LSU transfer Alex Fudge is long and bouncy and loves to play defense.
Harry Fodder: How Alex Fudge Fits In
Tuesday, April 19, 2022 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
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By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — His across-the-board numbers do not jump off the statistics page, but Alex Fudge was on the floor nearly a third of his time as a freshman while playing for an LSU team that was ranked for nearly the entire 2021-22 season.
Florida coach Todd Golden and his staff believe Fudge's best minutes are ahead of him.
The 6-foot-8, 185-pound Fudge officially became a member of the '22-23 Gators' roster when his transfer paperwork was completed Monday. A 2020 Class 5A all-state selection out of Jacksonville Lee, Fudge averaged 3.3 points, 3.2 rebounds and 13.9 minutes per game for the Tigers last season. He shot 42.4 percent from the floor, made four of 14 from the 3-point line (.286) and went 21 of 37 from the free-throw line (.568).
That's Alex Fudge practically banging his head on the rim.
He also had 24 steals and was tied for third on the team with 16 blocked shots. Let's start there. With his defense.
Fudge didn't just measure with a plus-wingspan, he came in at 7-1 across. When he gets in a stance and unfolds his length it is an impressive sight; or an imposing one if you happen to be playing offense. And Fudge doesn't just look the part of a good defender, he loves playing that end of the floor and does it well enough — because of his elite athleticism — to guard any of the five positions. That will give the Gators options when it comes to switching, but also to have a terrific and bouncy athlete at the "5" in the times they elect to play small.
— Florida Gators Men's Basketball (@GatorsMBK) April 18, 2022
When Fudge was in the game for the Tigers (he was eighth on the team in minutes, nearly six minutes behind the the team's seventh man), he played almost exclusively at the small forward spot, but Florida envisions him as more of a "4" whose offensive game will mature. With Tari Eason, Darius Days, Brandon Murray and Xavier Pinson, LSU did not need him to score. Fudge's buckets mostly came by floating around the paint for lay-ups, rim-runs, lobs and stick-backs.
The Gators may not need him to score either, but the goal is work with Fudge's offensive game and put him in better position to do so as a sophomore. That will include working on his mid-range and 3-point game.
With Fudge on board, UF now has a quartet of what the staff would view as true post players. He joins two-time All-Southeastern Conference selection Colin Castleton, who underwent shoulder surgery last week, and Jason Jitoboh, who is recuperating from season-ending eye surgery, along with forward CJ Felder, who battled a troublesome hernia injury in the final weeks of the season. The Gators are hopeful to land at least one more "big."
Florida currently has 11 of its 13 scholarship spots filled for next season, but that number is fluid, what with the revolving door of the transfer portal constantly swinging (it's only mid-April), with UF already landing three players via that route since Golden was hired last month.
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