The case for Mike White

It might help to at least take into consideration the team we lost to today also beat the #13 team, Ole Miss, by a score of 78-63. They're not a terrible team by any stretch.

 

By random chance I met up with a direct family member of a recent player that is no longer with the program. White isn’t the answer

 

Was this during Thanksgiving and was it at John Calipari's house?

 

I think the point most people are making isn’t that Miss St is terrible....it’s that this team is. Injuries changed makeup of the team and there is a lack of length and strength that is severely impacting the team.

 

what was the question?

 

Yes really, you can go research it for yourself if you don't believe it. I know you're trying to defend Mike White, but you don't have to do it with Orange and Blue shades on and pretend like we're the only team that has and will have to sit players out due to possible corona exposure.

Also here's one example
Alabama basketball: Jahvon Quinerly out for game vs Florida Gators

And they still blew us out of the water (and Scottie played in this game as well). Had we managed to beat Bama, I highly doubt you and others would have said, "well Alabama was missing Quinerly so they would have beat us had he played." You would have been happy for the win and would have probably said the exact same thing I said about Scottie Lewis missing the Miss. State game.

 

You made a ridiculous claim and now want me to prove it correct? We’ve played 10 games and so far you’ve pointed out 1 opponent who was missing a starter. Need a lot more proof for your claim to be true.

 

They also lost to a 4-8 UK team, but so did Florida by 18.

 

Which just goes to show any given day...

 

I have heard that there may not be an SEC Tournament this year and likely there is no NIT this year. Gators will play 12 more games and then we will see what happens with staff and HC. I'd imagine Gators will keep all coaches on staff and we will lose 11, 23, 1, to pro careers of some kind. 0 and 33 will transfer so that means we have 4 sports to fill with transfers as we are not recruiting any more 2021 kids it seems. Gators need a stretch 4, a PG and some athletic wings ala Bama.

 

Teams across basketball deal with personnel losses due to injury or otherwise all the time. But quality coaches are able to coach through that. Mike White shouldn't get that excuse when it comes time for Stricklin to evaluate his status.

Which sounds to me that this program is totally screwed.

 

Personally, MW has had enough years to show what he has, whether he has it or not. Frankly he is an average coach and if we're satisfied with being average, he's our guy. Didn't take Bama too long to find a right fit who has turned their program around within two years. We are still making excuses and that's ok, lots of average teams out there. For me at this point, when watching UF play, I'll still watch, but my expectations is so low at this point. If there is something better on TV or better to do, I'll do that. I have zero faith that the team coached by
MW will be anything more that it is.

 

I have seen enough of our offense this season to wish MW had opted to sand some of the rough edges from Appleby rather than from Mann as a PG1, shifted Tre to 2 guard and let Locke come off the bench to provide (hopefully, occasionally) an outside scoring punch. I had misgivings about Tre's ball distribution and pace-control instincts from the first day I heard MW gave him the job, and while he has handled the role credibly in stretches, for the most part it is square peg/round hole syndrome. On the other hand, Tre's shooting and driving skills have improved tremendously, so he could be very productive at the 2.

 

I wonder if MW feels Trey's future in the NBA would hinge on PG play? Trey needs to develop the habit of keeping his head on a swivel if he wants to excel at the position.

 

First off, not sure why Osifo gets any meaningful playing time or was deemed good enough by White to be on the team, but why does White continue to allow Osifo to take horrible shots w/out consequences. Comes in the game, last night, doesn't pass the ball and tries a ridiculous driving lay-up that gets blocked.

This isn't the first time this has happened so White should have been made it perfectly clear to Osifo what his role is prior to the game. If for some reason, White hadn't told him this before, he should have been chewing Osifo out. We know this wouldn't have happened under Billy but regardless, White should have said to him... "Osifo your job is to box out rebound, play D and screen. You're only allowed to shoot if its an easy lay up or dunk. Next time you try anything like that again, you won't be playing another minute. Is that understood?"

Instead White actually brings Osifo back in the game and he basically does the same thing again. He gets the ball, doesn't pass and this time tries a hook shot only to be rejected again.

 

We're a very average program. . . far removed from the standards Billy D set. If Stricklin keeps Mike White beyond this year, then I guess Stricklin is indifferent to the basketball program being successful.