Frontcourt No Longer Lagging Behind

Wednesday, January 10

Gainesville, FL

7 PM

Florida Gators

Mississippi State

Kevarrius Hayes (left) and Keith Stone (right) both played their two best games of the season last week in wins at Texas A&M and Missouri.

Frontcourt No Longer Lagging Behind

Wednesday, January 10, 2018 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry

Center Kevarrius Hayes and forward Keith Stone were sensational in back-to-back road wins last week.

By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The narrative was loud and consistent.

As shots missed and losses mounted, the book on the free-falling Florida Gators was that of an unbalanced, undersized team that could only win when its array of outside shooters came to the gym with hot hands. Opponents certainly thought that. After UF came home from a successful turn at the PK80 Invitational in Portland, Ore., the blueprint to beat Florida was on tape. Run shooters off the 3-point line, be physical with the Gators on drives and overpower them in the paint. Do that and resistance will be minimal.

How was it UF coach Mike White summed up his team after getting blasted by 17 at home against Florida State?

"The epitome of soft."

Fast forward six weeks, as the Florida (11-4, 3-0), unbeaten in Southeastern Conference play, goes for a sixth consecutive win Wednesday night against Mississippi State (13-2, 1-1) at Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center. The narrative has changed. White has praised his team's toughness and resilience. What prompted it?

[Read senior writer Chris Harry's 'Pregame Stuff' breakdown here]

Junior center Kevarrius Hayes and third-year sophomore Keith Stone, who entered UF as freshmen in 2015, watched video together of the Gonzaga game — a win, thanks to some rip-roaring 3-point shooting by their teammates — as Johnathan Williams destroyed the Florida frontline for 39 points, hitting 16 of 22 shots, while the Bulldogs scored 52 in the paint.

"When we saw that film of ourselves, and how we gave up so many points, like against Gonzaga, we just told each other we can't let that happen again," Stone said. "After that, we kind of buckled down and sharpened up what we're supposed to do, and started to be more aggressive and have more confidence in ourselves."

It didn't happen right away, but in increments. After four losses in five games, UF beat Cincinnati in New Jersey, only to take a step backward a week later in a loss to Clemson in Sunrise, Fla. A nine-point win over James Madison was hardly impressive. Ditto the 15-point defeat of Incarnate Word just before Christmas break? The Gators looked great in the first half of their Southeastern Conference opener against Vanderbilt, but were a defensive train wreck in the second half before closing a seven-point victory and third straight win.

Those three consecutive wins, though, had a common denominator.

"We played really, really hard," White said.

Including Hayes and Stone, who seemed lost at times early in the season, and were far from great during those three victories.

They were nothing short of great the last two.

That was Hayes flying to the rim and slamming a follow-rebound on Texas A&M's monstrous front line last week. And there went Stone, letting fly another 3-ball, then another, that banged in a timely moments at A&M and four days later at Missouri. UF doesn't win those games without their top-shelf contributions.

"That really helps us when they do what they do," graduate-transfer forward Egor Koulechov said. "Keith, I think, played with a great amount of confidence the past two games. And Kevarrius really played like people told me [he played]. That's the Kevarrius that they know, that's how he plays. He blocks shots, he gets steals, tips, he's all over on defense. I think that makes a big difference for us."

And while we're at it, Koulechov warrants mention, too. He appears to have left an eight-game shooting funk in the rearview and is back bombing from NBA range and spreading the floor for the wide-open Florida offense.

So, the UF front court is in the midst of a resurgence — or is it an emergence? — and the timing couldn't be better. The Gators are tied (with Auburn) atop the SEC standings, but can take a half-game lead by beating the Bulldogs at home.

"We had a really good week, obviously," White said. "Now, it's back to work."

Back to building on their identity.

When Florida was erupting for points early in the season it was a team that went at the pace of point guard Chris Chiozza, relied on microwave production from junior swingman and leading scorer Jalen Hudson, got 3-balls in bunches from Koulechov, and was even more dangerous when the up-and-down KeVaughn Allen had his game going

Now, through three SEC outings, the front court combo of Hayes, Stone and Koulechov has averaged 39 points on 47-percent shooting overall and 58 from 3, plus 18 rebounds, 5.3 blocks and 3.3 steals.

"We're all enjoying playing. It's great. Everything feels like it's clicking. We're all about everybody getting better on defense and letting the offense come to us," said Hayes, who is back to flying around the floor and being the "Spidey" character his coaches know and love. "I feel like I have to lead in that aspect by being the energy guy, playing hard and letting everything fall into place."

Stone, meanwhile, has turned into a stoic assassin from the arc. After scoring a career-high 18 points and making four 3s at A&M, Stone followed that game with 13 points and six rebounds at Missouri. He also played perhaps his best defensive game of the season against the Tigers.

"It's just a matter of going out and doing my job," Stone said. "I had meetings. I talked to coaches, talked to my teammates. They all said, 'Just do your job and everything will fall into place.' Sounds easy, but you still have to do it."

And keep doing it.

Stone has never scored double figures in three straight games, but can do so with a similar game against the Bulldogs. The goal, though, is not to get Stone a personal milestone, but for him to continue the high level of play that has helped lead the upward trajectory of the team as it heads deeper into the SEC schedule.

In fact, thinking too much about personal goals may have put the Gators in that dark place earlier in the season.

"Everybody has their own agenda of what to expect of themselves, what they want to accomplish, and I just feel it was easier for that stuff to creep in before the games really meant as much as they do right now," Hayes said. "We had our team chats and one-on-ones with coaches and believe we've gotten to the bottom of what was holding us back."

Just a few weeks ago, fingers were pointing at the front court.

They're still pointing in that direction, but for different reasons.

"You always want to be better than you were the year before. You want to improve, but you also can't force it to happen," Hayes said. "You have to work, build on it, put in the hours and good things are going to happen."