Three Changes Gators Basketball Needs to Make Next Season
This previous season, Gator basketball was a roller coaster ride of emotions.
Showing promise at times throughout the year that made many think the early on struggles would figure themselves out as the unit grew more familiar with one another, inconsistency reigned the theme of the Gators season.
Being unable to live up to expectations they had when ranked No. 6 in preseason polls, the Gators quickly fell to the ranks of irrelevancy within college basketball. Whether that be due to streaky offensive production, being dominated at times on the boards defensively, or lack of accountability, starting at the top of the food chain, Gators basketball can be labeled as a disappointment this past season.
Given the abrupt ending to the NCAA basketball season amid COVID-19, it is now time we look forward to next year.
In doing that, we look at three changes Gators basketball must make to be legitimate contenders in next year’s NCAA Tournament.
1. Utilize your youth and run the floor
Often under head coach Mike White, the blame for poor play has been put on the youth of the team for not performing when it matters the most.
As an excuse that continuously made the rounds, there hasn’t been much done to play into the hand of the talented players filling out the roster.
With not one player from the regular rotation entering his senior season next year, something needs to be done to play into the talented and explosive unit Florida puts on the floor.
Since the arrival of White following Billy Donovan’s departure from the program, an emphasis has been made to slow the offense down into a half-court offense.
A half-court play style is geared to slow down the tempo of the game to create the best possible shot late in the shot clock. With that style, the Gators have struggled to find a consistent source of production and have been punished for it.
Finding themselves in shooting droughts throughout the game, the half-court based offense often leads to stagnant play when shots aren’t falling.
The solution? Run the floor.
Even though Florida will go into next season with the most experience they’ve had under Mike White, it is no doubt the team is fast and athletic enough to push the ball up the court.
Utilizing that speed off turnovers to get east buckets or even pushing the ball down the court when they come down with a defensive rebound allows them to keep a steady pace on the scoreboard, without finding themselves being scoreless “in the last eight minutes.”
Finding a way to create shots is needed, but doing so in the half-court offense just isn’t working for the Gators the past few seasons.
Using their legs to get down the court and maximizing their talent could lead to a team that’s fun to watch and a contender next season.
2. Get on the gas early... and stay on it.
Getting off to a fast start is enormous no matter what team in the country it is.
Kansas, Kentucky, Duke, and even more of the top programs have shown the knack to start quickly and put pressure on their opponents by building a big lead earlier on.
Not Florida.
Much too frequently last season, the Gators would start slow, being the team that had pressure put on them by having to comeback late in the game. And for the most part, the teams that had no business doing that given the caliber of players on the floor for Florida.
However, in many of the games they lost last season, it resulted in a last-ditch effort to climb back from down double digits before ultimately falling short of the prize.
So in 2020-21, it’s time the Gators come out fast and don’t let up.
On the few occasions that Florida did come out fast and build leads early on, they usually kept them.
However, there were also times they squandered leads in the second half that seemed insurmountable at the time.
In the regular-season finale against Kentucky, Florida led the Wildcats by 18 at one point in the game. Still, due to the dreaded scoring drought and complete domination of Nick Richards 17 points in the second half, the Gators fell 71-70 on their home court.
With serious opportunities to win games throughout the year, the lack of fast start often kept them from winning games against the likes of Tennessee and Missouri, along with other opponents throughout the season.
Therefore, it is imperative the Gators get on the gas early next year and stay on it to assure a repeat of their regular-season finale doesn’t occur.
3. Find a reliable player in the frontcourt
In recent memory, there hasn’t been a reliable big man for the Gators to work through on offense, and to contend shots are the hoop on defense.
Going into this past season, it finally looked as if Florida would find that player in Kerry Blackshear. As a highly touted graduate transfer, Blackshear was hyped up to be one of the best players in college basketball for the upcoming season.
However, expectations fell short, and Blackshear didn’t produce in the way many believed. Seeing early foul trouble and a propensity to be dominated on the boards, Blackshear wasn’t much of a factor in many games this season.
That leads to the questions: Who will the Gators frontcourt in 2020-21, and will it be a reliable option?
With Blackshear’s inability to stay on the court at times, freshman Omar Payne showed signs that he could be a valuable player next year.
Having his coming out party in a 22 point upset if the Auburn Tigers, Payne led the Gators in scoring with 19 points on 9/9 from the field and added 11 rebounds to his spectacular outing. As Blackshear leaves the program along with other bigs Dontay Basset, Isaiah Stokes and Gorjak Gak transferring out, it’s time to bring the Payne in Gainesville.
With Payne entering his sophomore season, his added experience at the collegiate level makes him a great option to become the most reliable frontcourt player the Gators have had in quite some time.
If Payne can find a rhythm to be worked through at points on the offense as well as be a rim protector defensively, the Gators could find themselves in a different situation next season. A good one, that is.
