Florida got their final tune up out of the way on Monday taking on D2 Embry-Riddle in a game that was tight for about a half before the Gators turned on the jets and ended up winning 80-57. While it would be unwise to overreact to anything we saw in an exhibition game on the first of November, it doesn’t mean that there isn’t relevant information that can be gleaned. Especially for a team with so many new pieces like this Florida team, the first opportunity we had to see them on a court together was a chance at getting to know players, to check out new offensive systems, and ponder which lineups might stick in the biggest games of the season.
Here are some thoughts on what each Gator brought to the floor, in order of how they appeared in the media’s boxscore.
Brandon McKissic
The UMKC transfer was Florida’s highest scorer with 20 points, going nuclear in the second half with a barrage of three-pointers which could be his biggest role on the team this year. Ending the game 5-8 from deep, he showed just how deadly he could be from behind the arc. McKissic was an incredible catch and shoot player at UMKC but hardly got those opportunities as a primary ball handler there, and if he’s able to get off the ball at Florida like he did on Monday he’ll get open shots and he can hit them at a very high rate. McKissic was also an energetic defender, something that was no surprise given his reputation. If there was one negative of McKissic’s game it’s that he drove himself into trouble a few times in the first half and also had a couple of poor attempts at the rim, something that isn’t a strength for him right now. However, the shot making being on full display is something that should get Florida fans extremely excited.
Anthony Duruji
Word on the street is that Duruji had been looking like one of the best Gators in practice over the last couple of weeks and he was able to translate that work to game action on Monday finishing with 16 points and 7 rebounds. Perhaps what was most encouraging with Duruji was his shot selection and efficiency, going 5-5 from the field and 5-5 from the free throw line. Shot selection and shooting efficiency was an issue for Duruji last season, as was free throw shooting, so seeing both of those improved in the exhibition shows growth and maturity. One thing he still needs to improve on his passing. The first two passes of the game he tried to deliver were deflected and nearly turned over, and he telegraphed a few passes in the second half that were successfully picked off. Overall though, an encouraging game for Duruji.
Colin Castleton
Arguably the best player on Florida’s roster, expectations for Castleton are sky high entering the 2021-22 season. Embry-Riddle was a bit of a strange matchup for Castleton to try to get his rhythm, as they didn’t have a true center anywhere near his size, so all night Castleton found himself in atypical matchups and atypical situations. Unfortunately he finished 2-9 from the field, with a few misses inside against 6’6” defenders that you would really like to see him sink easily. However, for the first game of the season, some missed bunnies around the rim should be expected. Castleton has been open about his desire to stretch the floor and shoot more threes this year and he got a couple up, with mixed results. One was a crooked miss that didn’t seem to have a prayer of going in, but another was a pure swish. Castleton has only attempted 8 threes in his college career so there might be a bit of a learning curve when it comes to his shooting but if they start falling he’ll be a tough matchup.
Phlandrous Fleming
Fleming has been billed as a jack-of-all trades kind of player and he did just that, chipping in 9 points while grabbing 6 rebounds and adding three assists. That’s the exact type of well-rounded box score that you can probably get used to seeing from Fleming who plays the game with a really high IQ. I thought he was clearly the most intelligent Gator playing away from the ball and had a couple of really savvy cuts that turned into layups, a couple of them being of the crafty reverse variety which showed his length and touch. Much like Mckissic, Fleming was also a fountain of energy on the defensive end which will be sure to win over the hearts of fans. If you saw the game Monday, you now have a very accurate picture of what Fleming is like as a player and you can know exactly what to expect when the Gators tip off against Elon next week.
Myreon Jones
Jones is foremost a shooter, and unfortunately he wasn’t able to showcase that on Monday as he went 0-6 from deep, finishing the game with 4 points and 4 assists. Jones has always been a streaky shooter in his career, but ultimately his season averages have been really good. So, an off night in the first game of the season shouldn’t be much of a surprise. One thing that was encouraging about his performance was 4 assists. Jones wasn’t working as a point guard much (though it’s said he’ll get those chances) but he was excellent at swinging the ball side to side, making the extra pass that turned into wide open Brandon McKissic threes that he buried. We definitely didn’t see the best of Jones on Monday, but don’t be surprised if you see him go 5-6 against Elon because having an incredible shooting game after a terrible shooting game is something that Jones has done most of his career.
