The return of Florida basketball has been delayed a bit which is a shame considering the excitement regarding the upcoming season. There are a number of exciting new additions to the roster, and positional battles we haven’t seen in the last few seasons of Gators basketball. Usually Florida has been heavily reliant on the incoming freshmen, but that isn’t the case this year. In most seasons in the Mike White era the starters have been apparent, but not so much this year.
When Florida basketball eventually tips there will be a number of storylines to follow and questions that need to be answered. Here are a few things to think about when you watch the Gators take the court next week.
Question: Who starts at point guard?
When Mike White came to Florida it was Kasey Hill, Chris Chiozza, and then Andrew Nembhard. Never at any point was the starting point guard in question, but that’s not the case this year. For once there is a legitimate question over who will take over that role, and everyone has an opinion. Tre Mann has all the talent in the world and great size at the position but he never proved he could be a reliable floor general as a freshman. Additionally, his scoring ability might be better used off the ball than as a primary ball handler.
Tyree Appleby, on the other hand, is in his fourth year in college and has tons of proven talent being a lead ball handler. He also possesses vision that Mann has yet to show, and if the Gators want more traditional distribution from that position the best option might be Appleby.
And hey, even Ques Glover has some supporters who want to see him leading the way.
For once the Gators have legitimate competition for point guard minutes and who is able to take the reins will be one of the most interesting elements to watch this season. And that’s not even the only positional battle.
Question: Who starts at center?
John Egbunu, Kevarrius Hayes, Kerry Blackshear. Much like the point guard position, there hasn’t been any question who the starting center has been entering the last few seasons.
Right now many expect Omar Payne to have the starting spot locked down but I wouldn’t be surprised whatsoever if Colin Castleton wrestles it away from him.
Payne is the better athlete, and that athleticism around the rim is closer to what John Egbunu and Kevarrius Hayes brought than what Castleton brings.
However, Castleton has better offensive skill, has been a better rebounder, and is a really good rim protector.
Many people are expecting Payne, but it wouldn’t shock me at all if Castleton is the one we see taking the bulk of minutes. This will be a really interesting competition for a role because they are really similar in some ways and different in others. Both are great shot blockers, but Payne does it with athleticism and Castleton does it with length and positioning. Both have found ways to score, but Payne has done it as a lob catcher and Castleton has done it as a face up threat. This will be a far more interesting race than a lot of people think.
Question: How fast does Florida really play?
Here’s where the rubber hits the road because the Gators have preached all season that they’re going to play fast and I think I speak for everyone when I say we are really interested in just how fast that is. There have been some claims from White that the Gators will be one of the fastest teams in college basketball, and he’s also said they might take a bigger leap in tempo than any other team.
It’s clear the Gators are going to try to push the tempo more than they have in past seasons but until we really see that in action it’s tough to imagine just how fast they’ll be. There are certainly going to be plenty of skeptics that will only believe it when they see it which is more than fair when it comes to the pace of Florida basketball.
Fans want it. The team wants it. The coach wants it.
Will Florida really play fast? This will for sure be something to watch for.
Question: What offense does Florida play?
When Mike White was hired from Louisiana Tech he was known for playing dribble drive motion offense, something currently most prominently used by Kentucky. In the past two seasons White and his staff realized that style of offense wasn’t working for Florida’s roster and they scrapped it, instead going to a more structured “Princeton” style offense.
White has talked about getting back to his roots of what he was coaching at Louisiana Tech which was mostly talking about playing in transition but also could be referring to the half court offense as well. The dribble drive offense didn’t totally fit with Andrew Nembhard, but the Princeton did. Now that Nembhard has moved on, the dribble drive might be what the coaches role out.
It’s worth noting that the Gators really were efficient offensively using the Princeton and it would make a lot of sense for the Gators to go back to it. Florida’s trouble with pace had nothing to do with the Princeton and there is a chance they look to play in transition more and if nothing is there, go into the Princeton.
Every year I go into the season looking forward to seeing what offense the team runs and this season is no different.
Question: What roles will new players fill?
This season sees Tyree Appleby, Anthony Duruji, Colin Castleton, Osayi Osifo, Niels Lane, and Samson Ruzhentsev all join the active roster. That’s a lot of new players, and what’s exciting is that they are all considered good enough to contribute right away. We talked about how Appleby will be in the mix for the starting point guard role, and Anthony Duruji is good enough that he might try to shoehorn himself into the starting lineup as well. If Colin Castleton doesn’t end up starting he’ll be a big boost off the bench. How much Osifo plays is definitely a big question to me. I was rather open in my writing at Gator Country about how I wasn’t awfully impressed with what I saw from him in JUCO ball, and in my mind he’s playing behind Keyontae Johnson and Anthony Duruji for minutes at the four which could be nearly impossible. The Gators might try to get him a look at center, but once again I see him behind Omar Payne, Colin Castleton, and Jason Jitoboh. Since it’s tough for me to imagine where he plays, I’m definitely interested in what his role will be.
Question: Will the Gators show more competitiveness?
When Florida has failed to play to their expectations the last few seasons a common theme Coach White has talked about is their lack of competitiveness and the team’s apathy towards winning and losing. Clearly this is something that really bothered him as you could see his embarrassment while discussing this during press conferences. Fast forward to this season, and White has talked about the high level of competition in practice. On first glance those comments might not have meant much but if you’ve been following the team over the last couple of years you know White hasn’t been happy with the level of competitiveness and him mentioning it could mean there is a large, tangible change in this team’s competitive toughness.
Scottie Lewis also spoke to the media the other day and mentioned that this was an extremely competitive group of players. Hearing this from White and Lewis, I am definitely intrigued to see how that level of competitiveness translates to the floor. There have certainly been times over the last couple of seasons where Florida has seemed lackadaisical on the floor, playing without much noticeable fire. When they have let leads slip at the ends of games in which they totally had control, that apathy was rather frustrating.
Everyone loves seeing a competitive ball club that wants to do whatever it takes to win so hearing the talk about competitiveness has me excited to see what that really looks like.
Question: Will Keyontae Johnson play to an All-American level?
Florida fans thought they had a potential player of the year last season in Kerry Blackshear and well, it didn’t take long for it to become apparent that wouldn’t be the case. Andrew Nembhard also started the season on the watch list and saw his name fade away quickly. Rewind a couple years ago and Chris Chiozza was on preseason All-American watch and by the end of the year wasn’t at all in consideration.
Now, Keyontae Johnson finds himself in that position. A player on both All-American and player of the year watch lists. Does he play to that level? Does he become the first Florida player in years to be one of the nation’s best? It’s tough to say, and there are a boatload of talented players Johnson will have to outplay.
Florida has generally been a team that’s more well-rounded than star driven, something that predated Mike White but has remained the case. No one player has been featured and balled out to the point of total national relevance but Johnson will have that opportunity. He’s put together two consistent seasons of solid production, and now the question is will he make another step or has he already found his ceiling? Absolutely something to watch for.
These are just a few of the many interesting things to watch for when the Gators take the court next week. A new season always brings a lot of excitement and a lot of storylines to follow and hopefully these questions give you some more to think about when you watch them play.