Forward Egor Koulechov (4) is congratulated by teammate Gorjok Gak during his red-hot, 34-point outburst in the 116-74 rout Monday night in the2017-18 opener against Gardner-Webb.
Even-Keel Koulechov, Gators Turn Page to Ospreys
Thursday, November 16, 2017 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
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UF crushed Gardner-Webb in Monday night's opener behind 34 points from grad-transfer forward Egor Koulechov.
By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Didn't take long for Mike White to get an Egor Koulechov question during his Wednesday session with the media. Koulechov certainly was topical. Two nights earlier, the Rice graduate transfer and one they call "3gor" bombarded Gardner-Webb for 34 points in one of the most spectacular debut performances in the history of Florida basketball.
So with Thursday night's Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center date between UF (1-0) and North Florida (0-3) next on the docket, inquiring minds wanted to know what Koulechov might do for an encore?
"Oh man, exactly what he did the other night," White said, with a nod of hope, given the 6-foot-5 forward drained 11 of his 17 shots and six of nine from the 3-point line in a 116-74 season-opening win. "He was terrific. He was really good in other areas, as well. What a luxury to have a guy who plays with that amount of poise and maturity from Day 1, with all the experience he's got. I'm glad he's a Gator and hope he continues to play well."
A few minutes later, Koulechov was standing in the same spot at the UF basketball facility and, not only answering the same question, but validating the very points White had made by demonstrating the very traits — poise and maturity — his coach referenced.
"You don't think about it," the soft-spoken Russian said. "We had a good game. We have a game [Thursday] that we've got to prepare for. We have practice. We're going to do the same thing we do before every game; scout, improve, try to get better."
Doubtful Koulechov will improve on a display that ended with the most points by a first-time Gator in 55 years.
But his coach is equally convince that what happened Monday won't impact the way Koulechov goes about his day-to-day work, starting with how he approaches Thursday's game against the Ospreys.
"I don't think he's going to be caught up in how many he can score in the next one or how many 3s he's going to hit," White said. "The challenge is to try not to outdo that. Just play the game, and let it come to you."
Though Koulechov only arrived here in July, and in a matter of weeks left again for three weeks to play for Israel in the World University of Games, his UF teammates know enough about his selflessness, humility and leadership qualities to know the package is genuine.
As pure as his jumper.
"That's just who he is," freshman guard Mike Okauru, who also had a similar answer when asked about Koulechov's breakout game. "That's what he does."
White predicted Koulechov would be the same guy in the team's Wednesday practice — the first since the Gardner-Webb game after having Tuesday off — as he was in the run-up to his offensive eruption.
That turned out to be the case.
Same guy. Different day.
"I enjoyed it on Monday, that was it," Koulechov said. "Now, we move on to the next game."
CHARTING THE GATORS
In light of Egor Koulechov's stunning introduction to Gator Nation, we decided to take a look back in UF basketball history and find some other debut games that were either hotly anticipated because of an incoming player or just flat-out memorable due to a performance by a newcomer We came up with a dozen (and surely missed some). Here they are, chronologically.
Tom Baxley
Nov. 30, 1962
Miami 91, UF 87 (OT)
Baxley, a sophomore guard who went just 5-foot-10, poured in 34 points in the overtime defeat at Coral Gables. The season eventually ended with Baxley leading the team in scoring at 16.3 points per game. Those 34 points were the most by a player in his first game as a Gator until Koulechov equaled it Monday night.
Neal Walk
Neal Walk
Dec. 1, 1966
UF 93, Jacksonville 59
He was arguably the most hyped player in program history at the time. Walk, a 6-10 sophomore center, had averaged 23 points a game for Florida's freshman team that went 17-1 the year before. Swisher Gym on the JU campus was packed for this one, as Walk finished with eight points and eight rebounds in a win that tipped off what turned out to be a 21-4 season, including 14-4 in the Southeastern Conference, that marked the greatest in school history. It also tipped off a stellar career for Walk, who went on to score 1,600 points (eighth on the program's all-time) and a team-record 1,181 rebounds.
Chip Williams
Dec. 1, 1972
UF 100, Valdosta State 76
A 6-8 sophomore center from Dunedin, Williams went for 30 in his first game, then went on to average a double-double for the season (16.5 ppg, 12.1 rpg). Williams is the older brother of longtime academic advisor and Hawkins Center icon Tom Williams.
Vernon Delancy
Nov. 29, 1980
UF 90, Biscayne 71
Vernon Delancy
The O'Connell Center was supposed be ready for the start of the season — the inaugural campaign for the second UF stint of Coach Norm Sloan, following his return from North Carolina State — but instead the Gators had to play their opener at the gymnasium on the campus of Miami-Dade Community College. One of the four freshmen in the starting lineup was Delancy, a 6-6 guard and homegrown Miami kid who played one for the neighborhood folks that night. He upstaged his rookie brothers (Ronnie Williams, Tim Strawbridge and Mike Moses) by scoring 29 points against the Division II Bobcats. [Worth noting: One week later, on Dec. 6, Biscayne defeated the University of Houston 76-74 in front of 500 people in the same cracker-box gym. That Houston team was the foundation of "Phi Slamma Jamma," and included Clyde Drexler and Michael Young, a pair of first-round draft picks, and Larry Micheaux, a second-rounder.]
