GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Rueben Chinyelu opened this season as a third — and fairly distant — option in Florida’s stacked frontcourt.
Thomas Haugh was the team’s most versatile player, a 6-foot-9 glue guy who outhustles opponents, makes 3-pointers and rarely needs a break. Alex Condon was the program’s next NBA star, a 6-11 post player who stretches the floor and handles the ball so well that coach Todd Golden chose to run the offense through him.
Chinyelu, meanwhile, was a bit of an afterthought. The 6-10 junior was capable of doing the dirty work down low, but he was seemingly unable to carry the defending national champion Gators.
He has since shattered expectations, making one of the most impressive one-year jumps in program history and emerging as the face of Golden’s “ugly and nasty” approach. He might even be the most complete big man in the Southeastern Conference.
“We’ve kind of figured out who we are and how we want to play,” Golden said Monday. “Rueben deserves a lot of credit for that, too, because we’re able to play off of him out of the post. He’s using possessions down there and taking pressure off the other guys.”
Chinyelu is averaging 11.8 points and 10.7 rebounds a game — on pace to become the first Florida player in 50 years to average a double-double — and is emerging as a go-to scoring option and a defensive stopper.
He was at his best in the team’s 98-94 victory at then-No. 10 Vanderbilt on Saturday, finishing with a career-high 20 points to go along with 10 rebounds, three assists and three blocks. He also made all six shots from the free-throw line.
Florida’s Rueben Chinyelu (9) puts up a shot over Vanderbilt defenders in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. Credit: AP/Mark Humphrey
It was his third consecutive double-double and sixth in Florida’s last eight games. The 16th-ranked Gators (13-5, 4-1 SEC) have won four in a row and eight of nine heading into Tuesday night’s game against LSU (13-5, 1-4).
On Monday, Chinyelu was named the SEC player of the week.
“I’m proud of everything, just getting better each 1% in each aspect. It’s a beautiful thing,” Chinyelu said. “So I’m just enjoying it.”
It’s been necessary for Florida, which ranks 353rd in the nation (out of 361 teams) in 3-point shooting. The Gators are hitting just 28.4% from behind the arc, a season-long slump that prompted Golden to adjust the team’s offensive approach.
Florida center Rueben Chinyelu (9) shoots against Oklahoma center Kirill Elatontsev during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Norman, Okla. Credit: AP/Gerald Leong
Instead of settling for outside shots, Florida is more intent on limiting turnovers, pounding the ball inside and making sure to give the country’s best offensive rebounding team a chance at easy buckets.
Chinyelu’s presence helps make it possible. Haugh and Condon remain formidable forces for the Gators, but Chinyelu’s progress has made them more than a handful on both ends of the court.
He improved his stamina, his range and his free throws in the offseason. His physicality — he weighs 260 pounds — has never been an issue, but he is finding new ways to frustrate opponents. He seemingly enticed Georgia standout and fellow Nigerian Somto Cyril to throw a forearm earlier this month, resulting in Cyril’s ejection.
“Yeah, I think he sneaks a few elbows in there himself,” Condon said. “He’s always on you, always really physical. He’s going to listen to the ref say, ‘You guys separate it,’ and then just go right back to wearing guys down. It takes a toll on a person, I know I don’t like it, so I imagine what he does to the other team.”
Golden tried to sign Chinyelu in 2023 after scouting him at the NBA Academy in Africa, but Chinyelu chose Washington State instead. Golden landed him in the transfer portal a year later.
Chinyelu averaged 6.0 points and 6.6 rebounds as a sophomore last season, the sixth option on a championship squad. Even with Florida’s offensive shift, few saw this kind of consistency coming.
“He has definitely made a huge jump,” Golden said. “Rueben’s kind of entered into that realm now where he’s going to be close to the top of the scouting report every night.”