GAINESVILLE — When Thomas Haugh decided to postpone the NBA for one final season at Florida, basketball wasn’t the only factor.
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The Gators’ All-American star forward knew things would be far different as a professional, once he left behind his college life at UF.
Jenn Haugh made sure her son knew what he’d be getting into, even as a potential lottery pick in the 2026 draft. She reached out to Cheryl Foster, the mother of former Florida All-American Walter Clayton Jr.
Clayton, the No 18 pick in the 2025 draft, was on his second team during his first season, having been traded in February after 45 games with the Jazz to the Memphis Grizzlies. After a legendary NCAA Tournament performance during the Gators’ 2005 title run, he averaged seven points as a rookie.
“The NBA life is, is no joke,” Haugh said Tuesday. “I think my mom didn’t really realize that until she talked to Walt’s mom a little bit. You get traded any day of the week; you’re not out there going and getting dinners with your guys every night — or like going on fun trips and stuff like that. It’s a job.
“I think that kind of, I knew that personally, but my mom, I think it kind of put into perspective, like it’s a job. Yeah, she was on my back, ‘Hey, we might want to think about going back.’ ”
Haugh is back to spearhead one final run at a title, with close friend and roommate Alex Condon and brutish big man Rueben Chinyelu also deciding to defer his own NBA dreams.
Expecations will be sky high, but so will the Gators’ goals.
“It’s national championship or bust,” said Haugh.
The preseason No. 1 ranking is likely for Todd Golden’s team. A target will be squarely on the back of a squad returning six of its top scorers from the reigning SEC regular-season champions, while luring shooting guard Denzel Aberdeen back from Kentucky, adding two promising international players (6-foot-10 Arturas Butajevas and 6-foot-9 Domen Petrovic) and bringing back promising sophomores Alex Lloyd and CJ Ingram.
When the team opened summer practices Monday, competition was fierce and the Gators’ potential obvious.
“It is insane. The pickup games. It’s crazy,” Haugh said. “I don’t know if any team ever had this much depth.”
Few teams have as much to prove.
Haugh initially struggled to process the Gators’ 73-72 stunning loss as a No. 1 seed to Iowa during the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
“Last year our team deserved to go farther,” Haugh said. “We had the squad to do it, the coaching staff to do it. It’s basketball. That’s why it’s called March Madness.
“We were on the positive side the year before that of it and we get the negative side of it then.”
The disappointment, coupled with a considerable NIL investment from the school’s collective Florida Victorious, ultimately reunited Haugh, Condon and Chinyelu on a single-minded mission.
The Gators are believed to have a roster tipping the balance sheet at $25 million.
“In today’s age, that’s college basketball,” Haugh said. “Here at the University of Florida, with Florida Victorious and everybody are able to make our team what we are today and return me, Condo, Rue, and try to get Denzel, and return Boogie (Fland), Urb (Klavzar), you can just see the NIL landscape’s impact.
“You don’t really see that nowadays with guys staying loyal to their school because they can go get a paycheck somewhere else. But with that investment that Florida Victorious made in our team this year, you get retention like you see this year with us.”
Haugh calls his NIL riches “a blessing,” but also knows it isn’t the product of divine intervention.
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“I can attribute that to the hard work I’ve put in the last couple of years,” he said. “My parents, the way they raised me — I just want to represent the University of Florida the best I can. They’re investing that much in me and I want to invest the same amount of time and practice and hard work back to the university.”
Haugh has been on a steady progress since he arrived as a lightly recruited 3-star recruit that Golden felt was just tapping his potential.
In 2023-24, he appeared in all 36 games as a freshman reserve, including two starts, while averaging 3.9 points, 2.8 rebounds and 14.7 minutes. Haugh then developed into one of the nation’s top sixth men as a sophomore, averaging 10.2 points and 6.1 rebounds. He finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds during the Gators’ epic comeback from 10 points down in the final six minutes to slip by Texas Tech in the Elite Eight.
Last season, Haugh emerged as one of the nation’s top players while moving away from the basket to the wing, to the “three” position. The 6-foot-9 Pennsylvania native expects to take another big step in his evolution during his second season at the three spot.
During the offseason he and Condon trained in Los Angeles, with Aberdeen also visiting and looking to elevate his game. Patrick Williams, a former first-round pick from Florida State, also worked out on the West Coast.
The right-handed Haugh said he and Williams worked tirelessly to improve their ballhandling and shooting with their left hand. Three-point shooting was another primary focus for Haugh, who shot 32.6% from long range and was 3-of-18 during his final four games, including the loss to Iowa (2-of-8) and against Vanderbilt (1-of-4) in the SEC Tournament title game.
“It’s just being able to be more comfortable in the three (position),” he said. “Having that under my belt, I should be more experienced out there on the perimeter, be able to hit people, make some more assists out there in the corner, and also knock down more shots.
“Towards the end of the year, I started shooting a little bit worse. So I need to just stay consistent through the entire year.”
Despite all the reasons his return made sense, Haugh struggled to decide whether to begin his NBA career.
Unexpected advice came courtesy of Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green, now teammate of former Gator Will Richard, who facilitated a 45-minute phone call.
“He said he would have come back, too,” Haugh said of Green.
Teammates, coaches, friends and family remained anxious for a decision as Haugh and his girlfriend vacationed this past April in Hawaii, where the couple ignored their phones.
“I’m out there just chilling in Hawaii,” Haugh said. “I kind of felt bad. So right when I got back, I was like, ‘I need to make a decision.’ My dad was kind of getting on me.”
Haugh said he reached out to Golden, who flew to L.A. with his staff to meet Haugh at All Time, a dining hot spot in the city. Before lunch was served, Haugh delivered the news.
“I didn’t make them wait, I told them at the beginning,” he said.
The group exchanged hugs, broke bread and set a championship course for the Gators.
Golden traveled 3,000 miles to find out Haugh would return to the Gators, and join his coach among the highest-paid members of the school’s athletics department. When it was time to pony up for lunch, the 6-foot-9 Haugh developed alligator arms.
“Todd got the check,” he said, with a laugh.
Haugh plans to pay it forward this season while pushing to become the rare UF athletes with two national championships. The list includes basketball stars Al Horford and Joakim Noah and football greats Percy Harvin and Tim Tebow, Haugh’s childhood idol.
“I like to just keep it down and keep it humble,” Haugh said. “But if we go out there and win another national championship, I think this team and the players on it will be remembered like those two Florida football teams with Tebow.”
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Edgar Thompson can be reached at [email protected]