There are still two open scholarship spots on Florida’s men’s basketball roster, and Todd Golden is combing through those available in the transfer portal to find the best fit. Former Buffalo forward Josh Mballa was one of the players in Gainesville on Friday to meet with the team, according to 247Sports.
In his third season with the Bulls, Mballa averaged 13.0 points, 8.6 rebounds and 0.9 blocks per game. He’s a monster on the offensive boards too, posting the 39th-best offensive rebound percentage among D-I players. He made the All-MAC second team and entered to portal following the season to seek brighter horizons.
In 2020-21, Mballa posted even better numbers. He averaged a double-double (15.3 points and 10.8 rebounds) and was named MAC Defensive Player of the Year.
This will be Mballa’s second transfer after moving on from Texas Tech following his freshman year, and he fits the needs of first-year head coach Todd Golden. The Gators lack size and rebounding ability past Colin Castleton. Jason Jitoboh and CJ Felder are returning and Alex Fudge came in through the transfer portal, but UF still needs one piece down low to complete the frontcourt.
That’s where Mballa fits in. It’s unknown how well the meeting on Friday went, but Golden has hand-selected the guys he wants to go after and landed most of them so far aside from power forward Johni Broome who chose Auburn.
Ole Miss also hosted him recently, so there’s likely to be some more SEC competition for him down the road.
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