Gators show interest in Swiss Guard Dayan Nessah

As Florida looks to complete its 2024-2025 roster, it’s clear they have an interest in bringing in international talent. The Gators have been linked to a number of top first-year players coming from Europe, and that’s the case again with Todd Golden and his staff reportedly showing interest in guard Dayan Nessah.

Nessah currently plays in FC Barcelona’s development system but is originally from Switzerland. FC Barcelona has one of the best development programs in the world, and Nessah is another huge talent coming through the system and now looking to get to the NCAA, as opposed to the ACB (the Spanish National League) and the Euroleague competition. This is the caliber of athlete that wouldn’t have wanted to come to the United States before NIL, but now that things have changed, he’s ready to make an impact in the college game.

Nessah joined Barcelona as a 6-foot-1 guard and continued to grow, reaching a height of 6-foot-1 in 2022. He recently topped out at 6-foot-1, which shows excellent height for a player of his skills. Those skills, you might ask? Pure scoring luck. Nessah is someone who plays the game with flair and makes great plays, both as a goalscorer and as a distributor. While he can certainly fill it, Nessah likes to pass the ball and prides himself on being more of a distributor, and he will certainly make the job fun. If you watch any of Nessah’s games, you’ll see him throw no-look passes in transition, or dump the ball to a diving cutter behind his head before the defense knows the play is happening.

As a scorer, Nessah’s biggest threat is as a shooter. Throughout his developmental career, he has been an elite three-point shooter regardless of the event or level of competition, and his smooth deployment suggests the trend will continue wherever he ends up.

Overall, Nessah is a player with a lot of energy, a great sense of the game and a ball height of 1.80 meters, something that will play in any league in the world.

The questions about Nessah are largely about his thin body and the injuries that come with it. Over the past two seasons he has struggled with injuries and missed long games with Barcelona’s development team, which has damaged his exposure and the chance to work on his game. European basketball is extremely physical and it wouldn’t necessarily be an adjustment for him to play in the NCAA, but the fact is that the high physical level in Europe has already caused him injury problems and coaches are concerned that this negative trend could continue continue.

Nessah’s recruitment will be fascinating to watch. In the class of 2024, he will be ready to join a team immediately, and with so many teams with open roster spots, you see talented players (both in the portal and in high school) commanding huge NIL amounts. Nessah’s injury issues are something coaches will have to figure out as it could determine what level he ends up at. Many evaluators see him as a clear top talent, although the uncertainty about health is deterring some programs.

At this point, the Gators could probably take somewhat of a risk on a player like Nessah because they don’t need him to contribute right away and could give him a chance to get fully healthy before taking advantage of his immense talent.

With players already on campus across the country, you might think Nessah would want to make a decision quickly, although he may eventually make some campus visits (which may be rare for European players).