They are a team in search of identity. The Florida Gators are 14-2 (1-0 in the SEC East), which is about where they were last year at this time and not all that far off of where they were the two previous seasons when they won the NCAA Tournament. Starting fast has become a Florida tradition under Billy Donovan. Finishing fast was the norm on those two NCAA title teams in 2006-07, but last year’s team hit a February wall after an 18-3 start and the signs point to something similar this year unless the Gators find a few missing elements.
“I think we have to get tougher as a team,” says sophomore point guard Nick Calathes, whose 17.1 points and 6.8 assists per game set the standard for the Gators. “I think that’s one of the main things we have to work on. Obviously, defense and rebounding basically go with toughness.”
Toughness seems to be the missing link for this team and the one thing that could help them forge an identity. Right now, they are a team that’s all over the place, capable of shooting lights out like they did in the first half of last Saturday’s game with Ole Miss and just as capable of going long stretches without scoring as they did in the second half of that same game.
Putting two halves together and finding a little bit of toughness won’t exactly answer all the questions for the Gators, but it will be a clear sign that they could improve enough to make the NCAA Tournament after missing out for the first time in ten years last season. That’s why tonight’s road trip to Auburn (10-5, 0-1 SEC East) is critical. Even though it’s just the second of 16 Southeastern Conference games, this is a gut check game that could be the leading indicator of what the rest of the season will look like.
The Gators were outrebounded badly by Ole Miss (46-22) and it wasn’t because Ole Miss held a distinct size advantage. If anything, the Gators were taller, but Ole Miss hustled to chase down every rebound and the Rebels fought for position. Florida won the game only because the Gators came out of the blocks firing away and finding the mark from the three-point line. Florida went 8-10 from the three-point line to start the game but after that red hot beginning, the Gators went 3-19 the rest of the way.
As long as the shots were falling, rebounding wasn’t all that much of a concern but once the Gators found more iron than net, the deficiencies were obvious. Ole Miss rallied from a 21-point first half deficit to close within six on two occasions in the second half before the Gators hit a couple of clutch shots to pull out a 78-68 win.
Ole Miss got back into the game by consistently beating the Gators on the boards. The Rebels often got two and three shots at the basket in the second half with relentless effort while the Gators seemed to have little stomach for the battle. Ole Miss had 22 second chance points and finished with an 18-4 advantage on the offensive boards.
“It definitely shows we have to have more focus down there,” said sophomore forward Chandler Parsons, who pointed out a lack of effort blocking out as one reason the Gators struggled to rebound.
“When we play our matchup zone and the shot goes up, we have to be able to find our man and hit (block out) everybody. We have to make sure we hit each person on each shot.”
That inability to block out is cause for concern. Last year the Gators had a strong rebounding presence on the inside in Marreese Speights, who averaged 8.1 rebounds per game. This year, the Gators don’t have a big man that has asserted himself enough so there is a huge void in the middle. Alex Tyus fills the role at center, but he has never shown an ability to play well with his back to the basket. He plays well when he’s at the high post where he can see the ball coming off the rim and use his quickness to get to the ball. Tyus is averaging 12.7 points and 6.1 rebounds per game but he has combined for 18 points and 11 rebounds in his last three games.
Power forward Dan Werner, who averaged 6.4 rebounds per game as a sophomore last season, is only managing 4.6 per game this season. Although he’s shooting much better from the three-point line (38.7 percent this year; 28.4 percent last year), he isn’t scoring much on the inside and he isn’t taking mid-range shots even though teams are giving him the jumper just inside the foul line.
Parsons has improved his rebounding (from 4.0 last year to 5.4 per game this year) but his shot has been on a roller coaster ride. Either he hits everything or he misses badly.
Tyus, Werner and Parsons will have to come up big for the Gators to score their first road win of the season tonight. Auburn is an undersized team (Korvotney Barber is their tallest starter at 6-7) that plays extremely well at home. Without a dominating inside force, the Tigers do rebounding by committee and that means everybody on the team hits the boards when a shot goes up. Florida’s front line will have to assert itself early and stay consistent throughout the game.
The Gators also have to get a better rebounding performance from their guards. Donovan thought the guards contributed as much to the rebounding deficiency against Ole Miss as the front line.
“Our guards sometimes on the perimeter get hammered way too much off the dribble and now what happens is the ball enters the paint and we get caught with a big man providing help and the shot goes up and our guards have got to do a better job in rotating down to rebounders that are left open either in the middle lane or on the weak side,” said Donovan. “Our guards contributed to being out-rebounded by 24 as much as our frontcourt did. Nick Calathes ended up having seven rebounds in the game and that is great for a point guard spot but in retrospect, he probably should have had 12 to 15 because he needs to get down inside and rotationally block out.”
Rebounding on the perimeter will be a necessity for Florida to come out with a win tonight. Auburn launches more three-point shots than any team in the league, which means a lot of rebounding opportunities for the guards.
This is a game for the Gators to begin forging an identity. If they are going to toughen up and be that team nobody wants to play down the stretch run of the SEC schedule, they have to start proving they have an element of toughness to them.
“I think we can go and do a little bit more and I think we’re going to have to do that if we want to be the team we can be,” said Parsons.
If the Gators can’t give a little bit more, then you can probably pencil in another NIT season.