From one of the most embarrassing losses in recent history to one of the most electrifying rallies in that same time, this was a crazy week for Florida Basketball. Here are some thoughts that have crossed my mind over the last seven days.
The Kentucky loss truly was embarrassing.
Some people have tried defending that loss, and more power to them, but with all due respect I truly think that was as embarrassing a loss as the Gators have had under Mike White.
It wasn’t just the point spread and it wasn’t yet another loss to a rival, but it truly was the way in which Florida lost. They went in with a gameplan to try and isolate premium defenders one on one, and offensively they were completely unprepared for Kentucky’s rather predictable style of defense. When you go into a game with a losing strategy, that’s what really makes losses embarrassing.
Of course, another factor here is that this is as bad a Wildcats team as Calipari has had, and even down Keyontae Johnson the Gators shouldn’t get embarrassed like that. I’m not trying to point out how bad this loss was to dwell on it, but the scale of just how embarrassing the loss is shouldn’t totally be forgotten.
Scottie Lewis is a very important piece to this team.
When Lewis was announced “out” for the game against Ole Miss due to health and safety protocol I thought it was a factor that could very easily lead to a Florida loss.
As much as Lewis’ individual numbers aren’t great, and I don’t think he’s anywhere near the quality of defender that his reputation would suggest, he is a very important piece of the team. One number that is very beneficial to the perception of Lewis is on/off net rating. The Gators have a +10 net rating with him on the floor (net rating being an efficiency number drawn out to 100 possessions) and a -15 net rating with him off the floor, and that +25 net rating differential leads the Gators.
Lewis is someone that is slowly learning his role–taking open shots and cutting, versus the over-dribbling he has done for a lot of his career. And, while I don’t think he is a great defender, he’s still one that’s probably slightly better than average and on a Florida team that lacks perimeter defense his loss was going to hurt.
Against Ole Miss the Gators had to go a lot smaller and it led to the Rebels taking a lot of pull up jumpers knowing the Gators didn’t have length to contest those shots. They ended up hitting a lot of them which led to them leading for most of the game and Lewis definitely would have been useful as a defender on a few of these possessions. His status for Saturday’s game against Mississippi State is currently unknown, but the Gators could really use him back.
Colin Castleton is awesome.
This is no surprise, and the fact he has now had multiple outstanding performances speaks to how good of a player he is. On a night where not many Gators were firing on all cylinders, his tremendous effort on the offensive end with 21 points and on the defensive end with a ridiculous 8 blocks dragged Florida from the grave and ultimately led them to a win.
What makes Castleton’s play with the Gators so valuable is that he is doing everything efficiently. He hasn’t been getting nearly the number of touches and opportunities that, say, Kerry Blackshear did a year ago, but he’s putting up nearly the same amount of points. Defensively he has also brought an element of shot blocking to the defense that Florida desperately needs which has allowed them to play much more aggressive on the perimeter, something Mike White has always wanted.
Going into the season I would have never thought Castleton was going to be one of Florida’s best players but his emergence has been a fantastic story.
Mississippi State is a game the Gators need.
The Bulldogs are no slouch, but if the Gators want to stay in the mix for an easy NCAA Tournament berth that doesn’t see them sweating things out on Selection Sunday, they need to beat teams like Mississippi State that dwell at the bottom of the SEC standings. Mississippi State is a physical team that pounds the glass and tries to impose their will, but they lack some offensive talent and their inability to score at times makes the game of basketball difficult.
This is nowhere near a “must win” for Florida, but taking care of business in games like this can save you a whole lot of stress down the line.
Whatever your thoughts are of Mike White and Florida basketball’s current state, don’t let it steal your joy from fun moments like we had against Ole Miss.
If you didn’t catch the game Tuesday, Florida was behind the 8-ball against Ole Miss trailing for most of the game. Then near the end, they caught fire and finished the game on a 20-2 run that got them the win and had the small crowd at the O’Dome rocking to the point that it felt like a full building.
It was a tremendous show of heart, shot making, and defensive execution that led to the win for Florida and quite frankly, it was a load of fun to watch.
Well, for some people it was.
For others, finding joy from the situation was impossible. For those who have made their mind up on Mike White and the state of Florida basketball, they want major changes and are incredibly dissatisfied with what they see. When Florida has a stretch of basketball that was incredibly fun and ended up with a win, there were plenty of vocal fans who took no joy from the matter and instead were disgusted with the fact the Gators were behind in the first place.
Look, I totally understand being critical of Mike White and I can understand calls for changes to be made. I’m not trying to make any point on that right now. What I am saying is that even if you are angry with the team right now, don’t let it cloud your ability to enjoy something like the Gators storming back with an incredible burst of energy that led to a really fun end of game sequence. You can still be critical of the Gators, you can still want there to be changes made at the top, but while doing that you can still enjoy when a group of young men come together to get a tremendous win.
That’s all folks, talk to you next week!