Brian Edwards Sports

UF’s Tre Mann is signing with an agent and turning pro

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Florida guard Tre Mann is turning pro early and is a likely first-round selection in the 2021 NBA Draft.

Published on Wednesday, 3/24/21, at 11:05 a.m. Eastern.

Florida star guard Tre Mann has declared for the NBA Draft and will sign with an agent.

Mann told ESPN’s Jonothan Givony, “After much consideration, I have decided to take the next step in my basketball career and will declare for the 2021 NBA draft. “To Gator nation, your love and support will always hold a special place in my heart. I will be hiring an agent to help guide me through this process.”

Mann also sent out a tweet this morning announcing his intentions:

Mann led UF in scoring (16.0 points per game) and was second on the team in rebounding (5.6 RPG) as a true sophomore this year. He also averaged 3.5 assists and 1.4 steals per game.

Mann, a McDonald’s All-American and five-star recruit coming out of high school, might have been the country’s most improved player. He struggled as a freshman when he started four of 29 games, averaging only 5.3 points, 1.9 rebounds and 0.7 APG. Mann had more turnovers (32) than assists (20) and made just 35.6 percent of his field-goal attempts, 27.5 percent of his 3-pointers and 65.5 percent of his free throws.

All of Mann’s shooting numbers were vastly improved this year. He drained 45.9 percent of his FGAs, 40.2 percent of his treys and 83.1 percent of his FTAs.

Mann dropped a career-high 30 points on Tennessee in a 78-66 loss in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals. He buried a dagger 3-pointer that was critical in UF’s overtime win over Va. Tech in the first round of the NCAA Tournament (keeping Mike White undefeated in NCAA Tournament first-round games).

The ESPN 100 NBA Draft Rankings have Mann as the No. 15 prospect.

After beating the Hokies, Florida allowed an 11-point lead with less than 10 minutes remaining to get away in an 81-78 loss to 15th-seeded Oral Roberts. 

UF didn’t have any seniors on this year’s team. Mann is the only player leaving, although I suspect rising junior guard Quez Glover is an excellent candidate to hit the transfer portal. 

The future of Keyontae Johnson remains up in the air. Johnson, who was the Preseason SEC Player of the Year coming into his junior campaign, collapsed and nearly died during a loss at Florida St. on Dec. 12. He missed the rest of the season, although he continued to travel with the team and support his teammates in an assistant coach type of role.

Johnson spent several days in critical condition at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital. He eventually recovered enough to be transferred to Shands Hospital in Gainesville. The entire episode was eerily similar to what happened with Loyola Marymount’s Hank Gathers back in 1990, when he collapsed during a WCC Tournament Game and died. 

I’ve been saying for months that if Johnson does get medical clearance to play again, I hope it’s at the pro level simply because if he’s going to risk his health, he needs to be getting paid to do so. 

White has signed one incoming freshman prospect in four-star guard Kowacie Reeves, a 6-foot-6 Macon Westside (GA.) High School product who is ranked as the No. 25 overall player nationally by 247Sports. Reeves is ranked by 247Sports as the sixth-best shooting guard in the country and the third-best prospect out of Georgia in the 2021 class. 

If Johnson leaves and Glover (or another player) decides to transfer, White and his staff would have two spots to fill with either an incoming freshman or player(s) out of the portal. 

White has worked the portal extremely well during his tenure at Florida, landing the likes of Canyon Barry, Egor Koulechov, Kerry Blackshear Jr., Tyree Appleby, Colin Castleton and Anthony Duruji. 

The top players on next year’s version of the Gators will likely include Noah Locke, Appleby, Castleton, Scottie Lewis, Duruji, Omar Payne, Osayi Osifo and Jason Jitoboh. 

 

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