Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Mike Okauru admits it wasn't a good look. Even the Florida backup guard was aware of his negative in-game body language, both on the court (in the rare instances he was out there) and demeanor on the bench (where he was spending most of his time) during Gators basketball games. It's one thing to be frustrated over playing time, it's another to demonstrate it. Okauru, though, couldn't help himself.

"I was angry," he said. "I wasn't helping the team."

Okauru, the 6-foot-3, 188-pound freshman from Raleigh, N.C., had a run of four Southeastern Conference games when he averaged less than six minutes and totaled one point and two rebounds. The Gators lost the last three of those games.

So Okauru had a sit-down with his coaches to blow off some steam. Turned out, they had reason to vent, too.

The Gators grew enamored with Okauru, the prospect, because of the way he embraced his role at Brewster Academy, the New Hampshire prep school and basketball factory that went 33-0 last year and won the mythical prep national title, while boasting five starters who were ranked in the top 100, plus two reserves that signed with high-major programs. Okauru was one of the latter.

So in the meeting, the UF coaches went at him. The way assistant Darris Nichols recalled, the conversation went something like this:

"This is a side of you I didn't know about. I didn't see these signs when I recruited you," Nichols said. "So I either I missed evaluated your character or you're a total con artist and you tricked me."

Okauru was visibly troubled by the assessment.

"No, Coach, I didn't trick you," he said. "You're right. This isn't me."
 
Now, let's review the last two games. Okauru has come off the bench for the Gators to average 8.5 points and 16 minutes, hit seven of 15 shots, including three of seven from the 3-point line, and along the way provided front-rotation guards Chris Chiozza, Jalen Hudson and KeVaughn Allen time to recharge. Okauru has been part of a collective contribution from the UF bench, which after scoring one point — One! — in the ugly Feb. 3 home loss to Alabama, pitched in 16 in the win over LSU last week, then 23 in Saturday's road victory at South Carolina.
 
The current backup plan and productivity needs to continue Wednesday night when Florida (17-8, 8-4), with that two-game winning streak and looking to keep place with second-place Tennessee in the Southeastern Conference standings, takes on Georgia (13-11, 4-8) at Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center.

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

Just two weeks ago, the Gators were thoroughly drummed on the road by the Bulldogs, who haven't won since. In that game, Okauru made his first appearance late in the first half and promptly was whistled for a dead-ball foul that got UGA two free throws. It also got Okauru yanked quickly from the game. For good, as it turned out. He finished the game night with a rare "0+" under the minutes column in the box score, meaning Okauru got into the game, (which he did, technically), but not while the clock was running.

Hence the frustration from his side. Hence the pushback from his coaches.

"They told me ways I could help," Okauru said.

Like anything else, it all started with defense and effort. Those two elements — and the energy they produced — have been the profound differences in UF's overall performance during the back-to-back victories. UF has played harder, guarded better and, in turn, converted those facets into more efficient offense.
 

Okauru, along with guard and freshman classmate Deaundrae Ballard, redshirt freshman forward/center Dontay Bassett, and sophomore center Gorjok Gak provided quality minutes in the 65-41 win over the Gamecocks. Ballard, who had totaled just one point over the previous six games, scored six against USC. Bassett grabbed a career-high seven rebounds. Gak, sore knee and all, posted just his third double-digit minute game, which helped save post men Kevarrius Hayes and Keith Stone from foul trouble against USC tough-cover forward Chris Silva.

"Everybody gave me something," UF coach Mike White said.

And the players, in turn, got more excited, seemed more connected.

"When you play guys and everybody gets their turn, you get more confident," junior swingman Jalen Hudson said. "Knowing that we can sub and that we won't have any drop off, builds confidence."

In UF's case, it's built some balance, as well. The Gators have scorers on the perimeter and everyone knows who they are. Those guys, however, have logged a heavy load of minutes. UF needs in this stretch run role players willing to stick with (better yet, embrace) their cameo assignments.

That was the plan for Okauru when he committed to the Gators in December 2016. A future roster spot opened when point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander reneged on his 14-month-old verbal commitment and, in the run-up to the early signing period, signed with Kentucky. For more than a year, the UF coaches had operated their recruiting under the assumption their point-guard situation was settled. Suddenly, there was a huge void.

The Gators turned their attention to Okauru, who opted not to sign early. They had evaluated him, liked him, and moved in.

Though initially viewed as a point guard, Okauru now projects as a combo guard. He has decent length, straight-line speed and the ability to hit from 3 (his 42 percent has been a plus). His on-ball defense and lateral movement is something of a work in progress. And he's putting in the work lately, staying after practice to get up shots and do some individual drills.

The last couple weeks, Okauru has played the scout-team role as the opponent's most explosive scoring guard. Last week, he had a blast mimicking LSU's Tremont Waters in practices.

"He could shoot as much as he wanted from wherever he wanted without any punishment," Nichols said. "He liked that."

The fun spilled back into the games.

"The game was so fast when I first got here, so for me that was the biggest adjustment," Okauru said, adding that trying to guard Chiozza at practice has been as difficult as any assignment he gets in a game. "Right now, I'm just trying to focus on getting better every day and be as prepared as I can be for the next game."

That's all he can do. That's all his teammates and coaches can ask of him.

Look how it's turned out the last couple games.

"We've all got to be the best player we can be in our role," White said. "If you want to be considered a role player — you're coming off the bench, you're playing in limited minutes — when you get in there, don't hurt us. Anything on top of that is bonus. And they've actually given us bonus here recently."

It's a much better look than a few weeks ago.