Three Changes Gators Basketball Must Make to Salvage Season

It’s the same story, year after year, for Florida basketball.

Despite being slated with loads of talent and the most experience on the roster they have had in years, the Florida Gators came into the season with cautious expectations from those surrounding the program, given the disappointment of years past.

With small hope that the return of ideals previously held by Mike White coached teams that made deep runs into the NCAA tournament would provide a complete turnaround for the Gators trajectory—specifically where the pace is concerned—the same results have come about, leaving more questions than ever before.

Taking over the program in 2015, White holds a 101-61 record while the head coach of Florida but fails to produce teams the caliber of results many expect given former coach Billy Donovan's success during his tenure.

Sporting a 6-4 (3-3 SEC) record to this point in 2020-21, Florida has brought inconsistent mediocrity to the court in the 2020-21 season. Losing all three conference games to teams ranked above them in the standings, the Gators are winning the contests they need to but have been unable to get over the hump against the best of the SEC this year.

As a result, Florida sits as a middle of the pack team in the southeastern conference—and nation—with no signs of turning anything around too drastically anytime soon.

Having to take into account the unfortunate situations the team has had to undergo with Preseason SEC Player of the Year Keyontae Johnson and the absence of Scottie Lewis in the past two contests, the Florida team has continued to scrap.

Fresh off a loss to Mississippi State in Starkville and getting their toughest test yet at home on Tuesday night against tenth-ranked Tennessee, the question is: What are three changes the Gators must make in-season to salvage the remainder of the year?

Operate with Colin Castleton and Omar Payne on the court simultaneously

Throughout the first ten games of the season, the Florida defense has performed well overall, causing turnovers via a full-court press at most points. However, despite the Gators' offense’s hot start to the season in field goal percentage, their shortcomings on that end of the floor have hurt them in three of the past four contests.

As a result, these proposed changes are slanted to pertain to the offensive end of the court.

To this point in the year, Florida has struggled to keep up with the length of their opposition, namely Kentucky and Mississippi State. Employing a small lineup against those teams, with 6-foot-7 Anthony Duruji anchoring down the four-spot, Florida has been heavily outmatched by the big men they have faced.

By pairing Colin Castleton and Omar Payne on the court simultaneously, Florida is given length of their own to combat that of the oppositions. Payne's under-utilization to this point in the year is head-scratching, especially given the fact that an athletic 6-foot-11 big man has been something that they have sorely been lacking.

Pairing Payne with Castleton for more than a few minutes at a time, Florida is provided increased opportunity for points in the paint, presence crashing the boards, and increased rim protection on the defensive end.

I’m not saying these two should exclusively see the court simultaneously, or even that they should both start. Still, I’m implying the Florida coaching staff could better handle the matchup battle given their opponent's personnel.

Get Scottie Lewis involved more frequently on the offensive end upon his return

The absence of Keyontae Johnson has resulted in the Florida offense having no identity. They’re not a great three-point shooting team, they can’t work the ball around the court, and they often turn the ball over when trying to get Castleton involved inside.

Currently a one-dimensional unit, relying upon Castleton to post up on the interior in hopes of coming away with a bucket or drawing a foul, Florida has been in search of their identity on the offensive end.

Looking to Tre Mann, the Gators' leading scorer on the year averaging 14 points per game, the inconsistency of Mann has hurt UF from truly finding their groove as an offense during the 2020-21 season. Having times of excellence followed by cold spurts, relying upon the sophomore guard to be the number one piece has come with varying results.

As a result, despite his recent absence due to “health and safety reasons” in the past two matchups (soon to be three), the Gators’ identity could be found by looking to the most athletic player on the court in Scottie Lewis, upon his return.

Averaging 11 points per game at the moment, Lewis has been subject to a stationary place on the perimeter but has the potential to make more of an impact with more utilization.

By allowing Lewis to penetrate the lane and attack the cup more frequently, Florida can get their best player in Johnson’s absence involved and in a rhythm, bringing a juice to the offensive end that directly affects their production.

Bringing the energy on defense, Lewis would bring the same thing to the court's offensive end. Creating chances for buckets of his own or exploiting help defense to get the big men involved inside—by way of dishing it down to them or put back opportunities—Lewis as a predominant scoring option should be something the Gators deeply consider whenever he returns to the court.

Create more ball movement

Coming into the season looking to create more shot opportunities by allowing the defense to turn into offense with fast-break points, there was hope that the dreaded scoring droughts were a thing of Florida’s past.

However, failing to make a shot from the floor until after the first four minutes in their trip to Starkville this past Saturday, that formula doesn’t seem to be work.

As a result, Florida should continue their fast-paced tempo any chance they can get but work the ball around in an attempt to create more open shots. Currently averaging just 12.1 assists per game, Florida ranks 254th out of 340 qualified teams in Division-1 basketball.

Relying heavily upon their point guards to find the open man off the dribble upon penetration of the lane, all types of movement of the Florida offense is stagnant, resulting in poor shot selections as the shot clock winds down.

By increasing ball movement—especially against teams playing in zone—Florida is able to stretch the floor and force opposing teams to defend a greater surface area. As a result, more open shot opportunities both beyond the arc and inside the paint will come their way as they try to desperately patch an offense that has been broken for several years.