Florida Basketball Ranked No. 6 in Preseason AP Poll
Remember, remember, the fifth of November. That is the day that Florida basketball tips off against the UNF Ospreys. This squad has more talent hype than Gators hoops has had since Joakim Noah walked the streets of Gainesville.
In AP's preseason poll, that Florida team was placed at No. 6. Most experts would argue that UF is better than that, but the youth of this team truthfully presents plenty of unknowns. Here is who is ahead of UF:
1.) Michigan State
2.) Kentucky
3.) Kansas
4.) Duke
5.) Louisville
The Gators actually, even as young as they are, have more veteran leadership than most of these clubs. Kerry Blackshear Jr. is a graduate transfer from Virginia Tech. He has already played college basketball since 2015, and is one of Florida's leaders already.
Also, Three huge contributors: Andrew Nembhard, Noah Locke and Keyontae Johnson are all second-year players in orange and blue. The three sophomores all impressed at different times last season and should only be better in 2019.
The real youth comes from freshmen Scottie Lewis and Tre Mann. Freshman Omar Payne could also contribute solid minutes, but in all likelihood, Florida will not rely on him nearly as much as the other two.
If Johnson, Nembhard and Locke are as good or better than last season, Blackshear Jr. is at least most of what he has been hyped up to be and Lewis and Mann play beyond their age as many believe they can and will, UF will shoot past No. 6 rather quickly.
