GAINESVILLE — Rather than enter the NBA Draft ill-prepared, center Rueben Chinyelu set out to make necessary improvements at Florida.
He didn’t plan to make history.
Chinyelu has improved his conditioning and free-throwing shooting, developed an offensive repertoire and fouled less on defense. Always an effective rebounder, the Gators’ bruising 6-foot-10, 265-pound junior remains a beast on the backboard — now at level few, if any, have been during the modern era at Florida.
Averaging an SEC-high 10.7 rebounds entering Tuesday’s visit from LSU, Chinyelu (pronounced CHIN-yuh-loo) is on pace to corral more caroms than any Gator since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 48 teams in 1980. He also averages 11.8 points on 63.9% shooting.
Barring a drop-off, Chinyelu would become the first UF player to average a double-double since Bob Smyth in the mid-70s, a historical fact of little concern to a 21-year-old Nigerian with 10 games this season featuring at least 10 points and 10 rebounds.
“To me it’s just going out there and playing, enjoying the game,” he said Monday. “Whatever comes with it, comes with it. The most important thing is make sure that I’m enjoying the game with my teammates.”
More recognition and Florida victories appear to be on the horizon.
Chinyelu’s mindset, along with a physically grueling offseason, have turned him into one of the SEC’s best big men.
The conference named him Player of the Week after Chinyelu recorded a pair of double-doubles during wins at Oklahoma and No. 10 Vanderbilt. He finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds during this past Saturday’s dramatic 98-94 win at Vanderbilt.
The performance included a rare jump shot from the free-throw line elbow to tie the game at 92-92 with 1:38 to go.
“His ability to be a really impactful player on offense has made us a really, really good team over these last couple weeks,” coach Todd Golden said of his No. 16 Gators, winners of eight of nine, including four straight.
Florida center Rueben Chinyelu celebrates a dunk during the Gators’ 91-64 win against Tennessee Jan. 10 in Gainesville. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)
During an even more impactful moment, Chinyelu converted four consecutive free throws early in the second half after Vanderbilt post player Devin McGlockton committed a flagrant foul with the Commodores leading 49-44. Florida’s ensuing inbounds pass ended with a 3-pointer by Thomas Haugh during one of the key swings during a scintillating contest with 17 lead changes and 14 ties.
“That was the swing play of the game,” Golden said of Chinyelu’s quartet of foul shots.
While energizing the Gators, the free throws struck a personal chord with Chinyelu, who during the past three games is 12-of-12 from the the foul line, where he’d previously been been a career 57.5% shooter (92-of-160).
“It was super meaningful,” he said. “Working at that, getting better, just being able to know that you worked for that and were trying to get better.”
The best is yet to come for Chinyelu and potentially the Gators (13-5, 4-1 SEC).
Chinyelu didn’t start to play basketball until 2018, just shy of his 15th birthday.
He would soon serve notice during the 2019 FIBA U16 African Championship in Senegal, where he averaged 12.3 points and 17.6 rebounds. Following the pandemic, Chinyelu spent 2021 at the NBA Academy in Senegal. At the 2022 NBA Academy Games in Atlanta, American college coaches immediately saw his potential.
Despite interest from Kansas, Tennessee and the Gators, Chinyelu chose to play for Kyle Smith at Washington State, a 24-hour flight from Lagos, Nigeria. But after one season in Pullman, Chinyelu arrived in Gainesville, where his rebounding and interior defense were key during the Gators’ 2025 national-title run.
“We tried to get him on the front end and failed,” Golden recalled. “But we thought he was pretty special. We felt like if we could get him in our program and he’d get a little older that he would continue to get really good.”
Golden admits he didn’t know whether Chinyelu would be so good so fast.
The key to the fast climb has been improved conditioning. Despite his chiseled and powerful physique, Chinleyu struggled to sustain his effort for long stretches. When fatigued, he fouled, earning six disqualifications.
Since fouling out during a season-opening loss to Arizona, currently the unbeaten and unanimous No. 1 team, Chinyelu has picked on five fouls once — in the final moments of a 17-point, 16-rebound effort as Florida routed Tennessee 91-67 Jan. 10 in the O’Connell Center.
A season after he averaged 19 minutes, Chinyelu averages 24.4 minutes playing for one of the nation’s deepest front courts.
“Just another great example of him growing as a player,” Golden said.
Chinyelu’s ceiling is now sky high, with a future playing basketball secure. A spot in Florida’s record books is in sight.
With 192 rebounds and 13 regular-season games to go, Chinyelu likely will end the season with at least 300, last achieved by Al Horford (360) and Joakim Noah (337) for the 2007 national champions. If the Gators make another postseason run, Chinyelu could pass Horford’s mark, leaving him behind only Neal Walk, who had more than 480 rebounds twice in the late ’60s when the NCAA Tournament featured 25 teams.
Chinyelu, though, is now an all-around player after working to become one.
“I’m proud of everything: just getting better each 1% in each aspect,” he said. “It’s a beautiful thing.”
Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com
Up next …
LSU (13–5, 1-4 SEC) at No. 16 UF (13-5, 4-1)
When: 7 p.m., Tuesday
Where: O’Connell Center, Gainesville
TV: ESPN2