UCONN – The Good, The Bad, The Ugly and The Beautiful

Ugh. This has become a pretty dreadful undertaking . . . a postmortem after another largely lifeless performance. No eulogy here . . . let’s just get to it.

THE GOOD: I guess it could be argued the Gators were only half dead. Is that good? Well, depends on which half you’re looking at – and even then, ‘good’ might be reach. But, in effort to find something positive, we’ll turn our attention to the second twenty minutes. Actually, let’s focus on the first 19:43 of that half (more on that later). The Gators trailed by five at the break, and for the second consecutive game, won the second stanza. Despite the loss, Florida truly did show some signs of life… shooting 48% from the field and 44% from the arc during the stretch. Both numbers represent season highs – by significant margins. More ‘good’? Andrew Nembhard was burdened with shouldering the load late in the game – taking the ball into the lane and posting in paint. He was largely up to task, scoring 12 of his 14 points as the gators tried to rally for a win.
Though few fans want to hear about defense amid these offensive woes, that side of the ball has remained strong, and has kept Florida in games. . . including Sunday. Heck, it was a 5-point deficit at halftime despite an abysmal 20-point output. The Gators held UCONN in check all game, holding the Huskies to 36% shooting and 18% from the arc. In fact, Florida won several important statistical categories, except . . .

THE BAD: . . . Florida didn’t win the scoreboard. And though this wasn’t necessarily a ‘bad’ loss … UCONN is a solid program and a raucous place to play… what was ‘bad’ was the continuation of ‘bad’. BAD OFFENSE.
Offensively bad.
Florida was absolutely putrid in the first half, shooting 31% from the floor and 9% from the arc. Yes, you read that correctly . . . NINE PERCENT. And Florida’s elite shooters, Noah Locke and Tre Mann were a combined 2-for-8 from three, while Scottie Lewis and Andrew Nembhard took too many and missed nearly all of ‘em (2-8). The combination of the wrongs guys shooting and the right guys missing has plunged a potentially potent team to the depths of various offensive metrics. Florida now ranks 320th in three-point shooting, and will likely find itself unranked in the next national poll.
The unexpected ineptitude has Mike White scratching his head . . . literally. “I’ve gotta figure it out. We’ve all gotta figure it out together,” White said, scratching his brow. “Ya know, talking to the staff after the game… it’s a mystery to me. We are passing up open ones and shooting ones we shouldn’t shoot”. Though neither Locke nor Mann have done much this season to inspire confidence, they are unquestionably Florida’s top shooters. The latter, labeled by White as the Gators top scoring threat, needs more than 4 shots in a game, an should never have half the three-point attempts of Scottie Lewis – a player Florida desperately needs driving the ball. Until the Gators begin playing to player strengths, and capitalizing on those strengths – offense will remain ‘bad’. And that is an equation shared by coaches and players.

THE UGLY: I know I’ve matured . . . slightly . . . because nothing broke or went airborne Sunday afternoon. But jeeesh – that was an ugly final segment. Actually, it was probably more maddening than ugly. Following the game, White tried to offer explanation for Keyontae’s unwillingness to shoot a wide-open three in the final seconds of the three-point defeat, but even that missed. “Keyontae was open and think he regrets not shooting that thing . . . I wish he wouldv’e shot it,” White conceded. “He’s unselfish. He decided to shot-fake and drive it, and I think he maybe he was overthinking it, thinking maybe he’d get someone else a three. Heck, I don’t know”. Perhaps more than anything, the latter part of White’s statement is what lands those 17.3 seconds here . . . here in the “ugly”. Florida is overthinking – the coaches, the players . . . all of ‘em. Maybe it’s the weight of expectations, or the unfamiliarity of new teammates or the installation of different sets. Who knows? But White needs to figure it out, and soon. Somehow this group needs to coach and play bit more ‘fast and loose’ – literally and figuratively. This is too good of a roster for an early season swoon. As we saw with Jalen Hudson and last season’s erratic squad – confidence is a fragile thing.

THE BEAUTIFUL: If team attitude originates from its coach, Florida is actually not in danger of a mental collapse. White not only acknowledged the obvious offensive failings, but expressed dogged determination and confidence in remedying. “We’re gonna keep searching. We’ll figure it out,” he insisted. And unlike past seasons when White openly identified glaring shortcomings, he seems very content with team composition, and is just waiting for it all to ‘click’. And maybe it has, even if not in game action quite yet. “We’ve had some practices where I’ve said, ‘my gosh, this team has got a chance to be really good offensively’,” he revealed. “We shot the heck out of it yesterday . . . just shot the heck out of it. We hit some contested ones, and we got some open ones . . . and we stepped up with confidence. It’s just gotta translate to games. And it will. I don’t know when, but it will”.
How about this week, coach? I’ve shelled out a hefty chunk of change for this tourney!

Go Gators!

1 COMMENT

  1. Nice write up Brent. Think you hit all the “hot points”.
    The second half was certainly more like we were expecting sans the
    “W” of course. Gator Nation needs to remain patient, this team will
    break out of the funk soon MO.