Pregame Stuff: Florida at Jacksonville (exhibition), Thursday, 7 pm

Wednesday, November 1, 2017 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry

A nuts and bolts look at UF's first public dress rehearsal of the 2017-18 season.

By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer

FLORIDA at JACKSONVILLE

When: Thursday, 7 p.m. (ET)
Where: Swisher Gymnasium, Jacksonville, Fla.
Records: N/A
TV: None
Radio: Streaming on FloridaGators.com (with Tom Collette and Bill Koss).

STAKES (The Setup)

Swisher Gymnasium (capacity 1,500) at JU.

Following a trend that's popped up around the country, the Gators and Dolphins entered discussions two weeks ago about joining forces to play an exhibition game to

benefit hurricane relief, and announced the event just eight days ago. All proceeds will go to Florida's First Coast Relief Fund. The two schools landed on historic Swisher Gym (with its capacity of just 1,500 and two years removed from a updating) as an intimate venue for the date. The facility has been home to the Dolphins since 1953, although both the JU men's and women's teams have also played some home games at the downtown Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena, where UF played two regular-season games last November while the Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center was undergoing its renovations. ... In its 64 years, Swisher has hosted Vice President Lyndon Johnson for an address to students in 1963 and an on-the-rise rock star by the name of Billy Joel in 1975. In between, JU defeated UF 67-64 at Swisher on Dec. 6, 1968. ... Florida leads the all-time series 32-5, including a 1-0 mark under Coach Mike White. The Gators defeated the Dolphins 89-65 on Dec. 22, 2015 at the O'Connell Center, as four UF starters scored in double figures, led by freshman KeVaughn Allen's 15 points and five rebounds, plus 14 points and five rebounds from John Egbunu.

UF STARTERS and TOP SUBS

STARTERS	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Class	2016-17 Per Game
Egor Koulechov	F	6-5	205	G-Senior	18.2 pts / 8.9 reb (at Rice)
Keith Stone	F	6-8	245	R-Sophomore	3.6 pts / 2.2 reb
Kevarrius Hayes	C	6-9	220	Junior	6.2 pts / 4.4 reb
KeVaughn Allen	G	6-2	183	Junior	14.0 pts / 2.4 reb
Chris Chiozza	PG	6-0	175	Senior	7.2 pts / 3.3 reb / 3.8 ast

SUBS	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Class	2016-17 Per Game
Jalen Hudson	G/F	6-6	192	R-Junior	8.4 pts / 2.3 reb (at Virginia Tech in '15-16)
Chase Johnson	F	6-9	205	Freshman	N/A
Gorjok Gak	C	6-11	265	Sophomore	1.5 pts / 1.5 reb
Dontay Bassett	C/F	6-9	240	R-Freshman	N/A
Deaundrae Ballard	G/F	6-5	195	Freshman	N/A
Mike Okauru	G	6-3	180	Freshman	N/A

STANDING OUT (One to Watch)

His is the so-called "face of the franchise," as far as Florida players go -- and rightfully so. Point guard **Chris Chiozza** solidified his niche in Gators lore (not to mention NCAA Tournament history) when he went coast-to-coast with four seconds left and swished a circus, buzzer-beating 3-pointer to defeat Wisconsin in the Sweet 16 at Madison Square Garden. Now a senior, this is Chiozza's team and everyone knows it. After starting just 33 of his 105 career games (including none last season), he no longer will share the point guard position, as **Kasey Hill** has moved on. What's more, there is no true/proven backup point guard, either. So all the Gators will ask of Chiozza this season is to be their floor general, run a new offense, take his defense to another level, limit turnovers, hit more 3s, and play 30-plus minutes a game. And, you know what? He's ready to do it.

