Past meets present for Denzel Aberdeen on bittersweet Senior Day: 'His fingerprints are all over everything'

After four successful years as a college basketball player, Denzel Aberdeen will be playing in his final regular season game with both of his schools competing against each other under the same roof. The Orlando native got his start as a three-star local talent who decided to stay home as a Florida Gator and developed into a bench staple over three seasons in Gainesville, eventually becoming the sixth man on a national championship roster in 2024-25. Entering his senior year, the 6-5 guard entered the transfer portal and made his way to Lexington as a Kentucky Wildcat, finishing his career as a starter and the team’s second-leading scorer.

It was a controversial breakup last offseason, but both sides can say they “won” — UF claimed the SEC crown and is in line to be a No. 1 seed in March Madness while UK would be dead in the water without Aberdeen stepping up as PG1 and playing high-level basketball once Jaland Lowe went down with a season-ending shoulder injury.

Now, Aberdeen will burst through a paper hoop as his name is called over the loudspeakers with all of his current and former teammates and coaches in attendance, honoring a career of 800-plus points, 180-plus assists, 175-plus rebounds and 50-plus steals.

Oh, and a national championship ring.

“It’s kind of crazy, but it’s kind of cool at the same time,” Aberdeen said of his old friends being there for his Rupp Arena finale, while adding that he can’t let those emotions take away from the real goal at hand. “It’s another SEC game that we gotta win in order for us to be good in the standings and stuff like that. So we know our goal going further into the year, and it’s March now, so it’s time.”

Alex Condon, Thomas Haugh, Rueben Chinyelu, Urban Klavzar, Micah Handlogten and Isaiah Brown are among the familiar faces from Florida’s title run with Aberdeen that will be on the opposing bench. Todd Golden and his staff will be there, too, obviously.

Now, the Gators will be trying to win, just like the Wildcats — we all know what’s at stake for the latter, desperately trying to avoid that Wednesday start in Nashville. There is something unifying about the full-circle moment, though, both sides can appreciate for the senior guard with growth and production in Gainesville and Lexington. Both programs were better with Aberdeen wearing their uniforms, inarguably.

Does he think those friendly faces will clap for him when he’s honored before the opening tip?”

“Yeah, I think so. I think so,” he told KSR. “They should [laughs].”

They may clap for his three years as a Gator, but his fourth year is being spent as a Wildcat — and the job isn’t finished, obviously. Aberdeen got off to a rocky start in the blue and white as he bounced back and forth between roles and responsibilities with Lowe’s status constantly up in the air, not just game-by-game, but minute-by-minute. He was always one bump or swipe away from going down for good.

That took a toll on the Florida transfer, but since his permanent transition to PG1, he’s been nothing short of terrific. Lowe went down on Jan. 10 three minutes into the team’s 92-68 win over Mississippi State. Including that 16-point effort, Aberdeen has hit the double-figure mark in 12 of the team’s 15 total games while averaging 14.6 points, 4.0 assists and just 1.1 turnovers per contest.

His second and final head coach at this level, Mark Pope, believes none of Kentucky’s bounce-back from hitting rock bottom at 5-4 following the Gonzaga blowout loss and 9-6 two games into conference play would be possible without the Florida transfer’s stability through the highs and lows. He’s been a Steady Eddy through all of the craziness and being thrust into a tough spot, one he didn’t necessarily sign up for when he made the move from Gainesville.

“His fingerprints are all over everything about this year, right? In terms of the real challenges about playing out of position and assuming a role he didn’t accept is such a DNA of this team,” Pope said. “His growth has been so much in character with the guys on the team. He’s just grown so much over the course of the season and making big plays. 

“We’ve been nothing short of dramatic, and so many guys have made big plays — and he’s certainly one of the lead guys in terms of making really big, dramatic plays. He’s had a real fearless kind of steadiness about him that I think people have seen throughout his career, and we certainly have gotten to enjoy here.”

Now, it’s all coming to an end, Aberdeen hoping to lead the Wildcats on a similar run the Gators experienced a year ago. That starts on Saturday against those Gators in a matchup that will decide when Kentucky begins its journey at the SEC Tournament, anywhere from Friday as the No. 4 seed or Wednesday as the No. 10.

Florida pulled off the nine-point win in round one, now it’s time to see if his team can get revenge in round two — the perfect Rupp Arena sendoff in a dream come true as a basketball player, leading the winningest tradition in the history of the sport in March.

“Just them coming back, Senior Night, last game of at Rupp — it’s gonna be fun,” he said. “It’s gonna be another battle. … They got us the first time, so we gotta do everything we can to get them back from here.”

He remembers being an underclassman at Florida, teasing the veterans when they decided to take him under their wings and offer advice as his career got rolling. Now, he’s doing the same thing for the kids at Kentucky, now more important than ever, entering March Madness with every team and player fighting for their lives over the next month.

With the shoe on the other foot for a change, what are his words of wisdom to the next generation?

“It’s crazy. I remember when I was at Florida, I was telling a lot of older guys that they’re old and they’re ‘unc’ — but now I’m unc, so it’s kind of crazy. But just trying to be another voice, be another leader for the guys, be an example on and off the court. Just showing them how to enjoy the moment, have fun, because it’s amazing in college. 

“College basketball is what you wanna be in, one of the best atmospheres — and especially here. The mecca of college basketball is here. It’s nothing but amazing here. So I just told them to have fun, enjoy the moment, and embrace it.”

The real question: Does this Kentucky team have what it takes to pull off what last year’s Florida squad did? Are there any similarities, sitting here entering the final regular season game of his career, knowing exactly how difficult it is to make a run this point forward?

He believes the Wildcats are capable.

“Just the way we all played together last year. Last year was an amazing team, obviously. And this group of guys we have right now, I think we can do it,” Aberdeen told KSR. “If we just play together, be more physical than other teams, and just come in and rebound. … We know we wanna win every game that comes by.

“So no matter if it’s throughout the SEC Tournament or in March Madness, we know we just wanna win and our goal is to get No. 9. We gotta do everything we can to get that.”