Florida Gators 2020 Shooting Guard Outlook
In the past two seasons, the Gators men’s basketball team has been subjected to painful inconsistency on the court due to a multitude of different factors. Of those factors, the streaky play of the shooting guard position ranks atop the list.
Similar to the point guard position discussed in the last outlook, a significant evolutionary change has occurred at the shooting guard position in recent years.
Previously, being the off-ball guard offensively that was responsible for knocking down jumpers from range to then get back and create turnovers defensively. Now, two different types of shooting guards are emerging: the traditional “3 and D” guards and the hybrid point-shooter.
The often proclaimed “3 and D” guys tend to align with the traditional skillset of shooting guards and are—usually—role players that aid the team’s star or core group of playmakers. Continuing to take on the responsibility of knocking down triples and playing intensely on the defensive end, they remain crucial to any team’s success on both ends of the floor.
On the other hand, hybrid point-shooters tend to exemplify the same skillset of modern point guards. Former Florida Gator and now Washington Wizard Bradley Beal is a prime example of this in that he continues to morph into the modern-day shooting guard with his increased facilitation prowess, exemplified by the uptick in assist numbers without partner-in-crime John Wall by his side.
With a pressing need for there to be two or more experienced ball handlers on the court at all times, the position has become the second coming of the point guard with a similar ability to facilitate while still putting points on the scoreboard.
For Florida, the talent at the guard position is abundant, but no one individual contains all the intangibles that it takes to be an all-around two-guard in today’s game.
Instead—similar to that PG position for the Gators—expect there to be more than one face seeing valuable time at the position that has been hit or miss in recent memory.
Florida Gators SG Outlook
Noah Locke:
Fitting the three and D definition of today’s shooting guards, emphasis on the three, Noah Locke is one of the best three-point shooters in the country when playing at the top of his game.
Tallying an incredible 43.2% average on six attempts per game from behind the arc last season, Locke started 29 out of 31 games and averaged 10.6 points per game, shooting 42.9% from the field as a whole.
As a dangerous threat to knock down the triple from anywhere past half court, Locke is indeed a ticking time bomb, waiting to erupt into a scoring frenzy.
However, sometimes the bomb does not blow.
Having been categorized as a streaky player in his time at Florida, Locke goes through periods of scoring droughts and struggles to get into a rhythm when the Gators need him most.
Without the ability to facilitate the way other guards can and present a relatively undersized frame, Locke can often be one-dimensional as a shooter due to a limited arsenal to make plays for a team that desperately looks for a playmaker at times.
However, his ability to space the floor and knock down shots with the best of them is too much to go unnoticed and is the reason—along with experience—that he will likely start at shooting guard for Florida in 2020.
Tre Mann/Tyree Appleby:
With both of these players exemplifying the hybrid point shooter skillset that is becoming more prominent in today’s basketball, each of them could see time at the two positions.
In a battle for the starting point guard absent Andrew Nembhard, the one that doesn’t win the job—whoever that may be—has the shooting stroke to excel in an off-ball role when they need to.
For more individual analysis on the skill sets of Mann and Appleby, click here.
Final Thoughts
Needing to have the best combination of talent on the floor at the same time, having Locke as the starting shooting guard is likely the direction Florida goes given his smooth jumper and experience during his time at UF.
Florida goes into the year with the most experience and talent they have had on their roster since a miraculous elite eight run in March of 2017.
With that, the abundance of talent is one that needs to be utilized to the best of its ability for head coach Mike White to regain traction after back to back unimpressive campaigns.
For this reason, Florida could very well attempt to give their rendition of the Houston Rockets “small ball” concept this season—with Scottie Lewis and Keyontae Johnson occupying the three and four spots.
However, given Locke’s inconsistencies, the possibility of an early to mid-season change is very likely, and a return to a more traditional starting lineup with Lewis and Johnson moving to the two and three is not far fetched.
No matter the combination of players and lineups Florida presents to find magic in the upcoming year, a crucial factor for Florida will be the performance of the shooting guard position, to give the Gators a much-needed spark to return to being a contender in the SEC.