STUFF (Need-to-Know Info)

ABOUT THE GATORS: Entering White's third year at the helm, they're coming off a 27-9 season that ended one victory shy of the Final Four and head into the 2017-18 campaign ranked No. 8 in the first Associated Press Top 25 poll released Wednesday. ... Under White, UF is 48-24, with that victory total the most by a Florida coach in his first two seasons and the fourth-most by an SEC coach in his first two seasons. ... The Gators return two starters from a season ago, but that number could easily be considered three, if you count Chiozza, who has averaged nearly 23 minutes per game over his UF career. ... Florida was one of the best defensive teams in the country last season, but these Gators are nowhere near their level of guarding as their predecessors, and that will be a point of emphasis not just through the two exhibition games -- UF plays at

home Sunday against Division II Tampa -- but throughout the non-conference schedule heading toward the SEC slate. ... Allen, based on what he's shown during a month of practice, appears poised for a big season that should justify his name on the preseason All-Southeastern Conference ballot. The explosive shooting guard who poured in a career-high 35 points in the NCAA tourney against Wisconsin shot 37 percent from the 3-point line last season and 88.3 percent from the free-throw line. ... Florida will be without a pair of centers in Egbunu, the fifth-year senior, and freshman Isaiah Stokes, both of whom are rehabbing from knee injuries. That means junior Kevarrius Hayes (60.6 percent FG last season) must play extended minutes in the post early in the season, which also means he has to stay out of foul trouble. He'll be spelled inside by backup center Gorjok Gak, as well as third-year sophomore Keith Stone (32.6 percent from 3), who will start at the power forward spot. ... UF fans will get their first look at impact transfers Egor Koulechov (a career 39-percent shooter from deep in one season at Arizona State and two at Rice) and Jalen Hudson (7.7 ppg on 43.2 percent in two seasons at VPI). ... Given this is an exhibition, don't be shocked if Florida's freshmen get extended minutes. That means redshirt center Dontay Bassett, wing and gifted scorer Deaundrae Ballard, as well as point guard Mike Okauru. The fourth freshman on the squad, forward Chase Johnson, is expected to be sidelined while recovering from a concussion suffered in practice two weeks ago. ... ABOUT THE DOLPHINS: They're set to enter the fourth season under Coach Tony Jasick, who is 43-54 during that time, including 17-25 in the Atlantic Sun Conference. ... JU went 17-16 last season, with a 5-9 mark in league play, and lost its final four games. The Dolphins did earn a spot in the College Invitational Tournament, but fell in the first round to Saint Francis. ... The Dolphins lost their top three scorers off last season's squad, with 6-4 senior guard Devin Harris, in his second season since transferring from East Tennessee State, the top returnee. Harris averaged 10.9 points, 5.4 rebounds 2.7 assists last season. ... The other starter back is sophomore guard Tanner Rubio, who averaged 9.3 points on 49.6-percent shooting from the 3-point line. In one game last season, Rubio hit eight 3s on his way to a career-high 31 points against Stetson.

STATS (Some Numbers of Note)

* 7 — Players on the UF roster who have never appeared in a game for the Gators (Koulechov, Hudson, Bassett, Ballard, Johnson, Okauru, Stokes).

* 26 — Consecutive victories for the Gators in exhibition games, dating to the 2002-03 season.

* 51.4 — Percentage of scoring the Gators lost from the '16-17 roster, based on the exits of Hill, Canyon Barry, Devin Robinson and walk-on Schuyler Rimmer.

* 72.9 — UF's free-throw percentage last season, the team's best since the 2005-06 national-championship squad (.744). Before last season, the Gators had five consecutive years shooting 67.7 percent from the line or below.

* 2002 —The last year the Gators lost an exhibition game. The date was Nov. 20 and UF had already won regular-season games against Temple and Florida State, while losing to Arizona in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at Madison Square Garden. The Gators returned to the O'Dome and lost 100-96 to the EA Sports All-Stars, led by former UF star Kenyan Weaks and Gonzaga standout Richie Frahm.

STATEMENT (Random thought)

Details for this game will be sparse, given only three media credentials were issued for the very tight Swisher confines. The FloridaGators.com senior writer, though, will have your back with extensive and thorough coverage as we dive into what should be another exciting season.