Todd Golden had already retained enough talent for his Florida team to be a contender for its second national championship in three years. Then came another win, this one in a courthouse allowing guard Denzel Aberdeen to join the top-ranked Gators for his fifth college season.

“He has a great legal team that put an incredible argument forward, so we’re planning on having him and we feel good about it,” Golden said during Southeastern Conference basketball media days.

These days, leading a major college athletics program requires a touch of legal proficiency alongside the Xs and Os. Lawsuits tied to player eligibility are crawling through courts across the country. Some target the NCAA 's new age-based eligibility model, others the question of whether even minimal involvement with a professional American team equates to losing the now-lucrative chance to play in college.

It’s not stopping with the start of basketball season, either.…