{"id":53775,"date":"2025-05-24T11:59:18","date_gmt":"2025-05-24T11:59:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/53775\/"},"modified":"2025-05-24T11:59:18","modified_gmt":"2025-05-24T11:59:18","slug":"cbs-sports-floridas-alex-condon-should-return-to-gators-skip-2025-nba-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/53775\/","title":{"rendered":"CBS Sports: Florida&#8217;s Alex Condon should return to Gators, skip 2025 NBA draft"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Florida basketball forward <a href=\"https:\/\/gatorswire.usatoday.com\/search\/?q=Alex+Condon\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Alex Condon;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Alex Condon<\/a> continues to be one of the most closely watched names in college basketball&#8217;s NBA draft decision window, and CBS Sports has now spotlighted him as a player who <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbssports.com\/college-basketball\/news\/2025-nba-draft-floridas-alex-condon-headlines-list-of-five-declared-prospects-who-should-return-to-school\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:should return to school;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">should return to school<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>CBS Sports&#8217; Cameron Salerno names Condon as the No. 1 player who could boost his long-term stock by coming back for another season in Gainesville.<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p>Condon declared for the draft after a standout season in 2024 in which he averaged 10.4 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists and had 49 total blocks.<\/p>\n<p>Despite an ankle injury suffered during the NCAA Tournament, Condon appeared in 38 games and was one of the most consistent interior players in the SEC.<\/p>\n<p>Condon&#8217;s presence next season\u2013alongside <a href=\"https:\/\/gatorswire.usatoday.com\/search\/?q=Xaivian+Lee\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Xaivian Lee;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Xaivian Lee<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/gatorswire.usatoday.com\/search\/?q=Thomas+Haugh\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Thomas Haugh;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Thomas Haugh<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/gatorswire.usatoday.com\/search\/?q=Rueben+Chinyelu\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Rueben Chinyelu;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Rueben Chinyelu<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/gatorswire.usatoday.com\/search\/?q=Boogie+Fland\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Boogie Fland;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Boogie Fland<\/a>\u2013would give the Gators the boost they need to reach the college basketball mountaintop once again.<\/p>\n<p>The deadline for underclassmen to withdraw from the NBA draft and maintain NCAA eligibility is May 29 at 11:59 p.m. ET. Gator Nation is closely watching Condon&#8217;s decision, which can have a big impact on the team next season.<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p>This is everything Salerno said about the 6-foot-11-inch Florida basketball forward.<\/p>\n<p>Everything CBS Sports said about Condon<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Another college year could do wonders for Condon&#8217;s long-term draft stock. The 6-foot-11 forward\/center is projected to go at the end of the first round in several mock drafts, but he could easily slide into the second round if he stays. That&#8217;s why returning to school \u2014 where he would reinforce the deepest frontcourt in the country \u2014 is the wise decision,&#8221; Salerno said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Condon started all but two games during a magical 2024-25 season and recorded at least 10 rebounds in 10 regular-season games last year. Florida&#8217;s star big man didn&#8217;t match that production in the NCAA Tournament. He suffered an ankle injury against\u00a0Maryland\u00a0in the Sweet 16 but was able to return for the stretch run. If Condon stays and plays well, he could become a lottery pick in 2026.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>CBS Sports&#8217; list of declared prospects who should return to school<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Miles Byrd (San Diego State Aztecs)<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Otega Oweh (Kentucky Wildcats)<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Tahaad Pettiford (Auburn Tigers)<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Milos Uzan (Houston Cougars)<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p>Follow us\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/GatorsWire\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:@GatorsWire;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">@GatorsWire<\/a>\u00a0on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/gatorswire.bsky.social\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Bluesky;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Bluesky<\/a>, and like our page on\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/GatorsWire\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Facebook;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Facebook<\/a>\u00a0to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.<\/p>\n<p>This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: <a href=\"https:\/\/gatorswire.usatoday.com\/story\/sports\/college\/gators\/mens-basketball\/2025\/05\/23\/florida-basketball-alex-condon-nba-draft-return-2025\/83815488007\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:CBS Sports says Alex Condon should return to Gators for 2025-26 season;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">CBS Sports says Alex Condon should return to Gators for 2025-26 season<\/a><\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Florida basketball forward Alex Condon continues to be one of the most closely watched names in college basketball&#8217;s&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":53776,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[3516,7,3521,11508,217,420,950,3075,6,12,5624,11973,961],"class_list":{"0":"post-53775","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba-draft","8":"tag-alex-condon","9":"tag-basketball","10":"tag-boogie-fland","11":"tag-cbs-sports","12":"tag-college-basketball","13":"tag-florida","14":"tag-florida-gators","15":"tag-kentucky-wildcats","16":"tag-nba","17":"tag-nba-draft","18":"tag-rueben-chinyelu","19":"tag-san-diego-state-aztecs","20":"tag-tahaad-pettiford"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/114562699679409812","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53775","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53775"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53775\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53776"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53775"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53775"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53775"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}