Gators Know Auburn's Canty Can (and Will) Shoot From Anywhere

Saturday, January 23

Gainesville, FL

8:00 PM

Florida Gators

Auburn

Kasey Hill (above) and Chris Chiozza will have their hands full against Auburn shotmaking point guard Kareem Canter.

Gators Know Auburn's Canty Can (and Will) Shoot From Anywhere

Saturday, January 23, 2016 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry

By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- At the end of Thursday's practice, the Florida Gators split the team in half. For the next 15 minutes, they took turns in one-on-one matchups above the 3-point line. Shaking, baking and jacking. As in from deep and from ridiculous body positions.

It looked like a scene from the playground, but there was method behind the madness.

As in Auburn's Kareem Canty, who takes and makes such shots.

"Against Alabama the other night, he shot one from the 'R,' assistant coach Jordan Mincy said.

Practice had just wrapped and Mincy was pointing to the registered trademark symbol on the UF court; the one just below the bottom front tooth of the massive Gatorhead logo at center court. Paced off, it was about 33 feet from the goal.

"We showed it to 'em on film," Mincey said. "He took two dribbles across halfcourt and let it go -- with 28 seconds on the shot clock."

Auburn's Kareem Canty lets one fly against Middle Tennessee State.

It was just a week ago that UF was preparing to face Ole Miss score-first point guard Stefan Moody. Seven days later, the Gators (12-6, 4-2) will get an up-close look at Canty when the Tigers (9-8, 3-3) come to the O'Connell Center for a Saturday night showdown. Canty, the transfer from Marshall, has absolutely no conscience when it comes to what he considers a good shot. Nor should he, given his proficiency from out there (not to mention the degree of difficulty on some of his shots). The 6-foot-1 guard is scoring 19.4 points per game and making nearly 41 percent of his 3-point shots while also dishing 5.4 assists per game. He'll shoot until he gets hot also, evidenced by his 9.2 attempts from deep per game and his 3.8 makes, both of which rank first in the Southeastern Conference and among the highest nationally.

The most recent witnesses to Canty's sniper attacks are Alabama, which he torched for 25 Tuesday night, and Kentucky, which he lit up for 26 last weekend in a highlight-filled performance that included a banked in 3-pointer from the wing -- 26 feet out -- to give his team a late lead and send Auburn Arena into a frenzy. Eventually, the students emptied the stands to celebrate the first home win over the Wildcats since 2000 (and only the second in the last 33 meetings).

In his last two games, Canty is 10-for-20 from the arc.

"You don't have to call them Canty's 'highlights,' you call them Canty's 'clips,' because they're all highlights," UF coach Mike White said. "Offensively, with the ball in his hands, he's one of the more talented guys in college basketball. He's terrific -- right hand, left hand, floaters, runners, getting guys shots -- and then his ability to separate and get himself [3-point] looks at a high percentage that are really, really difficult shots for most everyone else. He's really good."

Those who have followed Florida basketball for years may recall South Carolina guard Devan Downey. That's Mincy's comparison when talking Canty. He should know. Mincy was a grad assistant for the Gamecocks when Downey, at 5-8, led the SEC in scoring, including a game in 2010 when he came to the O'Dome and took 25 shots -- making a go-ahead bucket with four seconds left -- before Chandler Parsons hit a 26-footer at the buzzer for the UF win. That day, Downey had 36 of his team's 56 points. USC had just four assists the game.

"We didn't have a whole lot of talent around him, so the scouting report was to stop Devan Downey and he still got his," Mincy recalled. "That's like Canty. You think you got him, he just changes direction and pulls up for 3s."

The Gators got a dose of a Canty-like game last week in Moody, the SEC's scoring leader, with the backcourt duo of Chris Chiozza and Kasey Hill taking turns getting into the 5-10 Ole Miss guard and really making him work for 22 points (two below his average), forcing him into six turnovers and limiting him to just one assist.

Canty, though, doesn't work like Moody without ball because he usually has the ball. And more often than not, he's looking to get himself a shot and it just might be the kind of shot he often got off on the playgrounds of New York City, where he grew up.

"He's more off the dribble," Hill said. "He'll do it whenever and from wherever too, even if he just crossed halfcourt. He's got like a Stephen Curry mentality, to be honest with you. He'll just shoot it."

Chiozza struggled defensively in UF's win Tuesday night over Mississippi State. He had trouble staying with another small point guard, I.J. Ready, who went for 16 first-half points. In the second half, Chiozza spent all but six minutes watching Hill from the sidelines, so he figures to be refocused -- and needs to be -- with Canty doing his probing and popping.

"You just have to stay with him and can't let him get any good looks. If he hits one, then he's probably going to make three or four tough ones. You've just got to make it tough on him all game," Chiozza said. "Guys like Moody and Canty are going to get their points because they're going to get their shots. The key is making them really work for them and not letting them get everyone else involved and get those other guys going."

Auburn has other guys, like 6-10 freshman Tyler Harris (15.2 points, 8.2 rebounds per game) and senior Cinmeon Bowers (11.5 ppg, 9.4 rpg) that can get going. Florida must bring defensive pressure from the tip and maintain the intensity throughout the game. Without question, it'll need to be better than the up-and-down defensive display the Gators rolled out against Mississippi State four nights ago. It almost cost them.

"There wasn't a lot to celebrate in terms of our performance, other than the fact that we were fortunate to win one," White said.

And now the first three-game SEC winning streak since the start of last season -- and a chance to remain in the top tier of the league standings -- is in their sights. So is Canty, who happens to have the basket in his sights.

From the "R" and everywhere else.