Hello friends!
I’m currently writing this about, let me check my watch, 20 minutes after Florida’s beatdown at the hands of UConn finished so let me tell you, the loss is fresh! For that reason I’m guessing it’s going to dominate my thoughts surrounding this team, so let’s get going.
This is the Gator Country Around The Hoop basketball newsletter.
I’m not sure the offense Florida is running has the highest ceiling.
The Gators are running a style of offense called continuity ball screen, something very common at the mid-major of college basketball. It’s not common at the high major level and…I think perhaps Florida should take that as a cue, if you know what I’m saying.
It’s an offense that starts with a player dribbling towards one of his wings who will then cut through to the opposite side of the floor. The player with the ball will then get into an empty side ball screen with the player that remains on that side of the floor. If there is nothing there, the ball gets reversed to the other side of the floor where the same action occurs. It can go on infinitely, thus the term “continuity ball screen.”
Truthfully, I’m generally not a fan of the offense and I don’t think it’s the best fit for this group of players. It’s predictable and easy to scout against, and it’s somewhat of an equal opportunity offense so oftentimes you don’t have your best players in scoring positions.
It has shown to be effective against the low and mid major opponents Florida has seen this year but it hasn’t been so good against quality competition. It’s also not an offense that particularly plays through Colin Castleton, something that potentially should be the goal.
Yes, it’s early, and perhaps it will start to look better… but right now I’m not sure it’s the best offense for this group and that might have been on display against UConn.
The defense has also shown plenty of room for improvement.
San Francisco was a successful defensive team under Todd Golden last season and they did it by generally sticking to their philosophies and out-executing their opponent. They played man to man defense essentially 100% of the time, and were successful enough in it that they didn’t have to go to a zone or do anything wildly different.
One thing they did do that I am hoping Florida adopts quickly is change pick and roll coverage. They would occasionally play drop coverage, or they would hard hedge, or they would flat hedge (you might remember that defense–Mike White used it 100% of the time for the last few years of his tenure). It was like a pitcher with a fastball, changeup, and curveball with a few options to keep their opponent off balance.
Right now the Gators are committed to the drop coverage which has been okay for them, but UConn was picking it apart and the Gators simply didn’t have another option. Or, at least they didn’t go to a different option.
It’s still early in the season so I don’t want to make it sound like a major criticism as it’s something I’m thinking will be added, but the game against UConn certainly made me wish a secondary coverage was playable already.
On the bright side, Riley Kugel and Alex Fudge look like they’re continually getting better.
Riley Kugel and Alex Fudge are similar players, in a way. No, their skill sets aren’t completely alike, but they’re similar in the sense that they are tremendous athletes with amazing frames that make you see NBA potential in the future. They also seem to be on similar trajectories and are both getting better with each game. They were arguably the two best players against UConn, leading the Gators with 13 points a piece.
They are also reminders of something that is very important to remember with roster building in the modern college basketball age.
While coaches, fans, and media are continually going to fawn over players from low and mid major conferences that put up big numbers and enter the transfer portal, it’s still NBA-level athletes that dominate the college game. Looking up and down college basketball for the last few years and seeing what teams have success and have been winning conference titles and moving deep in the NCAA Tournament–you see athletes like Riley Kugel and Alex Fudge. You see length, explosiveness, and fluidity–and to see Fudge and Kugel getting buckets with their physical tools against UConn it was hard not to get excited (yes, they were the only bright spots of this game). These players both seem to be getting better rapidly, and if you’re looking for something to be excited about with this team even though the start hasn’t been great, these are two players that could really turn it on by conference play and drastically raise the ceiling of this team.
Florida’s next game won’t be until December 14th, or, as I like to say, one day before the next newsletter. See you then!