Randall Leath
Nov. 28, 1981
UF 91, Biscayne 80
He was a standout across the street at P.K. Yonge, but no one could have foreseen what Leath did in his first game as a Gator — or what he didn't do after. Leath, a 6-10 forward, came off the bench to score 28 points on a perfect 10-for-10 from the floor. Wow! His average went south from there, however, as over the next four seasons, Leath started 38 of 111 games and finished his career at 4.4 points per game.
Vernon Maxwell
Nov. 24, 1984
UF 100, Valdosta State 76
He was crowned Florida's Mr. Basketball after averaging 31 points per game, 10 rebounds, six assists and five steals his final year at Gainesville Buchholz. And as good as he was in basketball, Maxwell was every bit the star wide receiver on the football field. "Mad Max" went for just eight points and four rebounds in that opener, but made up for it later on his way to averaging 13.3 as a freshman. Eventually, he helped get the Gators to their first NCAA Tournament berths in school history.
Jason Williams went for 24 points and an O'Connell Center record 12 assists in his debut Gator game.
Jason Williams
Nov. 18, 1997
UF 100, Central Florida 85
He was the first superstar brought to UF by Billy Donovan. That superstardom, as it turned out, was short-lived, but goodness, gracious was it something to behold. Williams, out of Belle, W.Va., was Donovan's point guard at Marshall, where he was tabbed Big South Conference Freshman of the Year, only to follow Donovan to UF and sit out the 1996-97 season under NCAA transfer rules. As point guard on the scout team, he destroyed Donovan's first Florida squad daily -- and then he'd go to Southwest Rec and destroy all comers there. When it finally came time for Williams to make his long-awaited debut, his reputation as maybe the best player in Gators history preceded him. The debut, though, had to wait. Williams was suspended for three games (two exhibitions, plus the opener) before the start of the '97-98 season. The night Williams finally took the floor, he dropped the jaws of everyone in the O'Connell Center, scoring 24 points and dishing an O'Dome-record 12 assists on his 22nd birthday. Williams played just 20 games for the Gators, his season (and career, as it turned) coming to an end in February '98 when he was dismissed for violating team rules. UF was 13-8, including an upset of Kentucky at Rupp Arena, when Williams was suspended. The Gators lost seven of their last eight. Williams left school, put his name in the NBA pool and was selected seventh overall by the Sacramento Kings.
Mike Miller
Nov. 16, 1998
UF 76, Georgia Southern 62
Not only was Miller maybe the most high-profile prospect ever signed by Florida, but far and away the most controversial. Some folks at Kansas, North Carolina and Duke could not understand why a McDonald's All-American from way up in Mitchell, S.D., decided to put his college basketball fate in the hands of Donovan and his 30-something staff who had been at UF two seasons without posting a winning record. The 6-8 Miller, a consensus top-five player with a complete game, did not disappoint, going for 25 points and 11 rebounds, while playing alongside freshmen classmates Teddy Dupay (also a McDonald's honoree, as well as the all-time scorer in state history) and Udonis Haslem, who would start at center the next four seasons.
Donnell Harvey
Donnell Harvey
Nov. 19, 1999
UF 96, Florida State 61
Harvey, a power forward out of Shellman, Ga., won the McDonald's All-America Game's slam-dunk contest. He was 6-8, 220 pounds, with freakish length and. Along with point guard Brett Nelson, Harvey gave the Gators four McDonald's guys over a two-year period, much to the dismay of the Seminoles that night. Harvey, USA Today's National Player of the Year, had 12 points and nine rebounds that night, as UF began a season that ended in the NCAA final with a loss to Michigan State. Harvey left for the NBA after that season (the New York Knicks plucked him in Round 1), and thus became the first "one-and-done" in Florida history.
Matt Walsh
Nov. 19. 2002
UF 76, Louisiana Tech 55
Walsh, out of Holland, Pa., put on quite the show that night against the Bulldogs (the same program that 13 years later would send the Gators Mike White, by the way). Walsh went 10-for-14 from the floor on his way to 26 points, and also carded three rebounds and six assists, thus overshadowing a couple McDonald's freshman classmates in David Lee and Anthony Roberson.
Nick Calathes
Nov. 9, 2007
UF 75, North Dakota State 65
After those back-to-back NCAA titles, the Gators, with the exception of a couple leftover role players, were in utter rebuild mold. Calathes, the acclaimed point forward and two-time Florida "Mr. Basketball," would soon fix that problem. At least, that was the plan. Calathes came to Gainesville with Chandler Parsons, with whom he'd won the Class 6A state title at Winter Park Lake Howell. He was definitely a box score stuffer, though not so much that first night. Though he scored a team-best 21 points, he had three assists and turned the ball over four times. His numbers quickly got much better, though the Gators didn't. Calathes played two seasons for UF and both ended in the NIT.
Bradley Beal started every game his freshman season.
Bradley Beal
Nov. 11, 2011
UF 99 Jackson State 59
Beal, out of St. Louis Chaminade College Prep, was The USA Today National Player of the Year. He may have started a little slow (13 points, 1-for-6 from the 3-point line, 3 assists in 28 minutes), but he got better. Way better. Beal started every game as a freshman, and was spectacular in February and March, leading the Gators on a run to the Elite Eight, where they eventually lost to Louisville. Beal became just the second "one-and-done" for UF and was taken with the third overall pick in the NBA Draft by the Washington Wizards.
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