It was a dress rehearsal for the Florida Gators.
One with a final score a little too close for comfort.
In what was the second closest margin of victory in an exhibition game under Billy Donovan, the Florida Gators defeated Barry University 79-70. The Gators, looking to replace four players in the starting lineup, ran with a three-guard backcourt, providing more speed on offense. Eli Carter, the Rutgers transfer who missed last season with a broken leg, had a strong return. Carter scored 21 points shooting 7-12 from the field and 5-9 from three-point range.
However, the team showed they have many improvements to make early on.
The Gators were out-rebounded 42-39 by the Buccaneers. This makes the second Division 1 school Barry has beat on the boards this year having out-rebounded Louisville last Saturday. While Barry didn’t dominate the boards, they were more physical than Florida, contesting shots in the paint.
While the Gators may be a faster team offensively than last year, Thursday gave an indication that this team will not have the post presence they have had in seasons’ past. Of the 77 possessions Florida had, only 18 points come from the paint. Dorian Finney-Smith and Jon Horford attempted to spread the defense out, taking shots well outside the blocks. Finney-Smith finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Horford had 5 points and ten rebounds.
Florida may not have the post players they have had in previous seasons, but lack of points in the paint will have to change for success in the future. The Gators rotated the ball well in the beginning of possessions, however, once the rotations stopped, players settled for three-pointers, leading to scoring droughts and allowing Barry to cut Florida’s lead. Even when Florida started hitting shots from long range late, the ball rotations were still limited.
Coming into Thursday’s exhibition, defensive rotations were an issue in practice, with new players learning the team’s schemes. The rotations proved to be a problem in the game as well, as Barry was able to get many open looks from three-point range in the first half. The second half saw communication breakdowns lead to players out of place on defense.
A positive of the night was Florida’s guard play. In addition to Carter’s night, Kasey Hill lead the team in assists with eight. Chris Chiozza’s freshman debut may not have been a noteworthy one in the stat column (4 points, 3 assists 2-4 FG), but the point guard played with a lot of energy towards the end of the game and had no turnovers.
Although the Gators looked to be a team that is a work in progress, there is plenty of time for Florida to improve upon Thursday’s issues. The team will also look different once they get Chris Walker and Alex Murphy back. Both players will provide Florida with size, avoiding smaller matchups that may prove beneficial for teams with larger guards. The addition of Walker, will also give the team an added shot blocker to go alongside Finney-Smith.
Florida kicks off the season next Friday against William & Mary.
cant wait tir see these guys play. Is ther anywhere a replay of this game can be watched online?
Ryan, how did Horford look? Particularly did he look comfortable shooting the long ball? And do did you see any low post game from him?
Hey Kenny, there isn’t a replay that I know of, but it’s possible they may have limited replays during the regular season.
As for Horford, he definitely looked comfortable shooting the long ball. Shot a couple of 18-footers and wasn’t really in the post much. At media day, he was asked if the differences between he and his brother Al, and while he said some things like age, shoe size, etc. (was a funny response), style of play is definitely another thing that separates the two. Going to see more of an outside game from him, and overall, as this team stands, they don’t have a true post player.