By Eric Fawcett
Finally, the curse is broken!
Man, did it ever feel good to see the Gators take down the Seminoles. And let me tell you, it certainly makes writing this newsletter a whole lot more enjoyable!
Here are some thoughts I’m having about Florida basketball following their rivalry victory.
This was the perfect win from a Florida perspective.
What more could you want from a game against one of your biggest foes? It was close enough for most of the game that it had the intensity and nervousness of a rivalry game, but ultimately was a blowout win for Gators that allowed you to coast through the final moments of the game and soak up all the emotion.
From a Florida fan perspective, this script couldn’t have gone any better.
This was a massive win from a perception standpoint.
I said this in the last newsletter but wanted to reiterate that this was a massive game from a perception standpoint. If Florida were to have lost to Florida State, it would have taken a whole lot of time for fans to think the Gators are for real, no matter what else they accomplished. That’s how much this game means to Florida fans, or specifically, that’s how much Florida fans cared about the embarrassing losing streak.
There are plenty of fans looking for a team to believe in after football has, well, you know, and basketball did well to endear themselves to Gator fans.
Colin Castleton is THAT dude.
I’ve got to say, if you would have told me that Colin Castleton would have had 8 offensive rebounds against Florida State I’m not sure I would have believed you. If you would have told me he would have 6 blocks against Florida State, I would have seriously raised my eyebrows.
Florida State is so long, tall, and physical that rebounding against them is no simple feat. They’re also so athletic that they aren’t a team that gets their shots blocked too often. So, for Castleton to be so dominant is nothing short of spectacular.
Not only was he a leader on the floor but he was an emotional leader as well, something that started after the Elon game where in the post game interviews he started talking about the importance of the Florida State game.
Okay, this is small sample size theatre, but I have to bring this up. Popular college basketball analytics tool KenPom has an ongoing algorithm that calculates the player of the year in the sport, and after two games Colin Castleton is fifth. I don’t say this to suggest that I think he is the fifth best player in college basketball, but I certainly believe his game against Florida State was a top five performance in college basketball this season, and a title that may remain the rest of the year.
The five out offense has a number of benefits beyond just getting good shots.
Florida’s revamped offense has made for open shots and easy driving lanes but there are a couple of other benefits that also made themselves known against Florida State.
For starters–offensive rebounding.
Now, your first thought related to offensive rebounding and the five out offense might be that they aren’t conducive because there aren’t any players near the rim–no one hanging out in “typical” offensive rebounding position. But here’s the thing–when Florida spaces five out, the defense spaces five out as well, and that means there aren’t any defensive players in a good rebounding position. When a long shot went up, it was pretty much a 50/50 ball between offensive and defensive players and those are great odds for the offensive rebounding team. Of course, some of Florida’s offensive rebounding excellence was due to the execution of the players, but I also think the scheme played a big role.
The other thing about the five out spacing is that there are often three players behind the free throw line extended, which also really helps in transition defense. Throughout the last seven years the Seminoles have absolutely decimated the Gators in transition and part of the reason was Florida’s spacing that saw them have multiple players down low, having to sprint back a full 94 feet to protect their own rim.
So, to summarize.
Florida’s five out offense gets better shots, puts them in good position to offensively rebound, and keeps them in solid transition defense position.
This was a good schematic change.
Florida looked great on Sunday, and they still could have reinforcements coming.
Due to the flu, CJ Felder and Kowacie Reeves weren’t involved against Florida State.
Some of you will remember that I projected Felder to be a starter this year (I didn’t expect Duruji to be this often) and I also suggested that Reeves, the 6’7” skill forward, would also grab the reins of a starting position.
I might not believe that still, but I also think those are two tremendous players. The fact that Florida was able to get a huge win without contributions from these two speaks to the depth and talent of this team and that should make you very, very excited.
Go Gators!