Big Deal: Pinkins Goes to Work on UF Frontcourt

Associate head coach Al Pinkins demonstrates for the Gators during Monday's practice.

Big Deal: Pinkins Goes to Work on UF Frontcourt

Tuesday, May 22, 2018 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry

New associate head coach Al Pinkins, by way of Texas Tech, got his first live look at his players Monday.

By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Dontay Bassett had been told countless times over the years about the importance of keeping his hands up and arms spread when maneuvering for position in the low post. This time, though, Florida's 6-foot-9 backup center was given an image to help with the concept. A football image, no less.

"Be like a goal post," UF associate head coach Al Pinkins said. "Arms up. Get wide."

The Gators were back at work Monday for the first practice of the Summer "A" session, which also coincided with Pinkins' first day on the court since being added to Coach Mike White's staff on May 11. Pinkins came by way of Texas Tech, and before that had three stops in the Southeastern Conference, where he groomed some very good big men.

Does the name Ben Simmons ring a bell?

Pinkins, 45, helped coached Simmons, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, for a season at Louisiana State, and before that worked with first-team All-SEC forward Murphy Holloway and All-Defensive Team forward Reginald Buckner at Ole Miss. Now, he'll be charged with helping groom a stable of Florida bigs — the veterans, the raw ones, the ones coming off injuries — as the Gators look to become a more balanced bunch than the perimeter-oriented 2017-18 version.

His role on that front began last week when Pinkins (in between a slew of recruiting phone calls) watched video of every shot (misses and makes) each UF front court player attempted last season. What he took away from those viewings — and what Pinkins said the Texas Tech coaches showed their team and emphasized in the run-up to their third-round NCAA Tournament win over the Gators in March — was a hesitancy by UF's front court players to follow through at the end of a play, especially in traffic.

Technique. Concentration. Aggressiveness. One hand, instead of two. Attacking soft. There were all kinds of reasons the ball didn't go in for the bigs in and around the paint last season.

And that area of their game was the baseline from which the newest Gators' coach began his work.

"Obviously, it's finishing," said Pinkins, who played small forward at North Carolina State. "It's finishing left side of the basket, right side, front side, and through contact. That's going to be my main focus with these guys these first few practices. Finish! But I'm also a relationship guy, and I need to start developing those relationships. When kids trust you, they give you more."

That phase began in earnest Monday. It will continue over the next several months, with a very simple objective.

"Get better," White said. "We have to figure out how to use our depth in the front court, because I believe we have a chance to play bigger if we want to next season."

So, there was Pinkins, working hands-on with rising senior Kevarrius Hayes and Bassett, plus Isaiah Stokes and Chase Johnson, both coming off injuries that sidelined their freshmen seasons, while junior-to-be Gorjok Gak, who underwent knee surgery in April, watched nearby. In time, 6-8 stretch forward Keith Stone will make his way to the big-man end of the floor, but Monday he worked with perimeter guys during the first session.

After shooting 70 percent from the floor as a freshman, then 63 percent as a sophomore, Kevarrius Hayes (13) fell to 57 percent during his junior season and has vowed to spend more time in the gym to work on fundamentals this summer.

Day 1 was about fundamentals, with emphasis on post positioning and awareness. After catching entry passes, Pinkins ordered his players to chin the ball with two hands, then give a quick turn of the head to check for traffic around them.

"Chin and check," Pinkins repeated. "Chin and check."

He elaborated afterward.

"You have to chin the ball because you already have the guards digging at it. So if you have it here [in the chest area], chin it [higher], then figure out what you're going to do with it next; find out what's going on around you," Pinkins explained. "If you catch the ball, find out where everybody is, then go into your move. It's basic stuff that they know already, but now it's got to be reps, reps, reps."

And more reps.

"With perimeter guys," Pinkins continued, "it's easier because you're catching the ball, you're out front or on top and you can see. With bigs, they don't know what's going on behind them. You have to find out what's going on, find out where [the defender] is. If he's not [to the left], go that way. If he is there, go the other way. Sounds simple, but it's hard if you don't have the feel."

Pinkins' charge is to help them find that feel.

Last season, Florida ranked 268th out of 351 Division I teams in 2-point field-goal percentage at 47.4 percent, a mark that dipped to 46.7 percent in SEC play (next-to-last in the league). The Gators were 292nd nationally in percentage of points from inside the 3-point arc at 45.4. Those numbers have to improve.

"I don't know a lot about Coach [Pinkins] yet, but I know he's here to help," said Hayes, who has vowed to spend more time in the gym this summer and work on his offensive game. "We were doing some drills and competing, and he was right there to give me feedback on things I could've done better and help me out on my little mistakes. I wasted a dribble and he let me know it right away. Constant feedback. That's what's he's going to do and try to get us to make quick fixes."

Doing the little things better now will pay dividends later.

"It's a good group," Pinkins said. "I like them."

Consider the feeling mutual. Consider the first day a converted kick through the uprights.

"He's good," Bassett said. "I can already tell he's a going to help us, as far as his knowledge of the game and development in the post. We all know scoring in the post was a big deficiency of ours last year. He's going to help us."