Gators HC Todd Golden Clarifies Kowacie Reeves Jr.’s Lack of Playing Time
When the Gators regular season commenced on Nov. 7, sophomore guard Kowacie Reeves Jr. was in line to take a significant step forward from a promising end to his freshman campaign to assume a crucial role in the Florida attack.
Just seven games into Todd Golden’s tenure, Reeves has fallen out of the rotation to produce multiple Did Not Play designations.
The string of no-shows from Reeves began in the second half against Florida State as the coaching staff elected to shake up the lineup in favor of VMI transfer Trey Bonham at the two-spot. The unit found great success with Bonham in the fold, which translated to a 17-point comeback victory over the Seminoles.
Six days later, when Florida traveled to Portland, Ore., for the Phil Knight Legacy tournament, Bonham was injected into the starting lineup as Golden and Co. looked to maintain the spark they created with the halftime change in Tallahassee, Fla.
Consequently, that resulted in Reeves hitting the bench, but in shocking fashion, he failed to show face even in rotation with Bonham and fellow wing Will Richard despite the high-level skillset he brings to the hardwood. He endured two “DNP — coaches' decision” designations in Florida's losses to Xavier and West Virginia and saw just eight minutes in the Gators' lone victory of the tournament against Oregon State — where he made a slight impact with an emphatic dunk from the baseline.
Golden provided an explanation for Reeves' lack of playing time during his media availability on Tuesday.
“I did a bad job this past week and [in] a lot of ways I need to be better," Golden admitted. "I thought we caught a good rhythm in the Florida State game, Trey has been playing really well, and Trey kind of took on that role.
“I think, again, I need to do a better job of managing rotations, you know. Wacie got the short end of the stick. That’s on me. He didn’t deserve to not play, but just kind of caught in the moment. It just kind of happened.”
The lack of playing time created rumors about it being a potential disciplinary action. However, Golden shut that down when asked about it, placing the blame on himself for allowing Reeves to fall out of the rotation.
“No, not at all,” he said when asked about that possibility. “Definitely nothing disciplinary."
While Reeves was left disappointed by his inactivity during the team’s trip to Portland, Golden said that he maintained a positive attitude to not allow his individual obstacles to affect the team as a whole.
“Kowacie’s a great young man,” he said. “I thought he did a relatively good job of not allowing it to affect others for the most part.”
Reeves returns from a season in which he produced inspired performances as a shooter to elevate the Gators to the limited success they saw. Notably, his 21-point second-half contribution against Texas A&M in the SEC tournament to rally back from a sizable deficit and force overtime created high expectations for his jump this season.
However, his early season returns amid spotting playing time has thrown that jump into question. He’s averaged 7.2 points on 41.4% from the field in 17.8 minutes per appearance.
He’ll return to the hardwood against Florida A&M on Wednesday, according to Golden, with an opportunity to reassert himself as an asset for Florida’s success.
“The message for him is keep digging, keep going," Golden shared. "We firmly believe he’ll be an impactful piece for our program, you know, moving forward.
“He’ll be back out there [Wednesday] night.”
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