Florida Gators

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Forty seconds into the game — a game that did not count, by the way — the Florida Gators were playing defense on just the second possession after the opening tip when what appeared to be a routine screen by a Jacksonville player, followed by some routine contact at the top of the key, stopped the heart of Coach Mike White.

And every person on the UF bench.

There was senior point guard Chris Chiozza, the soul and unquestioned leader of this UF team, doubled over in obvious pain, his left arm dangling toward the floor, and favoring his left shoulder. His eyes were closed. Then they popped open. Then they closed again.

"I was scared," Chiozza said later. "All the work I'd put in this summer … and an exhibition game."
 
Chiozza tried to play through the pain, but was soon was on the bench. After a once-over by trainer Dave Werner, Chiozza was cleared to go back in the game, to try and tough it out. Two possessions later, though, he was bumped on the shoulder after grabbing a rebound.

A pain shot down his arm.

"I thought, 'Nope, that's it,' " Chiozza said. "I'm done."

But only with a sprain to the AC joint, an injury not nearly as serious as it could have been -- or appeared to be -- and one that will sideline Chiozza for an undetermined amount of time. About how long? As long as he needs to return healthy and ready to man his spot as the Florida floor general.

In Chiozza's absence, the Gators, a team without a true backup point guard, flailed about offensively for the better part of the first half, before ramping up the defensive intensity and blowing out the host Jacksonville Dolphins 88-47 in their Thursday night exhibition game before a sellout crowd of 1,500 at Swisher Gymnasium.

Forward Jalen Hudson, the transfer from Virginia Tech, led all scorers with 21 points, all but four coming in a second half that started with 18 straight points by the Gators. Graduate-transfer forward Egor Koulechov, by way of Rice, added 17 points, while junior KeVaughn Allen, doubling as both a shooting guard and point guard, was good for 17 points, four rebounds and six assists. Together, the trio of Hudson, Koulechov and Allen hit 19 of their 34 shots, including 10 of 17 from the 3-point line. Freshman swingman Deaundrae Ballard also finished in double figures with 11 points, while redshirt freshman center Dontay Bassett had a nine rebounds.
 
After the game, though, the focus was on Chiozza.

"We're all praying for him," Koulechov said. 

"Man, I felt really bad. I felt like it was a little bit of my fault," Hudson said. "I didn't yell loud enough, when it was my guy coming out to set the screen. I must have asked him about five times if he was OK."

It was the first question White got afterward, also.

"I'm really concerned. He's about as valuable to us as it gets; probably as any player is to his team in college basketball," White said. "We hope it's moderate. We think it's just a sprain of the shoulder, more of a pain deal. That's not the final word. We'll check it out [Friday] and hope for the best."

In Chiozza's absence, the Gators were in a tight game, with the Dolphins twice closing within five points in the final four minutes before the break. Back-to-back buckets by Allen, one of them a 3-ball, and a dunk by center Gorjok Gak (5 points, 7 rebounds) accounted for UF's 7-1 run that closed the period and opened an 11-point lead at the break.

In the locker room at halftime, White made a few points about his players' intensity level compared to that of the host Dolphins.

"Coach kind of jumped us," Koulechov said.

White got a chuckle out of that statement.

"If he thinks that's 'jumping,' he better brace himself," White said. "You know, I had hoped we'd have some adversity tonight, and I thought we did. I thought it got really loud in there. [The Dolphins] were the aggressors in the first half. They played harder than we did in the first half. They played more physical than we did in the first half. We were looking at each other, and I just thought we were a different team than we were [Wednesday] at practice."

That practice was a spirited one, led by a ridiculously hot Hudson. That Hudson showed up in the second half. He scored eight points in the first 2:45 of the period to help open a 19-point lead and kickstart those 18 consecutive points for the Gators and the rout.

UF, in fact, didn't surrender a field goal until a 3-pointer by JD Notae at the 9:38 mark, as the Gators held the Dolphins without a bucket for 13 minutes spanning the two halves.
 
From there, they coasted to the final buzzer, while Chiozza watched from the bench.

"I'm just glad it wasn't serious," Chiozza said. "Relieved."

The feeling was unanimous.

"He makes us go offensively," White said. "He's a great defender and one of the best passers in the country."

And the Gators need him. Desperately. 

Get well soon, "Cheez."