We’re well into the dog days of Summer and that means it’s time for another Gator Country subscriber mailbag!
One of the great elements of Gator Country is the ability to regularly hear from subscribers about the content they want, and mailbag series have become a regular part of the writing here. If you have a question you want answered, you can head to the message boards and post it now. There will be multiple parts of this series, so there is plenty of time to get your questions submitted.
This is part five of the series so if you haven’t yet read part four, you can do so here.
JGGator: “What is the status of the renovation of the basketball practice facility? It was pushed back last year and supposed to happen this summer.”
It hasn’t been decided on or announced officially, but a push back is expected here.
Given how much returning talent the Gators have, it’s likely some of the donor money that was earmarked for the basketball practice facility upgrades was redirected. Additionally, with the massive upgrades announced for the football stadium, it’s pretty clear where the priorities are.
Facility upgrades are going to be a very interesting discussion around college sports moving forward. In the 2000’s and 2010’s it was quite the arms race to see who could build the best facilities to entice players, and that arms race has largely stopped entirely as schools would rather use money on players and coaches. This is interesting for the Gators whose practice facility is definitely not a particularly notable one relative to a lot of other marquee programs–but it probably will not be seen as a priority to upgrade it. Perhaps I am wrong and this project will be pushed forward after summer workouts.
Belloit: “How do you think the 5 for 5 will change college freshmen recruiting?”
Players choosing to stay in college longer due to NIL already made things difficult for freshmen both in terms of finding spots in college as well as actually being able to play once they got there, and this will make things even more challenging. A high number of players will use every bit of that eligibility, so there are going to be less scholarships available for freshmen to begin with. It also already seems like the college game is extremely old, but it’s only going to get older. With that being the case, a lot of coaches are not going to be recruiting freshmen with the expectation that they can play right away. Florida has geared their resources much more towards transfers than bringing in impact high school players which seems like a strong move in the current climate, and I think more teams will use the same process moving forward.
67WalkOn: “Am I alone in thinking we’ll be ok if Denzel Aberdeen doesn’t get another year?”
I think this is a reasonable take. I am assuming you would still rather have him than not, but even if he were to not get a waiver I think it’s not bad reasoning to say the Gators would be totally fine. With how the roster shook out this year it was pretty much a Denzel Aberdeen for Xaivian Lee swap, which I do think would be a good one for Florida. However, even if it doesn’t turn out to be the trade the Gators wanted, it could still work out for them. A lot of metrics would suggest that Xaivian Lee was a below replacement level high-major starter, so if you think some combination of Urban Klavzar, Isaiah Brown, CJ Ingram, and Alex Lloyd can provide that level of play–the Gators could end up being better off. As much as Lee started throughout the season there was a solid stretch where Klavzar was getting more minutes (and more higher leverage minutes) and that’s when Florida played some of their best basketball which could be an indication of how things could look with Lee off the roster, even if Aberdeen wasn’t available in his place.
When it comes to Aberdeen’s game, his biggest strength is on the defensive end where he can guard a few positions. Offensively he lacks a bit of individual creation, but he can knock down catch and shoot jumpers. The Gators definitely could have used his shooting, but they also could use some more individual creation on the floor. I am definitely still of the mindset that the Gators would be better with Aberdeen but I don’t think he raises their ceiling significantly, and I am with you in thinking it wouldn’t be a disaster for the Gators if he didn’t get eligible.
Belloit: “I understand that the expectation is that Petrovic can be that deadly 3-point shooter. How hard will it be for him to play at a high defensive level? Is it harder to teach defense to international players?”
I think Petrovic will be a fine defender, but will be limited a bit by the fact that he’s pretty much position locked at the “4.” He isn’t big enough to bang with most SEC centers, and he isn’t quite quick enough to be someone you’d like to see on wings. I don’t really see this as an issue, but it would be interesting to know how much switching the Gators planned on doing this year.
The international game is much more cerebral than the North American game so international players are usually quite savvy, but it’s definitely a different game with different priorities and that adjustment can be a challenge. The European game is much more aggressive defensively and there is a lot more gambling, and those gambles can drive American coaches mad. I do think generally European players don’t have an issue picking up concepts since they are used to more complex styles of play, but they often do have quite an adjustment dealing with the level of athleticism and size.
PColaG8tr: “You previously said there were no other options out there to replace Aberdeen if he loses his appeal. With Dusty May leaving Michigan that puts all the Michigan players in play. Any way we would attempt to go after any of them or do you think we are comfortable Aberdeen gets cleared?”
Dusty May leaving certainly has the chance to shake things up in the NCAA as this was a talented team that will have a lot of players able to enter the portal. Additionally, many of these players took less NIL to be at Michigan and play for Dusty May and the National Champions, and if May isn’t going to be there they could feel very different about the set up.
I am not sure that the Gators will be in a position to really compete for these players. With the amount of talent the Gators have returning they already have a boat load of money invested in players, and I don’t think there will be any discounts for these Michigan players. Anyone who needs to bolster their roster has very few options at this point and the Michigan guys could command shocking dollar figures, and though the Gators are dominant in the NIL category they might just have their hands tied up too much at this point. Though, if Golden and his staff can make a good pitch to boosters about why they should make a significant run at one of these players it could be a possibility.
GatorRev: “Eric, please advise us on how CJ Ingram is doing and how you think he will be utilized this year. I think he is a very good 3 point shooter and is an extremely gifted athlete.”
During last offseason CJ Ingram really impressed Florida’s coaching staff to the point where they thought he could be a starter, but when it got to games he just struggled to process the game quickly enough to be impactful. That is natural for a freshman so this isn’t anything shocking, but it certainly will be fascinating to see what he looks like as a sophomore. His ability to come into games cold and still hit shots is certainly intriguing as the Gators really want to improve their three-point ability this year, and if he can keep knocking them down the Gators might be forced to play him.
There is some word that the Gators will play smaller this year and have Haugh at the “4” more often, and if so that would open up minutes at the wing that Ingram should definitely be competing for. I think the Gators would be better served playing smaller, and if so I definitely think Ingram could factor heavily into the minutes at the “3.”