‘Teams want guys who can win’: Here’s why Florida basketball’s Alex Condon believes returning to school raises his chances of achieving his NBA goals.
Florida basketball’s Alex Condon discusses expectations for 2025-26
After testing the NBA waters, Florida basketball forward Alex Condon decided to return to UF. Here’s why and his expectations for this season.
Florida basketball’s Alex Condon is returning to the Gators for his junior season.Condon is aiming to be a first-round pick in the next NBA Draft after not receiving a guarantee this year.Condon believes another deep tournament run with the Gators will improve his draft stock.
There’s still some unfinished personal business for Florida basketball’s Alex Condon.
Yes, the 6-foot-11 Australian helped lead the Gators to a national championship, and as a result, he got plenty of professional interest.
However, Condon is chasing the goal of being a first-round pick in next year’s NBA Draft, which, coupled with talent returning to the Gators’ squad, made it difficult for him to leave school.
“It was a long, thought-out decision, I just got with my family, and my agency,” Condon told reporters earlier on Monday, Sept. 24. “I had a good predraft experience, and really worked on my game. I feel like I’m a different player this year, offensively, with the amount of work I put in in the offseason.
“I just thought the guys we had coming back here were too good, and it was another opportunity to compete for a national championship, so that’s why I came back.”
Condon worked out with multiple NBA teams during the predraft process, which included the Atlanta Hawks, Brooklyn Nets, Indiana Pacers, Boston Celtics and Phoenix Suns.
“I was telling my agency the thing that would keep me in the draft is a first-round guarantee,” Condon said. “I had really good workouts, I thought, but none of them could give me the guarantee at the time. The plan is this year to get that guarantee, you know, get out of school, but I’m really happy to be back and ready for another year.”
The best feedback he received, which was from Phoenix, was on his jump shot.
“I think that was my best workout,” Condon said. “Just seeing them tell me how much my jump shot has come and shooting it with confidence. I think (that’s) the biggest difference this year and making those open threes, playing off more on the dribble (and) being more versatile as a player too.”
Fortunately for Condon, his shot was a major focus during the offseason, as he had it broken down and made it a half-second faster, ensuring he maintains his follow-through.
“I feel like that’s my game now,” Condon said. “Shooting those even if I’m starting 0-for-3 or what, there’s going to be another three that goes up. I’m going to shoot it the same way with the same confidence. That’s kind of a goal I set for myself.”
Another layer to Condon’s decision to return was the issues caused by his nagging right ankle injury.
“The plan is to stay healthy this year,” Condon said. “I’m going to be playing at my best, playing at my most confident, too. I feel like some of the games there down the stretch, especially in the tournament, I wasn’t playing my brand of basketball. I got back into it in the national championship game, just being more aggressive.
“I’m definitely going to hold myself more accountable and try to keep it more consistent this year.”
For now, Condon’s focus isn’t his future, but rather solely this upcoming season because the junior is aware of how winning can create and develop opportunities.
“I think if we make another deep run in March, you saw (Walter Clayton Jr), Will (Richard), and Alijah (Martin) weren’t the highest-ranked guys coming into the season, but we made a big run and all of them got drafted,” Condon said. “That just shows how much playing a winning brand of basketball affects our draft stats. Teams want guys who can win.
“I made the choice to come back this year, so I’m just going to play a winning brand of basketball and try to get us back to a national championship.”
Reach Florida Gators writer Andrew Abadie at aabadie@gannett.com or on X (formerly Twitter) at @AndrewAbadie. You can also find him on Facebook at Andrew Abadie Sports Reporter or on Instagram @andrewabadie_sports.