When Mike White arrived in Gainesville in 2015, the Florida Gators basketball program was headed down the wrong road. Even under a legendary coach like Billy Donovan, the team had a losing record the year before and did not even make it to the NIT.
Donovan moved on to bigger and better things for his career, but he did not want to leave them without hope for a better future. He called players like Chris Chiozza, who was a freshman at the time, and told them to hang tight and not make any rash decisions.
“He told me personally that he was trying to get a coach he felt would be best for this team, and he felt like Mike White was that guy,” Chiozza said. “And I think that was the right choice.”
Fast-forward into his first season as the head coach, and it was a struggle to get players to buy in. His coaching style and basketball philosophy were very similar to Donovan’s, but he was still the new guy and players needed time to feel him out.
The culture steadily progressed as the season moved forward, but it was just an average team. The Gators managed to make it to the NIT, but White’s second season would be his true test.
In the offseason and throughout the 2016-17 season, the players bought what White and his staff was selling. Defense comes first and only good defenders get playing time. No spot on the court or number of minutes is guaranteed.
His players finally got it. That’s when things started to turn around. The team played together and for each other, and when it hit bumps in the road, it reevaluated and picked itself back up.
This was evident when the Gators won nine straight games after evident selfish play in back-to-back losses to South Carolina and Vanderbilt last year.
Florida went on to make its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2014 as a No. 4 seed and battled adversity to go all the way to the Elite Eight. Since then, the buy-in has only gotten better within the program.
“We’re going to practice to a certain standard every day,” White said. “We’ve got high-character guys. They want to be as good as they possibly can be as players and as a team. The run last year I think gave us a little bit more confidence in terms of what we’re doing and more buy-in.”
Still, this is a different team with several new faces. There is a lot to prove, but White has been impressed with the will to work shown by the players in the offseason. Especially from the freshmen, who he said are in the gym more than anyone.
There is also a lot of veteran leadership from players like Chiozza and junior center Kevarrius Hayes.
Strong chemistry and culture doesn’t always equate to winning basketball games, but it makes the odds a lot better. Heading into his third year coaching the Gators, White has completely turned the program around.
“Last year was the first year that it felt like everybody was really bought in and we realized how good of a team that we should be,” Chiozza said. “We probably still haven’t reached our full potential, but we have experience where we can see how good we could be. This year, we really have a chance to win with our team. If we get everybody bought in, we have a chance to be a great team.”
Most of the team has had a taste of success, and now it wants more. It will get more if it continues to play through White’s vision.