In the age of the transfer portal in college athletics, love is rarely lost in a transition. Guys get up and go almost as often as they stay, leading to little year-to-year cohesion for any given program. Kentucky, of course, has not been spared by this brutal process to any degree.
But when Denzel Aberdeen, a senior guard, returned to his previous home as a Florida Gator earlier this offseason, the Big Blue Nation were a little shocked. At first, it seemed like a semantic move to, what, finish a degree? Simply be around his former teammtes, maybe?
Well, as the offseason progresses, it appears that Aberdeen's apparent intention of obtaining a waiver and running it back with the Gators on the hardwood is completely serious.
The Field of 68 recently included Aberdeen in their updated look at Todd Golden and Florida's lineup for the upcoming season, asking folks on X whether or not the best roster in the country resides in Gainesville. One puzzled reply, I believe, sums up the general onlooker's attitude:
"Assuming Aberdeen gets denied a waiver, no..." said the user.
Assuming Aberdeen gets denied a waiver, no. It’s Duke, but Florida is right behind with Illinois
— Bance Armstrong (@WannaMeetCartii) June 25, 2026
So far as anyone can tell, even in the face of head coach Golden's confidence on the matter (per Florida Gators On SI), the assumption is that Aberdeen will be denied a fifth year.
An Assumption on Aberdeen
The only case to be made for the fifth-year hopeful lies in his limited clock as a freshman, where Aberdeen averaged under four minutes and put up just 1.6 points per contest in the time that he did get.
Yet, isn't that the way development goes? Simply because you haven't risen to the point of consistent, impactful minutes shouldn't necessarily mean you get an entire extra season on the backend of your college career to make up for that slow start.
An injury-riddled career is a different; see Franck Kepnang being approved for another season at Kentucky currently, given his long, complex past with missed time as a result of medical hangups. An exception makes sense in that case, and it's why nobody was surprised when the NCAA allowed Kepnang to run it back as a Wildcat.
Inversely, that's also why people were flabbergasted when Aberdeen transferred back to Florida after what was widely believed to be his final year. I can't tell if this thing is actually being taken seriously, or if these are just shockwaves from Golden's notorious confidence reaching the general hoops population.
Either way, Kentucky fans certainly wouldn't feel warm about Aberdeen's sudden leave and speedy return to an SEC rival that Kentucky didn't handle well. last season With the recent 5-in-5 eligibility rule leaving Aberdeen, along with other graduating seniors, out of the picture, his return doesn't appear likely from an objective perspective.
But if he does come back, he's technically 0-1 against a Mark-Pope led Kentucky team. Just sayin'.
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