ESPN analyst expects Rueben Chinyelu to withdraw from NBA Draft
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ESPN basketball analyst Jeff Borzello believes frontcourt force Rueben Chinyelu might be right back in Gainesville next season to help Florida try to win another national title.
It wasn’t that Chinyelu wasn’t also a force at this week’s NBA Draft combine in Chicago. But when the second day of 5-on-5 scrimmages at the annual combine ended on Thursday in the Windy City, Borzello wrote that Chinyelu could very well spurn next month’s draft and instead go back to join a loaded Gators team for the 2026-27 season.
Chinyelu, a rebounding beast up front for Florida, declared for the draft last month but maintained his college eligibility, meaning that if he didn’t like where he stood in the draft process, he could always turn around and go right back to playing for Todd Golden this fall. Draft prospects like Chinyelu who gave themselves the option of going back to college have until the May 27 deadline to withdraw from the draft process.
In an ESPN recap story published on Thursday night that discussed which draft prospects left Chicago with better draft stock and which prospects left with questions to answer, and also which prospects like Chinyelu who have options stand on those options, Borzello wrote that the lure of that loaded Florida team might just pull Chinyelu back to the SEC.
Here is what Borzello wrote about the 2026 Naismith Defensive Player of the Year from Nigeria who helped Florida win the national title in 2025:
Chinyelu was dominant Thursday, posting 14 points and 15 rebounds in his second combine scrimmage after going for 13 points and 5 rebounds Wednesday. He also checked in with a plus-10.25-inch wingspan earlier in the week, by far the best of the combine. He likely generated momentum for his future draft stock, but he was noncommittal about his status when asked Wednesday. The best defender in college basketball last season, Chinyelu returning to Florida to team up with Thomas Haugh and Alex Condon to chase another national championship appears to be the likelier outcome.
Chinyelu will make it known very soon, on May 27 at the latest, if he will indeed return to Gainesville as Borzello believes. Incidentally, fellow ESPN analyst Jeremy Woo has Chinyelu going to the Orlando Magic at No. 46 in the draft in his latest mock edition.
Florida will be loaded with or without Chinyelu coming back next season. Here is what the Kalshi market currently says about the top teams in the mix to be holding that national championship trophy next April:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
