. Felder has two years of eligibility remaining and will likely be able to play right away as the NCAA is expected to pass a one-time transfer exemption for revenue sports this offseason.

Sophomores point guard Tre Mann and G Scottie Lewis both hired agents and declared for the 2021 NBA Draft, while junior G Noah Locke and sophomore PG Ques Glover entered the transfer portal. In all, UF has four players in the portal and three who have declared for the draft, though junior forward Colin Castleton has not hired an agent and is expected to return to college.

The Gators are still waiting on official word from junior F Keyontae Johnson, the 2020 Preseason SEC Player of the Year whose season ended in December after he collapsed minutes into a road game against Florida State. Johnson was ruled out for the season but remained with the team in a bench advisory role; he has not yet announced his long-term health status and whether he could return to play at UF or elsewhere.

Florida is only welcoming in a single freshman as part of the Class of 2021, four-star G Kowacie Reeves.