Tyree Appleby
Somewhat surprisingly, the returning super senior Tyree Appleby didn’t get the start on Monday. However, when he came into the game he was instantly effective and ended the night leading the Gators in minutes and scoring 13 points per game while adding 7 assists. Brandon McKissic led the Gators in scoring and was excellent, but there is a great argument to be made that Appleby was the best Gator on Monday. Appleby was a menace on defense coming away with some “pick six” steals that ended in layups on the other end, and offensively he was a threat that constantly created offense for himself and others with the 13 points and 7 assists. Will he continue to come off the bench? Maybe, but I think you can expect Appleby to play a whole lot of minutes and finish a whole lot of games.
CJ Felder
Felder was relatively quiet in this game, contributing 4 points and 3 rebounds, and didn’t seem to be particularly comfortable. Both his buckets came late in the game in garbage time, including a breakaway “dunk” that he almost didn’t get high enough to finish. For an athletic big who had some huge slams in his time at Boston College this was…curious. He also had what looked to be a certain dunk blocked by a guard earlier in the game, something that also had me raising an eyebrow. Is he 100% physically? I’m not totally sure, but after watching a whole lot of tape of Felder at Boston College, I think he’s a more impactful player than what he showed Monday.
Kowacie Reeves
Freshman Kowacie Reeves was definitely getting the jitters out in his first game in the O’Dome, finishing 1-6 from the field with a couple shots he’d certainly love to have back. He probably took a couple in the first half that he shouldn’t have, demonstrating shot selection you’d expect from a freshman, and in the second he looked to rush his mechanics a bit which led to some uncharacteristic misses. He did hit one three from the corner, but it was wiped out by a Tyree Appleby offensive foul as the ball was in the air. Reeves definitely had some moments looking like a freshman on Monday but he also showed flashes of his elite shot creation and movement. What was also apparent about Reeves was his noticeably size, almost looking like he was eye to eye with Anthony Duruji, meaning the Gators have a very long, useful piece at the wing. Something else that you won’t see on the broadcast but was great to see–after a rough shooting game, about an hour after the final buzzer, where could Reeves be found? Walking to the practice facility, where he went on to put up a few hundred practice shots until the late hours of the night.
Tuongthach Gatkek
The JUCO transfer came into the game with a lot of energy grabbing 3 rebounds in only 5 minutes, something he’ll have to do to see the floor this year. His one basket was a really nice one you love to see from a post player–a well timed cut where he received the ball, pump faked a defender, and then dunked it on the other side of the rim. In such a short sample there weren’t too many takeaways from Gatkek’s game but he didn’t look uncomfortable out there.
Niels Lane
As a freshman we saw Lane play incredible defense and on Monday we saw more of the same. Lane’s lateral quickness, strength, and length caused all kinds of problems for Embry-Riddle and it made his presence very apparent for all 11 minutes he played. However, offense is still the question mark around Lane’s game and on Monday he went 0-5 from the floor with a couple of pretty bad misses. He’s still only a sophomore who didn’t play many minutes as a freshman so he is far from a finished product, but whether or not he’s able to see a consistent shift could come down to his ability to hit a jump shot or not.
Jason Jitoboh
Jitoboh entered the game looking noticeably lighter than he did last year, though he is still an absolute mountain of a man. Considering that Embry-Riddle didn’t have a true center on the roster, it was pretty clear that he was going to have to guard in space. A couple of times he got beat off the dribble by a smaller, faster player, but he also had a few really good movements hedging and moving his feet. Jitoboh is in a fight for minutes in a crowded frontcourt but his physical improvements and noticeable mobility are things that were encouraging.
Elijah Kennedy
Kennedy has been nursing a few minor injuries so he wasn’t able to play much in this one but it was still good to see the new Gator out on the floor. Kennedy is young for the 2021 class and he did look like it on the floor, noticeably smaller than a lot of the older guards. However, something that was a pleasant surprise was his ball handling ability which was a lot more comfortable than I expected. As a recruit Kennedy was known a lot more for his shooting ability than his ball handling ability, but on Monday he looked like someone who could have some point guard minutes in his future which would be big for both the Gators and for Kennedy’s potential.