The problem, as Billy Donovan saw it, was that Erving Walker wasn’t taking enough shots and the shots he was taking weren’t the right ones, all of which factored in one of the longest oh-fer streaks Walker can remember and one he would just as soon forget. The streak extended to 15 straight misses — 10 in Wednesday night’s win over Georgia Southern and five more in the first half of Florida’s 80-58 win over Troy Friday night — before Walker finally launched a three-ball that didn’t touch any iron on its way down.
When the shot finally dropped for Walker with 16:52 remaining in the game, it was a catalyst for a 22-4 run that left the visiting Trojans gasping for air. The Gators went from a 35-34 nail-biter to a cruise control 57-39 lead. Walker, who was 0-4 on threes in the first half, hit 3-6 from long distance in the second half, finishing the game with 13 points, seven assists, a career-high six rebounds and three steals against only two turnovers.
During the oh-fer streak, Walker was in a predictable routine. “I thought last game was all shot fake, drive; shot fake, drive,” Donovan said, and that continued over into the first half against Troy. Against Georgia Southern, Walker continually found himself in no-man’s land in the paint, forced to take an awkward shot that clanged off the iron. In the second half, it wasn’t all bombs away from the outside — the shot fake, drive was still part of the routine — but there was good decision making and that’s what Donovan wants out of his sophomore point guard.
“I still think he’s passing up too many shots,” Donovan said. “I think he needs to shoot it more than he’s shooting it because he’s got looks. The biggest thing for him offensively would be figuring out when he can get it off and when he should shot fake and drive. I thought he did a better job tonight, shot faking and then driving and then shooting some threes.”
Walker was a 40 percent shooter from behind the three-point line last season. By the time the second half rolled around Friday night, he was 0-10 on three-balls and he was feeling a bit of self-imposed pressure to get one to go. When he launched three of the second half from the right wing, the ball took the usual high parabola before finding the mark.
“I was just thankful for that first one to go in,” Walker said after the Gators improved to 3-0 on the season. “It was definitely a confidence booster for that first one to go down. I’ve been watching film a lot. Coach says I’m passing up too many shots.”
It’s not like Walker was the only one struggling to get a three-ball to drop, either. Entering the game, the Gators were 3-29 for the season, a pathetic 10.3 percent. They went 12-32 Friday night, a far more respectable 37.5 percent and that more than doubled the three-ball percentage for the season. The Gators are now 15-61 on the season for 24.5 percent.
“We knew it was just a matter of time before we got some shots to drop,” said Chandler Parsons, who continued his high energy act off the bench Friday night, finishing the game with 15 points, seven rebounds and three assists, the third straight game he’s been in double figures. Coming into the game, Parsons had two of the Gators’ three three-pointers and both of them ended 0-12 streaks in the first two games, allowing the Gators to extend their streak of games with at least one three-pointer.
Parsons put an end to the suspense early on against Troy, knocking down the first three he launched with 11:58 remaining in the first half. That ended the suspense of the past two games when it comes to keeping alive the three-point streak (now 582 games) but there was plenty of suspense for another 11:58 at least.
The Gators took their first lead at 17-16 with 11:18 left in the first half on the first of four three-pointers by Dan Werner, who finished the game with 12 points, five rebounds, one assist and one steal. The Gators expanded their lead to 31-25 before Troy scored the last seven points of the half to take a 32-31 lead at the break.
Donovan wasn’t pleased with the way Troy finished the half and he certainly wasn’t happy when he saw the box score that showed the Trojans had a 28-19 advantage on the backboards with 10 offensive rebounds. Defensively, the Gators were just fine, holding Troy to 13-34 from the field and only 2-13 on three-pointers but the Trojans got far too many chances because they outhustled the Gators on the backboards.
“We guarded really, really well in the first half but I was disappointed with the rebounding,” Donovan said.
Some of the rebounding problems in the first half could be attributed to a lack of minutes by Vernon Macklin, who collected his second foul with 9:32 remaining in the half and sat the rest of the way. Macklin never got into an offensive flow but he did contribute defensively and on the boards in the second half, finishing the game with six rebounds.
After a halftime speech that wasn’t all that pleasant but far from Donovan’s worst halftime tirades — “I’d give it a four on a 1-10,” Werner said with a grin — the Gators still didn’t seem to have their complete focus when they immediately turned the ball over to start the second half. Michael Vogler picked Walker’s pocket and fired the ball ahead to Brandon Hazzard, who came into the game averaging 24 points per game. Hazzard thought he had an easy layup coming but Alex Tyus streaked down the court and blocked the ball up into the fourth row of the end zone seats.
That one defensive play seemed to flip all the switches. The Gators went from the gang that couldn’t shoot straight (11-33 from the field in the first half) to an unselfish team that constantly moved the ball and found open shooters in the second half. The Gators shot 47.2 percent (17-36) in the second half and they were 7-17 (40.2 percent, very respectable) from the three-point stripe.
Defensively, they swarmed all over the ball. Those open looks the Trojans got in the first half were replaced by hands in the face in the second. Troy shot 9-28 in the second half and finished the game 22-62 (36.5 percent). They were 4-22 on three-pointers (18-2 percent). Through three games, the Gators are holding opponents to 17.5 percent from the three-point line (10-57).
It was Florida’s defense that kept the offense fueled in the second half. Because of the foul troubles in the first half, the Gators played a bit too much zone. They went man-to-man in the second half and that seemed to accelerate the pace on the floor at both ends.
With freshman Kenny Boynton, who had a career high 23 points to go with six rebounds, four assists and a steal, suffocating Hazzard, the Trojans had no go-to scorer and their offense completely bogged down. Hazzard finished the game 2-13 from the field and 0-6 from the three-point line.
The Trojans came into the game averaging 105 points per game but the constant pressure on the ball from Boynton and Walker totally disrupted their pace, particularly in the second half.
“They are definitely offensive guys when you think about them, but they really, really try to guard,” Donovan said. “They really put a lot of heat on the ball. The way Erving turns guys in the press and Kenny Boynton the same thing. They are aggressive defenders.”
The win pushed Donovan’s all-time record at Florida to 58-7 in the month of November. In the last six years, the Gators are 34-3 in November.
Tuesday night, the Gators will face their toughest challenge to date when Florida State comes to town. The Seminoles, who have beaten the Gators three straight times, are 2-0 heading into Saturday afternoon’s game with Mercer.
GAME NOTES: Troy outrebounded the Gators 28-19 in the first half, but the Gators bounced back to win the battle for the game, 45-44, a 26-16 second half advantage … Werner was 4-5 on three-pointers, the third time in his career he has knocked down four threes in a game … Tyus finished with nine points, five rebounds and two blocked shots before leaving the game with a sprained ankle with 2:06 remaining in the game … Parsons has three straight double figures games, 28 for his Florida career … Werner, Tyus and Parsons have all played in 75 straight games … The win was the 350th of Donovan’s coaching career. He is 315-126 at Florida.