Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A lot of whistles and stoppage of drills interrupted the first official Florida basketball practice of the season Thursday. A tone was being set early.

The focus was on defense.

"Last year, I'd say we practiced defense about 75 percent of the time," UF coach Mike White said afterward. "With these guys, we may have to do more."

Not that the first practice was bad. Rather, White and his staff want it understood — in no uncertain terms — that how the Gators defend this season will define how successful they are. Could all coaches say that about their teams? Sure. But this UF squad, armed with some significant firepower on the perimeter, has a chance to be lethal on the offense end. The Gators are going to win a lot of games. But if they can sniff what they were on defense last season, they're going to contend for titles and be in big games in March.

It's a significant "if."

"It's all going to come down to the defensive end for us," senior graduate transfer forward Egor Koulechov said. "We know that."

That's not to say, not by a long shot, the Gators won't give offense its due. They will. White said Thursday's practice was probably 90 percent focused on defense; high hands, close-outs, rotations, screens. There's a mentality that needs on be established, especially with young players.

On Friday, UF is out of school because of homecoming. The team will lift weights early in the morning, then practice twice the rest of the day. Probably an hour each.

With all three centers — fifth-year senior John Egbunu, sophomore Gorjok Gak and freshman Isaiah Stokes sidelined due to knee injuries — the Gators have only 10 players available for practice, meaning most drills will be 4-on-4. They have to be smart and efficient with their time, so they'll cut practice back in exchange for asking the players to go harder.
 
Gak, who returned from his turn with the Australian national team at the World University Games with a swollen knee, is expected to be cleared for some non-contact practice drills next week, trainer David "Duke" Werner said. Egbunu and Stokes are coming off reconstructive surgeries and their rehab is more complicated. Egbunu, though, begann light running on the floor this week.

His 10 healthy teammates will be back on the court — twice  — on Friday. In fact, White and his staff plan to start rolling in a new offense Friday; one designed to take better advantage of their perimeter scoring.

But guarding those scorers during practice will continue to be a point of emphasis.

"The concerns now defensively are, 'Can we be as good [as last year]?' " White said. "I'm not even sure we're as talented defensively, which means they have to be even more bought in than last year's group and play for each other even more."