Florida improved to 2-0 behind a career-high 23 points from sophomore forward Alex Condon, who shot a perfect 7-for-7 from the field, including 2-for-2 from 3-point range. Senior guard Alijah Martin added 15 points, including three 3-pointers, and nabbed six steals. Will Richard (11) and Sam Alexis (10) both added double-figure scoring, while Walter Clayton Jr. dished seven assists, his most as a Gator, with just one turnover to go along with nine points.
Gator Country provides you with everything head coach Todd Golden said after Florida’s 81-60 win over Jacksonville on Thursday night.
On Alex Condon’s career performance:
“I thought he played really well offensively. Just really aggressive, very efficient, didn’t even shoot it great from the line but still really effective on that end. Two assists, zero turnovers, a really clean game that way. Obviously, we want him to be better on the glass, and that was kind of a conversation, not just with him specifically, but with the whole team after. I thought we played a pretty good game, but we did not rebound well enough if we want to be the team that we’re capable of. For him specifically, yeah, I thought it was a great night, and he did it in only 24 minutes. Pretty good.”
On the improved transition defense:
“Absolutely. I thought there were some things early that we weren’t up to par on, but yes, that is an accurate assessment. I thought we were much better that way, we were much organized, just in our responsibilities and knowing what our job was that way.”
On Walter Clayton Jr. with seven assists and one turnover:
“I thought he was great. Obviously didn’t take a lot of shots tonight, only eight field goal attempts, but he played within himself, I thought he did a really good job of reading the game and finding different guys. He was definitely playing as more of a facilitator tonight, which was fine, I thought there were a couple of threes he could have taken that we would prefer him to take, but seven assists, one turnover, obviously a really, really good floor game.”
On what Sam Alexis is bringing to the second unit:
“He’s just getting really good. He was a guy that we knew was really talented when we got him from Chattanooga, and it kind of took him a little bit in the summer to get acclimated to the high major speed and the physicality, but he’s just really, really productive when he’s on the floor. It caught my eye after the game looking at the box score, ten points, seven rebounds, four blocks in 15-16 minutes. It’s a heck of a line.”
On the rebounding issues:
“I think fundamentally we are not great right now. Part of it is a combination of probably being a little too amped up, and just trying to go run and chase down after the ball as opposed to hitting bodies, holding them off, and then going and getting it. We had a couple where we were sprinting in for the rebound and the ball went over our head, stuff like that we got to eliminate. We got to get better that way. It’s definitely an area that we have not been as good as we need to be, so it gives us something to work on over the course of the weekend going into Monday’s game against Grambling.”
On Alijah Martin’s bounce back performance:
“Honestly, I thought he played well in the opener, he didn’t shoot it well, but I thought he played well, competed very well. And tonight, the same. 15, 4, and 4, he had six steals, I thought he was really like a pest defensively, just getting his hands in the mix, striping people, using his strength and his activity to get us extra possessions. Those three guys, Alijah, Will, and Walt are all really good players. Having those guys provides a lot of comfort for us. Each of them generally helps us win in big ways. I thought Alijah was really consistent across the board tonight.”
On the struggle in the first 10 minutes defensively:
“This early in the season, sometimes teams are running some different stuff that you haven’t seen, and they didn’t show a lot in their game to start the year, it was against a non D1, so they got us on some actions that we didn’t prepare for, so that was what we would say is on the scout. I didn’t think we were physical enough getting through some of the pin downs and what we call floppy action, where they kind of run those guys down off the baseline off screens, and we were letting them get threes up, and that was an issue for us on opening night. But once we kind of met the challenge on that, I thought the last 30 minutes we were really good with our first shot defense. I mean they finished under 40% from the field, under 30% from three, so that’s really good, but again, we didn’t finish possessions well enough to make the margin of victory what it could have been.”
On active hands in the half-court defense:
“Yeah, it’s what we’ve been working on. I feel like we’re trying to create activity and get guys moving, we probably got beat because of that a couple times, but we’re rotating player, we’re trying to play with each other better, but we are trying to create more turnovers, and in the first few games we’ve done a pretty good job that way.”
On Will Richard finding other ways to contribute:
“I think his body is in as best as shape as he’s ever been in. He definitely feels more athletic, he looks more athletic. He’s just more comfortable, his floor game is way better, I think that’s an area that he’s really improved. He had a little bit of issues with the press break, but he’s turned himself into a solid playmaker in the half court, more than just a three and D guy. He’s rebounding better, I think his attention to detail defensively has improved, but generally that’s what you expect guys to do as they grow in your program.”
On the ability to score in the paint:
“It’s very important. We got a lot of it in transition. I thought our bigs did a really good job of putting rim pressure on our opponent in transition. I thought we were very poised in the paint tonight.”
Sophomore F/C Alex Condon
On points of emphasis after last game, particularly on defense…
“I think we needed to sort out our ball screen coverages a little bit more, and just especially us bigs, communicating that early. and I think we did a little bit better of this job, just we just need to get consistent on it.”
On expanding his range as a shooter:
“It was a weird game for me because I didn’t really rebound. I’ve just been more confident in my three, I’ve been shooting a little bit more at practice recently, so I’m just getting more confident with that and um I know if this team has to be good, I’ve got to be in there rebounding, so, it’s something that I’m going to focus on next week for sure.”
On improving defense in transition:
“Yeah, it was something that we worked on all week because that was pretty unacceptable, what happened against USF. We were still having some jitters. I think it was, you know, the first game. So, it was something that Todd pointed out a lot, and I think we did a better job today, but still something we can work on for sure.
Grad G Alijah Martin
On points of emphasis after last game:
“Just communicating. Coaches came in to practice the next day, emphasizing [communication], what covers to stick with, and I think we get a better job at tonight.”
On his first time playing in front of the home Florida crowd:
“Oh, it was amazing, you know, I’ve been like a little down since the last game and I wanted to make sure my first game here would be like a display of what Alijah Martin can bring to the table for the Gators. I think I did a good job with that, and you know, my teammates did a really good job with just bringing me up every practice, if I missed a shot, telling me ‘We good, we good, next one’s going in,’ just telling me to keep my head up.”
On improving defense in transition:
“Yeah, we just had we had a turn up our sense of urgency, getting back on defense, spreading back, call your man, just be balanced. We got better this week for sure.”
On his high number of steals in the early going:
“My teammates, man. They’re in the gaps for me, they’re getting deflections for me, we’re helping each other on the defensive end. Coming to Florida, we’re making a change this year. Getting better defensively.”