Florida’s non-conference schedule has continued to take shape with the announcement of Illinois as their opening round game in the Emerald Coast Classic.
The Emerald Coast Classic takes place in Niceville, Florida and will give the Gators a couple of opportunities for resume-boosting wins on a neutral floor, even though they should have a bit of an advantage given that the tournament takes place in Niceville, Florida. The other two teams taking part in the tournament are Oregon and Iowa State and with the small four-team format it is ensured the Gators will have a quality second opponent even if they were to lose to Illinois.
The Fighting Illini had one of their best seasons in recent history led by guard Ayo Dosunmu. He’ll almost certainly go to the NBA Draft after a stellar sophomore campaign but the possibility for his return is still there. Even if he were to leave Illinois is looking like a really solid team that should be a lock for the NCAA Tournament.
Point guard Trent Frazier will be the quarterback of the offense and while he’s not an electric scorer or flashy passer he’s a responsible leader who gets the ball where it needs to go and he rarely turns over the basketball.
Joined in the backcourt will be a freshman some Gator fans will be familiar with, Long Island product Andre Curbelo. Florida heavily recruited Curbelo before falling out of contention but the staff loved him and was extremely interested in his services. A speedy 6’0” guard with excellent passing ability he definitely gives off some Chris Chiozza vibes so you can see why he’s expected to be a great player.
Not known as a recruiting powerhouse of late the Illini have a great class this year and in addition to Curbelo (the 43rd ranked player in the class) they’re bringing in 32nd ranked Adam Miller. Miller is a skilled combo guard who can heat up in a hurry and he’ll definitely be a player to watch.
While Illinois brings some talent in the backcourt their biggest strength is in the post. For starters, they have 7’0”, 290 pound monster Kofi Cockburn manning the center position. He was unstoppable whenever he got the ball in the paint as a freshman and with another year of experience under his belt he’ll be an absolute load to handle. Additionally, they roll out 6’9” power forward Giorgi Bezhanishvili who blends strength and finesse to the frontcourt. Oftentimes Illinois played both of these bigs together and looked to bully opponents and against what’s going to be a young Florida frontcourt this could be a matchup issue.
The likely winner of Oregon-Iowa State will be Oregon who is going to get some top-10 votes in the preseason AP Poll. They did lose their star point guard Payton Pritchard to graduation but they return jack-of-all-trades wing Chris Duarte and slippery shooting guard Will Richardson in addition to former Gator target and 5-star forward CJ Walker.
Iowa State will be in a bit of a rebuild after getting gutted by transfers and the early draft entry of leading guard Tyrese Haliburton but they have a host of strong role players who will make them a tough out.
Florida’s non-conference schedule is shaping up to be an extremely tough one. The Emerald Coast Classic field is a stout one and that’s on top of games against Florida State, Oklahoma, Penn State, UConn, and others. It’s clear Mike White and company want to continue to challenge their team in the non-conference season just like they’ve done in past years and this season will be no different. Luckily, for the first time since 2017 the Gators have returning experience and proven production and they should be ready for the tough early season games.
Dates? Website for tourney says Nov. 27-29.
Oh, also, the website says Destin.