“It might not be that much love on that day, for sure,” Denzel Aberdeen said of his Valentine’s Day return to Gainesville following the ugly breakup that saw him leave Florida for Kentucky after three seasons suiting up for his hometown Gators. And he wasn’t wrong — there were no cards, flowers and chocolates waiting for him at the O’Dome.
Instead, the Rowdy Reptiles showered him with boos all afternoon, starting when he first came out for warmups, then during player introductions and every single time he touched the basketball the rest of the way. “Traitor” was one of the common insults hurled his way, among others.
Mark Pope knew it’d be an emotional day for the Orlando native, as it was not only a championship reunion — one that unexpectedly included former teammates Walter Clayton Jr. and Will Richard, who returned during the NBA All-Star break — but also his homecoming. It wasn’t his most efficient day (8-21 FG, 1-6 3PT), but Aberdeen still went for 19 points, four assists, one rebound and one steal in 34 minutes, coming up big in key moments during the Wildcats’ comeback push that fell just short.
His head coach was pleased with his response to all of the extra stuff that came with the weekend.
“Florida fans know Denzel. I mean, Denzel is the ultimate competitor,” Pope said after the 92-83 loss. “I never worry about the lights with him, I never worry about the moment, I never worry about distractions — he loves to compete. This fanbase knows him, and of course, our fanbase loves him so much. He’s a competitor, he’s a special competitor.”
Did the fan reaction surprise him at all, knowing everything Aberdeen brought to the table as a Gator, on the floor at the final buzzer of the program’s championship win last April?
“No,” Pope dismissed. “No, he wasn’t either.”
The reality is that the senior guard knows what he signed up for when he traded out the blue and orange for blue and white in the intraconference move. It was a controversial decision and he owns that. He knew the boos were coming and they didn’t bother him.
In fact, he sort of enjoyed the experience, factoring in the reception and the 50 loved ones he had in attendance there supporting him — outside of the loss, of course.
“It was cool, it was fun. A lot of my family members were there,” Aberdeen told KSR on Monday. “I got to see a lot of old people that I used to be around all the time, so it was a great experience. Sadly, we couldn’t get the win, but overall, it was a good experience. … I most definitely was (expecting the boos).
“I was kind of locked into the game, so I couldn’t really hear it for real. But I was expecting it regardless, so I wasn’t really worried about it too much.”
Alex Condon, Thomas Haugh, Rueben Chinyelu, Urban Klavzar, Micah Handlogten and Isaiah Brown are among the Gators back from last year’s championship run, there to give him grief about his departure, but also make him pay by returning to Lexington with a loss. They all made it clear from the beginning that that was the goal, Aberdeen said.
“Seeing my old teammates, just talking trash, it was kind of fun. They got the best of me, but we’re going to see them again. But no, it was fun. … They did (give me a hard time), they were talking to me after the game. I told them we’re going to see them again, but no, it was nothing but love out there at home. I mean, we were all battling, talking trash and stuff like that. But it was most definitely fun.”
What he didn’t expect, though, was Clayton and Richard — now members of the Utah Jazz and Golden State Warriors, respectively — giving him the business sitting courtside. He enjoyed seeing two other guards he competed with in the trenches on their way to a title back in Gainesville and loves that they’re finding success in the NBA.
They need to know, though, he heard them booing with the rest of the fans, and he has something to say about it.
“It was amazing (seeing them). Walt and Will, we obviously did something special last year. Two very good players doing great in the league right now,” Aberdeen told KSR. “They was along with the boos in there, I kind of heard them. They were just trying to get in my head [laughs]. But no, it was fun.”
Aberdeen wished he had gotten more shots to fall and turned a feel-good homecoming into a feel-great homecoming, but fortunately for him and the rest of the Wildcats, they’ll get their shot at a Rupp Arena rematch in the regular season finale on March 7.
He’s definitely excited about that one, but Kentucky has five more games to worry about before getting to that point. No time to look ahead. Take care of business over the next two weeks, then focus on the revenge before postseason play begins.
“I’m not really looking forward to it right now — I’m just taking it one game at a time, trying to beat Georgia,” he told KSR. “We can see them multiple times, we can see them one more time. You never know. It’s just one game at a time right now.”