When talking about last year’s Florida Gators basketball team if the term “rebounding” came up–you’d probably have positive thoughts. Florida’s offensive rebounding was explosive with them finishing 8th in the country in offensive rebounding rate, allowing them to constantly get second and third chances on possessions. This offensive rebounding onslaught was one of the biggest elements of Florida’s identity, propping up a half court offense that wasn’t awfully efficient with their first shot and allowing them to make an NCAA Tournament after a rocky start to the year.
Because of the offensive rebounding it’s safe to say that Florida would be considered a good, or even great “rebounding” team–but that wasn’t necessarily the case. There are two sides of the floor, and while Florida was unmistakably dominant on the offensive glass–they were nowhere near that same level of quality on the defensive end.
Despite playing two bigs with the idea of dominating the glass, the Gators only finished 168th in the country in defensive rebounding rate. This, fortunately, was an improvement from the year prior in Todd Golden’s first year at the helm when the Gators were 285th in the country in defensive rebounding. It’s safe to say the defensive glass hasn’t been a strength for the Gators recently–but will that improve in 2024-25?
Let’s look at what caused the Gators to be the defensive rebounding team they were last year. For starters, the question of how a team can be so good on the offensive glass but so weak on the defensive glass.
Generally speaking, offensive rebounding is about having height and length. Many offensive rebounds are 50/50 balls that are tapped away by the player with more height and length, as well as a bit of foot speed to move out of their area to get to a basketball. When you look at the top offensive rebounders in the country, they are almost all tall, thin centers. When it comes to defensive rebounding, it’s about the ability to carve out space and control that space. Players need to be able to initiate contact with the box out and hold that player there, not allowing them to get a fingertip on the ball. For that reason, when you look at the best defensive rebounders in the country they are usually a bit shorter than the best offensive rebounders but are much more stout and physically strong.
Looking at Florida’s frontcourt–they were definitely on the side of thin and tall. That allowed them to be menaces on the offensive glass, but they weren’t equipped to handle the physicality of the SEC when it came to securing box outs on the defensive end.
Additionally, you probably could have seen some of the defensive rebounding issues coming when you look at the players Florida brought in. For context, a player with a 21% defensive rebound rate would be considered solid. Tyrese Samuel, coming from Seton Hall, had just a 16.7% defensive rebounding rate. Defensive rebounding wasn’t known as a strength for him at Seton Hall, though there he played primarily center and the thought was that moving him to power forward at Florida would allow him to be more dominant on the glass. That wasn’t totally the case as he improved just slightly to 18%–a number that isn’t terrible, but not one that’s going to contribute to an above average rebounding SEC team.
Micah Handlogten’s raw defensive rebounding numbers at Marshall looked amazing (26.3% defensive rebounding rate) but a look behind the curtain shows he was generally able to dominate the glass against some of the undersized teams in the Sun Belt, and when you adjust for teams that were in the top 200 of defensive rebounding he had a defensive rebounding rate of 21.4%. That’s still hitting the mark of a decent rebounding center, but again–that’s not going to move the needle when it comes to handling the glass in the SEC. Ultimately he finished last season with a defensive rebounding rate of 20.3%.
The question now–will the Gators be better on the defensive glass?
For starters, let’s note that Florida’s best defensive rebounder was Alex Condon who had a 22.5% defensive rebounding rate. As previously discussed you need to have a wider frame and physicality to defensive rebound–and Condon is more of that build as opposed to Florida’s other frontcourt players. With him being back and playing a bigger role, Florida’s defensive rebounding should improve.
Rueben Chinyelu, though someone who didn’t get a lot of minutes, was a monster defensive rebounder at Washington State with a 25.4% defensive rebounding rate. While the Pac-12 wasn’t the best rebounding league it is still a power conference, and Chinyelu’s numbers (as well as an outrageous wingspan) suggest he should be a strong defensive rebounder.
The other frontcourt piece the Gators brought in was Chattanooga’s Sam Alexis. Alexis was also a dominant defensive rebounder, finishing last season with, wait for it–an identical 25.4% defensive rebound rate. Now, of course Alexis did it at the mid-major level, but the Southern Conference actually is loaded with big-bodied centers, and looking at the tape you can see Alexis is a fundamentally sound defensive rebounder who also has the frame required to create and hold box outs.
Florida also might get a defensive rebounding boost from an unexpected source–6’2” Alijah Martin. Though Martin might be small he plays huge, often playing the small forward spot for Florida Atlantic. It’s not that he just was capable of guarding bigger players, but he loved to get in the mix and rebound. Last season he averaged 5.9 rebounds per game, posting a 15.9% defensive rebounding rate that is better than a lot of power forwards in the country. Martin loves to fly in from the perimeter and secure a rebound while his post players are boxing out, and when he gets the ball he’s able to kickstart transition offense.
Clearly the Gators improved from a personnel standpoint when it comes to defensive rebounding, so look at them to make noticeable improvements in that area.