The Florida Gators basketball team will travel to Jacksonville University on Thursday night to play the Dolphins in a charity exhibition game to raise funds for hurricane relief.
The game will be played in JU’s Swisher gym, with all proceeds going to the First Coast Irma Relief Fund through the United Way.
In their last meeting, which was on December 22, 2015, the Gators won 89-65.
We'll be visiting @JacksonvilleMBB on Thursday, Nov. 2, to play a charity exhibition game. Details here: https://t.co/HvTUB0TjNR
— Gators M-Basketball (@GatorsMBK) October 24, 2017
Fresh off a No. 8 ranking in the preseason AP Top 25 poll that was released on Wednesday, and a No. 7 ranking in the USA Today Men’s Basketball Coaches poll that was released a couple weeks ago, the Gators will look to not let the hype around the team affect their preparation and play on Friday night and heading into the season.
“We’re not going to put any stock into any of the external pressure,” Coach Mike White said on Wednesday. “We put enough internal pressure on ourselves — not to be ranked or beat a specific team.”
While returning plenty of players from last year, there will also be a few new faces wearing orange and blue. Friday will be one of their first real opportunities to play together in a game type scenario.
“Just to go out there and be able to play in a game with the new team just shows that the season’s right there,” Said senior point guard Chris Chiozza. “It’s something we’ve been waiting for since the end of last year, so it’s always exciting to have that first game of the season.”
https://twitter.com/GatorsMBK/status/923314036988620804
Projected Starters
1. Chris Chiozza
2. KeVaughn Allen
3. Egor Koulechov
4. Keith Stone
5. Kevarrius Hayes
Despite the projected starters, Coach White said that all healthy bodies on the bench will see playing time at some point throughout the game so that the coaches will have the opportunity to evaluate how they play with the team and handle different scenarios.
“Still decisions to be made, as far as how much different stuff we try offensively and defensively,” White said.
Injury Update
-Dante Bassett: Bassett has been back to full health for a couple of weeks and will ready to play by the start of the season after missing all of last season with a stress fracture in his foot.
-Gorjok Gak: Gak is still limited, but has gotten stronger and more confident throughout the offseason, according to Coach White.
-Chase Johnson: Johnson has been out for over a week now going through concussion protocol, but has been getting better and should be back practicing very soon.