Mike White will know a lot more about his team after its turn in the prestigious, one-time-only PK80 Invitational, which opens Thursday night in Portland.
Time to P(ic)K80 Up the Competition
Thursday, November 23, 2017 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
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After three games against mid- or low-major opponents, the No 7 Gators are in Portland for arguably the most loaded holiday tournament in college basketball history.
By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer
PORTLAND, Ore. — It was nearly five years ago that the Florida men's basketball team went to Arizona for the return end of a home-and-home contract with the Wildcats, one of the marquee programs in the nation.
The date was Dec. 15, 2012. A Saturday night. The Gators fly out after practice Friday, got to Tucson around 9 p.m., local time (a seven-hour flight, with refueling in Nebraska), took a few shots in the UA practice gym, then headed to the hotel to eat, watch film and go to bed.
Tip-off was 7 p.m., the following night. The return red-eye flight home left about two hours after the game, and the Gators got back to Gainesville at 7:45 a.m.
That they blew a seven-point lead in the final minute and lost 65-64 was just another part of the package.
Executive associate athletic director Mike Hill was on that trip and acknowledged, at the time, the logistical challenges in its aftermath. Bottom line: Future cross-country undertakings would have be for special circumstances.
"And these are as special as they could possibly get," Hill said Wednesday.
The chartered flight here Tuesday night was packed, long and brutal — nearly eight hours — with a stop in Denver to refuel along the way. The No. 7 Gators (3-0) got to their hotel around 10 p.m., had Wednesday morning to sleep in and practiced Wednesday afternoon at Veterans Memorial Coliseum, where they'll face Stanford (3-2) in opening-round play Thursday night of the PK80 Invitational.
The PK80 is a one-time-only, Nike-sponsored extravaganza that will celebrate corporation founder and CEO Phil Knight's 80th birthday, by bringing together a handful of the nation's most high-profile programs — Duke, North Carolina, Michigan State, Gonzaga, Connecticut, Texas, Oregon, Butler, Ohio State and, yes, Florida, among them — for a 16-team, two-tournament Thanksgiving weekend in college hoops heaven.
"This would be a great tournament to just go see as a fan," UF coach Mike White said. "We get to play in it."
All told, there will be a combined 23 national championships and 87 Final Fours playing both in the Vet and across the street at the Mota Center, home to the NBA Portland Trailblazers.
As tournaments go (and opportunity), this is the definition of "special."
"When they called and invited us, we took about a half-second to accept," said Hill, the UAA administrator who oversees men's basketball. "Most tournaments this time of year, they happen every year. And they're great events. But this one? This is truly unique. They're doing it once and they're bringing not just some of the best programs out there now, but some of the best in history. Florida is part of that history. We've contributed to those [championship and Final Four numbers]. So, it may not be common to come this far west, but this is something that is well worth any of the minor inconveniences."
Now, that the Gators are here, the inconveniences become the opponent. And they won't be minor.
The best thing that could happen for the seventh-ranked Gators against Stanford in Thursday night's PK80 opener is for the floor to spread and for senior point guard Chris Chiozza (11) either to get penetration in the halfcourt or make the game a transition track meet against the bigger, bulkier Cardinal.
After three home games against programs in the mid- to low-major classification — Gardner-Webb, North Florida and New Hampshire — now things get real. The Cardinal aren't a Pac-12 powerhouse. The team finished 14-17 last season in the first year under Coach Jerod Haase. But they have great size, plus scoring punch in the front court, and are easily the best team UF has faced thus far.
"We know this is a big stage with great competition," senior point guard Chris Chiozza said. "We know it's a great opportunity to show what kind of team we're going to be this year or what kind of team we can be going against these teams coming up."
It's certainly worth noting that Florida had its hands full the last time out, having to fend off New Hampshire. The Wildcats, out of the America East Conference, actually led by a point in the second half Sunday, until the Gators awakened behind junior wing Jalen Hudson, who scored 22 of his 26 points in the second half on the way to a 70-63 win.
To a man (coach or player), the Gators agreed that Sunday's smack of reality was well-timed, given what was next on the Florida schedule. Win or lose Thursday night, UF will play either No. 17 and 2017 NCAA runner-up Gonzaga or Ohio State on Friday night, then after a day off Saturday, face either No. 1 Duke, Texas (with lottery-pick-in-waiting Mohamad Bamba), always-dogged Butler, or hometown draw Portland State in Sunday's final round.
Yes, the bracket has the Gators' collective attention.
"When you play in a tournament like this one, I feel you're going to be more excited," UF junior shooting guard KeVaughn Allen. "You want to do the best you can do in these kinds of games, with these kinds of teams."
They came all this way -- nearly 2,700 miles -- so they might as well.
Plus, you'd better be better, else run the risk of being embarrassed. And they need to be much better than what showed up Sunday.
"We've played some good programs, in their own right, but we play in a higher-level league," White said. "Let's see how we stack up against these other high-level [opponents]."
In as a high a level event that has ever been staged.
