Armon Gates (center), new UF assistant coach, during his time as an assistant alongside Chris Collins (left) at Northwestern.
Harry Fodder: Basketball Notebook (New coach, Jalen, Gak, etc.)
Monday, April 16, 2018 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
New assistant coach Armon Gates was introduced to the UF media last week.
The key was finding the right guy.
Armon Gates, by way of Northwestern, moved into the coaches offices at the basketball complex last week, with the title of assistant head coach. Gates, 35, spent the last five seasons with the Wildcats under Chris Collins, helping guide the program to its first NCAA Tournament berth in school history in 2017. Before that, Gates was an assistant for Porter Moser at Loyola Chicago, where he was on the front lines as that program began trending upward, and at his alma mater of Kent State before that.
Now he's White's first lieutenant, alongside Jordan Mincy and Darris Nichols.
"He's a really good cultural fit," White said. "A guy we are very fond of as a coach, as a recruiter, as a mentor and, most importantly, as a human being."
Gates, a native of Chicago, played shooting guard at Kent State, where his point guard happened to be Mincy. There's the connection to White, who was introduced to Gates through Mincy during their one season together in 2014-15 at Louisiana Tech, after which White came to UF and brought his entire staff.
When it came time for White to fill the vacancy of Dusty May, now head coach at Florida Atlantic, Gates already was on the radar. He was also on the radar at Xavier, fresh off being a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, so getting him was something of a coup, as far as White was concerned.
Last Wednesday marked Gates' first day on campus, and it coincided with an afternoon offseason practice. Gates, though, didn't immediatly inject himself into the workout. Instead, he sat on the sidelines with White, watched his new players in action, talked his new boss and got the lay of the land. It won't be until the start of the Summer "B" term that Gates can get out on the floor with his new guys.
He's anxious to dive in.
"I look to bring tons of energy. My nickname is like the 'Energizer Bunny,' or whatever they may call me," Gates said. "But I want bring energy and passion. I was known as a shooter, so I want to work with those wings, but I'll work with the bigs, too, [and] help them step out, create a ton of mismatches for us. I was known as the shooter [at Kent State]. Mincy was known as the passer. That was our connection. That's what I'm looking to bring to this program."
PLAYING THE HUDSON WAITING GAME
Whether Jalen Hudson will be a Gator next season is a question that is still a ways away from being answered.
Hudson, the fourth-year junior and Virginia Tech transfer who led UF in scoring at 15.5 points per game, submitted his name into the NBA's early entry pool, but did not hire an agent, leaving open the option to return to school. As part of the process, Hudson will be evaluated and receive feedback from league types on his potential draft status.
The deadline for players in Hudson's situation to remove their name from consideration is not until June 11 — that's just 10 days before the actual draft on June 21 — which puts college teams and coaches in a difficult situation as far as planning to replace some really good players who follow through and bolt.
What are the odds of the Gators, for example, finding a player (a graduate transfer, for example) to replace Hudson in June?
"We're in a tough spot. We can't pull the trigger on anybody. Our top recruit is Jalen, in that sense," White said. "We're not about to tell Jalen, 'Hey, why don't you just go ahead and we'll replace you.' If he wants to come back, he's going to be welcome, of course. So we're trying to continue to evaluate the landscape and evaluate who's available, and start with building some relationships. But that first sentence [to any prospective player] is, 'We don't have any scholarships right now, but if we do have one … .' You never know, but that makes it difficult for us."
Hudson, who shot 45.5 percent overall and 40.4 from the 3-point line, has shown up on a few mock drafts as a second-round draft pick. In others, his name does not appear. The likelihood of him being selected is anything but a certainty, but it only takes one team to a like a guy.
The first underclassmen weeding-out wave figures to come when invitations are extended for the NBA Draft Combine, which is set for May 16-20 in Chicago. Underclassmen who don't get invited there should probably take it as a hint.
GAK'S COMEBACK
Reserve center Gorjok Gak underwent surgery April 4 to repair an injured right knee that plagued the 6-foot-11, 245-pounder the entire 2017-18 season. The UF health staff went into the procedure uncertain how severe the injury would be. The results were encouraging.
"It wasn't nearly as bad as we thought," head trainer Dave Werner said.
Gak's projected recovery time is 4-6 months, which would puts him on a positive track to be ready when the Gators convene fall practice in late-September or early October.
Last summer, Gak played for his native Australia in the World University Games and averaged 11.1 points and 8.3 rebounds. Those numbers came on the heels of some encouraging minutes late in his '16-17 freshman season, including a career-high six points on 3-for-3 from the floor in an NCAA Tournament win over Virginia.
Gak's role headinto into his sophomore year figured to take a significant jump, especially with fifth-year senior John Egbunu rehabbing from season-ending knee surgery. Gak, however, came back from the Games with a sore knee that worsened during the preseason and dogged him over the ensuing months. He totaled 42 points in non-league play (including a career-high 12 in the second game of the season against North Florida), but only 21 the rest of the season.
PORTSMOUTH UPDATE
The 65th Portsmouth Invitational was held over the weekend, with 64 of the nation's top seniors invited to the combine in Portsmouth, Va., to participate in a six-team, 12-game tournament to showcase the players — most trying to splash their way into the draft conversation — for NBA executives and scouts.
Among the most notable names: Jaylen Adams and Matt Mobley (St. Bonaventure), Jaylen Barford and Daryl Macon (Arkansas), Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. (Baylor), Yante Maten (Georgia), Jeff Roberson (Vanderbilt), Zach Smith (Texas Tech), Kyle Washington (Cincinnati), Isaiah Wilkins (Virginia) and Johnathan Williams (Gonzaga). Oh yes, and Chris Chiozza and Egor Koulechov.
The two out-going Gators had up-and-down performances in their three games. Chiozza struggled in his opener, going 1-for-6 from the floor, with four assist and four turnovers, but bounced back in a big way in his second game by hitting four of six shots and dishing 10 assists to just two turnovers. He finished with an average of 6.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, 7.3 assists and 2.3 steals in his three games.
Koulechov had a tough time with his 3-point shot in his first two outings, going just 4-for-20, but got high marks for his effort and effort underneath (as he did for the Gators) despite being undersized. In his third game, Koulechov scored 16 points on 7-for-12 shooting. He finished the tournament averaging 9.6 points (though just 5-for-17 from the arc) and 6.7 boards.
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
C
/ Men's Basketball
C
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballFlorida Volleyball | Jordan Byrd GETS UP for the BLOCK ✋
Thursday, November 13
Florida Men's Basketball | Rueben Chinyelu and Thomas Haugh Post Double-Doubles
Thursday, November 13
Florida Football | Interim Head Coach Billy Gonzales Media Availability | Ole Miss
Wednesday, November 12
Florida Women's Basketball | Jacksonville Recap
Wednesday, November 12
