Denzel Aberdeen is in a unique spot going into his first trip back to Florida since his controversial departure last portal cycle. On one hand, he was on the floor at the final horn during the Gators’ national championship win and a key figure of that run, a lifetime dream as a hometown kid from Orlando with a ring that can never be taken away from him.

“It’s been surreal. The past couple of months, just reaching one of my goals in life, winning the national championship, it’s been nothing but amazing,” Aberdeen said at SEC Tipoff ’26.

On the other, Todd Golden likely won’t be waiting for him at the airport with a Valentine’s Day card, flowers and chocolates upon his return to Gainesville. His former coach got testy on multiple occasions when asked about the breakup — the two sides not seeing eye to eye during negotiations in terms of valuation.

“We love Denzel,” he told KSR. “Incredibly grateful for the contributions he made to our program. He was a huge part of our national championship team. He was a guy that came with us right when we got the job. The reality is, we would have loved to have Denzel back, and there were other things that were more important to him than what we had to offer at this point. … Every person — whether you’re a player or coach — has different things that are important to them when making decisions. Unfortunately, ours didn’t align. We would’ve loved to have him back.”

His old teammates are excited for his return to the O-Dome — nothing personal on their end, Alex Condon adding, “It’s going to be really fun” to play him, though it “was a shock” to see him go. He grew up 111 miles away, so Aberdeen will undoubtedly have all of the friends and family in the stands that he can handle. It’s not just a Gator reunion, but also a homecoming with all of his loved ones.

How will he respond to all of the extra stuff that comes with this trip? His new head coach, Mark Pope, doesn’t think anything can push him off his path of growth and the current production he’s earning in the SEC. He’s playing the best basketball of his career, and Pope expects him to continue doing just that in Gainesville.

“I think D.A. is pretty steady right now. His play over the last month has been phenomenal,” he said Thursday. “He’s had a huge number of games where he went on a four- or five-game tear where it was just — his numbers were outrageous, his decision-making, he just is getting more and more comfortable.”

Aberdeen is averaging 13.0 points and 3.1 assists during SEC play while shooting 39.1 percent from deep, six games with 15-plus dating back to January 10, no performance bigger or better than his 22-point night in Knoxville, scoring 18 in the second half alone to help the Wildcats storm back from down 17 points to beat Tennessee 80-78.

Kentucky appeared to be, for lack of a better term, screwed when Jaland Lowe underwent season-ending shoulder surgery. Since then, though, Pope’s team has been among the hottest in all of college basketball, and Aberdeen is a big part of that. He’s owned that starting point guard role and is only getting better with time and experience.

“You can see him making the transition from doing his job, to playing the game. From doing the game to playing the game, like, we’ve seen that happen in real time over the last month, where in practice, too, now you see him just feeling so comfortable with what we’re doing, and so confident,” Pope continued. “Such a believer now in trying to attack the game how we attack the game. It’s been fun to watch him grow. He’s going to be — he’s just a solid dude, man.”

So, yeah, a top-25 battle in front of the people most important to him, familiar faces and a coach ready to punish him for seeking greener pastures? He’ll be ready.

Because this is what he does.

“He’s a competitor, competitor, competitor. The brighter the lights, the more excited he gets, the more capable he gets,” Pope said. “He functions well there, so I expect him as the season progresses to just get better.”