KeVaughn's 40-minute Green Light Beckons More Traffic

Wednesday, January 17

Gainesville, FL

7 PM

Florida Gators

Arkansas

Buy Tickets

during the Gators' game against the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Wednesday, January 10, 2018 at Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center in Gainesville, FL / UAA Communications photo by Adler Garfield

Exactly what Mike White is telling KeVaughn Allen here is uncertain, but "Shoot the ball" is a pretty good guess.

KeVaughn's 40-minute Green Light Beckons More Traffic

Wednesday, January 17, 2018 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry

Will Wednesday's game against Arkansas be the one UF guard and Little Rock native KeVaughn Allen breaks out of his scoring swoon?

By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — During Tuesday's practice, Florida coach Mike White used a nice chunk of his team's "dry offense" drill to make sure the possession ended in the hands of junior guard KeVaughn Allen, who was under orders to shoot the ball. Not only did Allen shoot, but he buried each shot.

Later, about 90 minutes into the practice, during five-on-five scrimmage work, White called for a play where Allen got a ball-screen to the left side of the floor. He used the screen, pulled up off the dribble, and buried the jumper.

"Let's get it up!" White shouted, signaling the end to practice, then making his way toward the grease board on the wall that tallies pluses and minuses and determines how many sprints each player runs afterward. "Because KeVaughn took that last shot, no one has to run today for turnovers."

Everyone liked that. That's when forward Egor Koulechov chimed in.

"Do that tomorrow night," Koulechov said.

Do it, KeVaughn, or else the UF coaches and players will say the same thing the next day. And the next. And the next. And the next.

Ask them. To a man, every Gator player will tell you the same thing; that they encourage, beg and plead for Allen — the shooting guard who seems more inclined not to shoot these days — to let it fly early and often. That's because they all believe in him and are just waiting for Allen to resurrect the player of the last two seasons; the one who tallied nearly 1,000 points over his freshman and sophomore years; the one who dropped 35 on Wisconsin in the Sweet 16 at Madison Square Garden; the one who could get his shot off any time he wanted; the one who opposing defenses had to account for every possession.

"I always walk next to him [and] I tell him, 'Just shoot the ball if you're open, ' " senior point guard Chris Chiozza said. " 'And If you're not open, shoot it. We don't care.' … I just hope he starts doing it more often."

How 'bout (as Koulechov suggested) Wednesday night?

The Gators (12-5, 4-1), who dropped their first Southeastern Conference game over the weekend at Ole Miss, are back home at Exatech Arena/O'Connell Center to face Arkansas (12-5, 2-3), which seems like as appropriate an opponent as any to get Allen going. The 6-foot-2 junior is a native of Little Rock, Ark., where he was a superstar at North Little Rock High and helped guide to three straight state championships. One of the Razorbacks' starters, guard Anton Beard, was a teammate of Allen's at NLR. Maybe that'll give him flashbacks.

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

Allen has faced Arkansas four times, and hasn't exactly tortured the Razorbacks, but been very solid. He's averaged 13.5 points and 3.3 rebounds in those games, but last season went for 21 against the Hogs on the road and 12 at home, combining to hit 12 of 22 shots (54.5 percent) and a blistering seven of 10 from the 3-point line. Those two games, rolled into Allen's overall body of work, helped him average a team-high 14.0 points on his way to 2017 first-team All-SEC honors.

"We've all seen what he can do," Chiozza said.

This season, Allen is averaging a career-high 30.5 minutes, but his scoring average is down to 10.3 points per game, including a mind-boggling 7.0 points per game in UF's five conference games. His season-high of 23 came back on Nov. 24 in the double-overtime defeat of Gonzaga in the PK80 Invitational and is the only time Allen has scored at least 20 in a game (he did it eight times as a sophomore; three times as a freshman). He's totaled just 17 points over his previous four games (that's 4.25 per), including five in Saturday's 78-72 loss at Mississippi. In that one, Allen took nine shots — his most attempts in six games — which was considered progress in the eyes of his coaches. But they wanted him to shoot more. Drive more.

Maybe the most telling stat regarding Allen's lack of aggression: Zero free-throw attempts over the past four games from one of the best free-throws shooters (89.8 percent) in the SEC.

The UF staff met with Allen this week and had another frank (albeit, one-sided) discussion about finding his attack mode. Where that chat leads is anyone's guess. The quiet and unassuming Allen doesn't offer much in the way of feedback. A lot of nods, shrugs and an occasional giggle.

"The last button I tried was — over the last couple games — to leave him alone," White said. "We've tried challenging him in certain ways, and it's just a very laid-back conversation between two guys that have been through a lot together, positively and negatively. We have a good relationship, open and honest."

White said Allen doesn't understand why everyone was so concerned about his play. The team, after all, has improved on its defense since an ugly December tailspin and was off to a terrific start in SEC play before Saturday. Plus, Allen was dealing with something of a transition, now as the backup to Chiozza at the point. That's new for him. He's done well on that front, what with 40 assists and just 15 turnovers, but seemingly at the cost of deferring offense to the likes of swingman Jalen Hudson and Koulechov, the team's first- and second-leading scorers, respectively. Even Chiozza, with his pass-first mentality, has attempted more field goals this season than Allen.

"I continue to try to remind him of how good of a player he is and how aggressive this team needs him to be," White said. "It's a good thing to be unselfish, but sometimes it's not only hurting him, but it's hurting the team when he's overly unselfish. He's got to let it go and be KeVaughn."

If not, someone else will.

Last season, if Allen passed the ball to Kasey Hill or Justin Leon or Devin Robinson there was a really good chance it was coming back. Koulechov and Hudson, though, are very willing (and very good) shooters and scorers. Hudson also has demonstrated an ability to attack the basket — something Allen has shied away from during his time with the Gators — and oftentimes with excellent results. Hudson is second on the team in free-throw attempts versus SEC teams with 19. Allen has shot six.

Said Chiozza: "I never have to tell J-Hud to shoot it."

Where would UF have been, for example, without Hudson's downhill assertiveness late in the game at Missouri? Allen, meanwhile, took just three shots in 29 minutes. This from a player with the blessing of his coach to shoot the ball whenever he wants.

How many guys in college basketball have a 40-minute green light?

And yet, Allen seems content with the status quo.

"KeVaughn's spirits are high. He's going to make shots. We see it in practice every day," third-year sophomore forward and best friend Keith Stone said. "He'll be perfectly fine next game. I can feel it."

White and his assistants have tried almost just about everything to get their most gifted offensive player to flip the switch. Everything, it seems, but a seat on the bench for an extended time. It doesn't need to come to that.

For what it's worth, Allen made an extra trip to the gym early Tuesday to get some shots up on his own. Yes, a ton went in. They always do. His stroke at practice looks fabulous. It's not like he's forgotten how. He just, for whatever reason, hasn't.

Now, he needs to. At some point, he's going to have to.

Time to get some buckets, K.

"Hopefully ... not hopefully ... he will break out," White said. "He will have a big game here soon, I think we all know that. Hopefully, it's [Wednesday]."