Florida Gators

* First in a series looking at the UF men's basketball spring signees. 

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — When the 2018-19 season ended March 23 with a second-round loss to Michigan in the NCAA Tournament, the Florida Gators returned from Iowa with 12 of 13 scholarship spots on next season's roster filled. 

Over the next 10 days, three opened up. 

With the news that forward Keith Stone, along with guards Mike Okauru and Deaudrae Ballard were transferring — these on the heels of forward Chase Johnson's midseason transfer to Dayton — Coach Mike White and his staff had to get busy making next season's team whole. The Gators already had a top-shelf incoming freshman class, with a pair of McDonald's All-Americans in New Jersey small forward Scottie Lewis and homegrown combo guard Tre Mann, plus a top-50 big man in 6-foot-9 Omar Payne, by way of the Montverde (Fla.) Academy basketball boutique. 

UF lost Stone to a season-ending knee injury in January and never really had Johnson due to a series of concussions, the totality of which limited him to only four games in his one-and-a-half seasons. The glut of scholarship openings allowed the Gators to address a glaring need for size impacted by the graduation of Kevarrius Hayes, as well as the lack of production from Isaiah Stokes (2.7 points, 1.0 rebound per game) and center Gorjok Gak, who missed the entire season recovering from knee surgery. Fourth-year junior Dontay Bassett, in his limited minutes, loomed as the team's most reliable front court contributor at just 2.7 points and 2.3 rebounds in 11.3 minutes per game.
 

Now add Jason Jitoboh to the mix.

And, trust me, he fits the bill of a "big."

Jitoboh is a native of Nigeria who hails from the highly regarded Hamilton Heights Christian Academy in Chattanooga, Tenn., the same program that recently produced Shai Gilgous-Alexander (Kentucky/LA Clippers lottery pick) and Nickeil Alexander-Walker (Virginia Tech/soon-to-be-lottery pick). He goes 6-foot-11 and 300 pounds. If that second digit is troubling, relax. Remember that Stokes and Gak lost nearly the equivalent of a cheerleader — close to 90 pounds — over the course of the past season, a testament to strength/conditioning coordinator Preston Greene and his staff. Assuming Jitoboh is motivated, he should be in the 275 range (maybe less) come this fall. 

So, if that becomes the case, what exactly will the Gators have in Jitoboh? 

First things first: Forget any preconceived notion the kid already is ticketed for a red-shirt freshman season. Could it happen? Sure. Is that a set-in-stone plan? Absolutely not. If Jitoboh can give the Gators what they need in the post next season there will be a place for him on the floor as a rookie. 

As a prep senior last season, Jitoboh averaged 8.7 points and 6.8 rebounds, while shooting 58 percent from the floor and just 47 from the free-throw line. More numbers of concern, right? Well, he played on a team that went 34-4 and had two other players sign with Division-I programs, plus an underclassmen who rates among the best in the nation in the 2021 class. Jitoboh had something of a slow start to his senior season because he broke his foot last spring and missed the AAU club circuit over the 2018 summer, making him something of a very large question mark heading into his final recruiting cycle.

In the end, Jitoboh picked the Gators over Tennessee and UCF. 

The two returning post players on this team combined to average 5.4 points and 3.3 rebounds, to go with nine DNPs. Those are alarmingly low numbers. The addition of a couple freshmen in Jitoboh and Payne, along with the availability of Gak, will not solve Florida's low-post production issues. There is still a scholarship available and that one is earmarked for a graduate transfer — or (less likely) a junior college player — the coaches are convinced will make an instant impact.

For now, they like the fact Jitoboh understands who he is. He is best at ducking in on the block, catching the ball, and shooting. When's the last time the Gators had a true center who could do that? Answer: John Egbubu. Jitoboh is not as athletic or explosive as Egbunu. Not even close. He's a below-the-rim guy, frankly, and spent his high school career pushing around guys nowhere near his size.

But you can't teach 6-11, 275.

What Jitoboh does best — posting, maybe drawing fouls on opposing bigs — is something this team needs, the mere threat of which could help open up the floor for the array of shooters and drivers Florida will have on the perimeter next season. Jitoboh's "Summer B" conditioning commitment and one-on-one time with associate head coach Al Pinkins, who works with the UF big men, will be paramount when the team convenes for official fall workouts in late September.


JASON JITOBOH HIGHLIGHTS