Florida received a verbal pledge from a potential impact big man when
John Mooney committed to the Gators over the weekend.
Only problem, Mooney won’t arrive on campus until 2016. But Nike Team Florida coach Tom Topping thinks the 6-foot-9 standout entering his sophomore year at Lake Brantley High is worth the wait. Topping helped coach Mooney, who starred with NTF’s under-15 program over the summer.
“He projects as one of the better basketball players in his class, and that’s not just my opinion, but the opinion of a lot of people throughout the country,” Topping said. “Very high basketball IQ. Versatile. Can play inside and out. He’s 6-10, 220 (pounds) and gets bigger every time I see him. Either taller or thicker.”
Sounds similar to the big men who have come though the Florida program, right?
“Absolutely,” Topping said. “Going back to Matt Bonner, a guy who could step back and hit 3(-pointers), to Chandler Parsons to Erik Murphy he’s very similar in that he can play physical inside, shoot from the perimeter and put it on the floor a little bit as well.”
Mooney was just the third player ever to play on Lake Brantley High’s team as a freshman, averaging 12 points and 10 rebounds in his first high school season. Whether Mooney keeps his pledge until National Signing Day in November of 2015 remains to be seen. Current Gators Patric Young and Michael Frazier II both kept their commitments when they were offered scholarships in UF during their sophomore year in high school. But when the Austin Rivers committed to the Gators at the end of his freshman year of high school, he changed his mind and went to Duke.
Topping said he would be surprised if Mooney doesn’t keep his commitment to the Gators. UCF had offered Mooney a scholarship over the summer, but the Altamonte Springs native chose UF instead of staying closer to home.
“His older sister was a student at Florida,” Topping said. “I don’t think Florida would have made the offer if they weren’t serious about him in their plans and I think he thinks highly of the program. Normally, you would be a little skeptical when someone commits that early but it seems like the right fit, for him and for Florida.”
