Nothing is for certain in this new sports world, and the Florida Gators basketball team can attest to that as much as any team in the country.
Florida is still recovering and reinventing itself after the loss of star forward Keyontae Johnson. If that didn’t hurt the Gators enough, they had to take on Ole Miss earlier this week without another starter in Scottie Lewis.
Lewis and freshman Alex Klatsky missed the game due to “health and safety protocols” according to the athletic department, and will be out once again for Saturday’s matchup with Mississippi State.
Though Florida struggled at times without Lewis on Tuesday, the team came together for an unlikely comeback in the final minutes. Junior forward Anthony Duruji, who played 39 minutes last game, said the Gators will have to carry that effort into the coming games to compensate for the missing pieces.
“I think if everybody just plays their role and plays it well and not try to get too uncharacteristic knowing that people are out,” he said. “Just playing your role and just playing hard … It’s really gotta be a collective group. There’s a lot of uncertainty with COVID and this whole season, but we’ve just gotta be relentless and continue pushing forward to be the best version of ourselves.”
Junior forward Colin Castleton made up for Lewis’ absence as he led the charge in Florida’s comeback. He finished with a team-leading 21 points and 10 rebounds, and an O’Dome record eight blocks.
He has become more and more valuable throughout the season, and even stolen minutes from other bigs on the team.
“It just seems like every week that goes by in practice, he’s earning more and more respect from his teammates and the staff,” said head coach Mike White. “He works. He’s got a high focus level. He’s competitive. He’s consistent with his approach. He’ll get out there today and get a little bit better. He’ll continue to have ups and downs in games as he’s adjusting to this many minutes at this level and this role, because it’s all new to him.”
While the emergence of players like Castleton and Duruji is huge, the Gators struggle to find consistent depth behind their top seven or so guys, and that number is down to six with Lewis out.
Despite the talent sitting on Florida’s bench, the production has not reflected that. There have been a few shining moments, but no one outside of that group has stepped up and demanded more minutes.
Another factor at play could be that there have been few opportunities to get younger players on the floor in non-pressure situations. With the way this season has played out, the Gators haven’t had a blowout game where they could let everyone get some much needed game experience.
White noted that he does not even make decisions on who will play off the bench until he sees who performs in practices and film sessions in the days leading up to games.
The Gators might be able to skate by for a while, but it is hard to imagine riding out a full SEC schedule with all of the weight on six or seven guys’ shoulders. Eventually, they will wear down and need more help.
“I like the talent on our bench,” White said. “I think that all these guys can be very good players. But production has to meet that talent, and these guys are going to be good in time. Hopefully we can find them opportunities and these guys can take advantage and continue to develop and we can become a little bit deeper here over the next couple months.”
Thank you Bailiegh for a good update. Sounds indicative of a health vice injury lose of Lewis playing time; although he limped in a last week game. In addition to his shooting ability, his rebounding and defense will be missed against the back court ability of MISSISSIPPI ST.