Brandon McKissic Talks Transfer to Florida, 'This Can Be a Special Group'
The Florida Gators have undergone what can be classified as a semi rebuild of its basketball roster.
Several players have left either via the transfer portal or to continue their journey to the NBA Draft, however, the team has brought in plenty of replacements including former University of Missouri Kansas City guard Brandon McKissic.
As one of the first members of the revamped Florida basketball squad, McKissic has been thought of as a centerpiece, and for good reason. During his time at UMKC, McKissic averaged 2.4 defensive rebounds per game, 11 points per game, including an average of 17.2 last season and 1.2 steals per game during his career.
The 6-foot-3 Missouri native was also named the Summit League's defensive player of the year while earning a spot on the conference's All-Summit League Second Team. With all of the accolades and plenty of interest from other teams including Kansas, though, why did he choose Florida?
McKissic recently took part in a podcast interview hosted by Zach "SchuZ" Schumaker on YouTube, providing some insight into his decision and the connection he has already built with Gators head coach Mike White.
"Coach White was the separator," McKissic said to Schumaker when asked what sparked the decision to join Florida over several teams including Kansas University.
McKissic had just finished speaking with Kansas when White gave him a call.
"He's like, is the reigning Defensive Player of the Year in Summit League? Brandon McKissic?" He recalled. "For me, that off the rip that spoke volume, because the head coach called me. When you go through a recruiting process, you rarely get the coach to reach out to you first."
The Florida guard explained that White pitched hard for him, naming him the top player on his list of transfers, his favorite player, someone he wanted in his program. For McKissic, the relationship with Florida begins with coach White, not an assistant coach that he would typically expect. That, to him, was the major difference between all of the recruiting pitches.
While the transfer frenzy that Florida entered started with McKissic, the program has since successfully recruited several other players, including guard Phlandrous Fleming Jr. (Charleston State), Myreon Jones (Penn State) and C.J. Felder (Boston College). Those players give McKissic and the rest of the Florida fanbase, something to look forward to in addition to the already-returning players currently on the roster.
With Tyree Appleby, Anthony Duriji already slated to come back, and with Collin Castleton likely to come back, according to McKissic, the Florida roster is beginning to take some shape, leading the excitement surrounding the program. McKissic also indicated the team is looking to bring in another forward, unknown name that he himself is already working hard at recruiting.
"I feel like, this can be a special group," McKissic stated. "You know, it's not like we're not gonna play defense, we got some guys [that are] gonna play defense, really, that's known for it ... So I'm excited. I'm excited about this group a lot."
McKissic will hope to bring his defensive play and competitive mindset to the court at Florida, but he does have plenty of other attributes to bring to the table that he'd like Florida fans to know about, and he hopes to do it in front of a full, packed "house" in Gainesville, something he's never really experienced before.
"I think first thing first and foremost, I feel like I need to tell the Florida community that I'm gonna bring a lot of energy and life," he said. "I have a great character to my play. So I'm going to talk, I'm gonna scream and I'm gonna yell, I'm gonna be really exciting. I bring energy ... I like to get my guys amped because I feed off that.
"The most important thing is I'm gonna get my 110 to the swamp. The Gator country is gonna get my 110. I'm not holding anything back. I'm going to the wheels fall off with this one."
