One of the great aspects of the Gator Country model is the connection we as writers have to our subscribers. Through the message boards we are able to have regular conversation, which also gives us the opportunity to hear questions directly from the readers.
Periodically we will do Q&A articles where questions are submitted through our subscribers. If you are a member and want to have your question answered you can submit it on the message board. Let’s begin!
G8tr80: Defense. Do you see us mixing in more zone?
I think this will be the easiest question of the day. The answer is no. Next question!
Okay, let me add in some more context. The thing about head coach Todd Golden is that he has been fairly married to the same defensive principles his entire career–and they are all centered around man to man defense.
Here is the percentage of total defensive possessions played in zone defense for Todd Golden coached teams:
2023-24 Florida: 0.2%
2022-23 Florida: 1.3%
2021-22 San Francisco: 4.0%
2020-21 San Francisco: 2.7%
2019-20 San Francisco: 3.7%
Zone defense is simply not something Todd Golden is comfortable playing, so it’s hard to imagine the Gators mixing it in this year. Golden has said he’s giving up more defensive decision making to his assistants so perhaps we do see one of them pushing for more zone, but given how reluctant Golden is to playing it I’m not going to bet on the Gators using it all that often. One of Florida’s (many) defensive issues last year was that they didn’t really have a backup plan past their regular defensive scheme so a zone would have been a great change. While this year’s team should be better defensively, they might need to have something else in the toolbox, so we’ll see.
bhs11: What SEC opponents do you see challenging for the conference title?
In opinion, Alabama might be the best team in the country and therefore should compete for an SEC title. They bring back much of the offensive firepower that had made them one of the most dangerous teams in the country, and really addressed their poor defense through some incoming players from the transfer portal. Tennessee would probably be my next vote, followed by Auburn. Some people are high on Texas so they should be included if we’re talking about who the consensus is high on, though I don’t see them competing for a championship. Of course, the biggest question mark is Kentucky. I think they have a lot of excellent pieces but not a lot of star power, though I’m a believer in new head coach Mark Pope.
I would suspect the SEC champion comes from one of those schools mentioned.
What it could come down to, however–is the schedule. The SEC now has an extremely unbalanced schedule with some teams having drastically more difficult schedules than others, and that could really affect the finish of the league. Which leads us perfectly into the next question:
OklahomaGator: The teams we play twice, are they permanent “rival opponents” or will they rotate?
Fantastic question.
This is the first year that Oklahoma and Texas join the SEC making for a massive 16-team league. Let me answer straight from the mouth of the SEC league office who explained the situation:
“Each team has two permanent opponents that they will place twice per season, home and away, for a total of four games. Each team has a third opponent that will also be played home and away. This opponent will rotate from season to season. That will leave 12 league rivals unaccounted for, and each team will have one matchup — six home games and six road trips, for a total of 12 games — against those teams.”
So, what does this mean for Florida? Kentucky has been the “permanent rival” for the last several years, but this year they’re only playing the Wildcats once. That suggests the permanent rivals could be Georgia and Tennessee, two teams the Gators are seeing twice this year in the first expanded league schedule.
I think most Gator fans would find that to be a disappointment as they’d love to have Kentucky be one of the permanent rivals, but we’ll have to see how things develop. It’s also worth noting that right now the SEC is trying to keep their league schedule to 18 games, but I could definitely see that changing as a number of leagues are moving to a 20 game schedule.
67walkon: How is Micah Handlogten progressing?
By all accounts things are going well, and he is even on the court getting some light, non-contact work in. Losing the entire year isn’t exactly optimal, but with a return for this season functionally ruled out it means he doesn’t feel like he’s in any need to rush his recovery which is exactly what he needs. By all accounts he is in great spirits, and I’m sure he’s going to be the loudest one cheering on the team from the bench this year.
Murphree_Hall: I’d like to know more about where Sam Alexis fits in the picture. Seeing him in person, he just looked like a guy who could contribute in a major way, but I think a lot of people are sleeping on him. How is his offensive development coming along? Is he going to be a 3 and D player or something else? He has the perfect build for it, but not sure if his shooting is at that level.
I wrote about this in my full preview for Sam Alexis, but he is someone who is a capable defender battling bigger post players while also having good dexterity in pick and roll coverage and switching onto guards if needed.
Right now Florida is adamant the starting frontcourt is Alex Condon and Rueben Chinyelu, but I have said repeatedly and I’ll say again that the best combination could be Alex Condon and Sam Alexis which would be a much more dynamic and versatile grouping. Even if Alexis doesn’t start, he’s going to play a key role off the bench.
If that doesn’t happen–it’s because of Alexis’ offensive game. There hasn’t been a ton of development on that end, and he’s largely just a guy that can finish around the rim if there isn’t too much length. I personally haven’t really bought into the jumper, as his stroke doesn’t look particularly polished and he shot a poor percentage at Chattanooga despite taking largely wide open threes. We’ll see what the Florida staff can do with this one, but I do think the offense is a concern.
That’s all for now, but if you have questions you can post them on the Gator Country message board!