Gators grad-transfer Kerry Blackshear (24) steps out to defend Lynn guard Jordan Allen (5), who ripped the Gators for 35 points during UF's exhibition victory Tuesday night.
Much to Work On After Tune-Up Lynn Win
Tuesday, October 29, 2019 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Most of the fans who filed into Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center for Tuesday night's exhibition game probably weren't sure what exactly to expect from a Florida team ranked sixth in the nation, but with a roster marked with eight new players. After watching their team beat Division-II Lynn, 89-71, the home crowd still may not be certain what to make of these Gators.
Same with the UF coaches, but by design.
"We played a lot differently than I like to think we will in a real [game]," Florida coach Mike White said. "Starting next week, we'll consider shortening the rotation and giving our guys a little more structure, both offensively and defensively."
One thing's for certain: White and his staff have a good base, albeit a youthful one in a bunch of spots, to work with.
Sophomore point guard Andrew Nembhard scored 17 points, knocking down four 3-pointers, and also had six assists, while 6-foot-10, 235-pound graduate-transfer forward Kerry Blackshear tallied 16 points and 10 rebounds in his public UF unveiling. The two accounted for half of Florida's double-figure scorers, as the Gators jumped to a 31-point lead early in the second half, but allowed Lynn not only to stave off a blowout, but actually win the second half scoring battle by a count of 42-40.
The verdict: OK on offense, not great on defense.
Translation: Plenty of things to address (on both ends); plenty of time to do so.
"They told us we have a lot of work to do, which is obvious," freshman guard Tre Mann said of the coaches' postgame remarks to the team. "We played hard, but still have a long way to go. We'll learn from it and grow from it."
Mann, the McDonald's All-America combo guard, hit four of his eight shots, knocking down a couple 3s in six tries, to finish with 13 points and two assists. Sophomore forward Keyontae Johnson had a solid line of 12 points, six rebounds, four assists and no turnovers over 24 minutes. Freshman 6-10 post man Omar Payne showed off his 7-6 wing span by dumping in nine points, grabbing seven rebounds and swatting three shots. Freshman guard Tre Mann(1) drives into the Knights' defense during action Tuesday.
All told, UF shot 51.7 percent for the game, nailing 14 of 29 from the arc (48.3 percent), but also had 17 turnovers, went just 6-for-16 from the free-throw in the second half, and allowed Lynn guard Jordan Allen, a transfer from D-1 Rider, to light up the Dome with some ridiculous, off-balance shots on his way 35 points in just 34 minutes.
"Fade-away 3s with one leg in the air … not much you can do about that other than move on to the next play," said freshman forward Scottie Lewis, UF's other rookie with McDonald's pedigree. "We'll have to do that against players better than he was — and is — the rest of the year."
So, yeah, there's stuff to work on.
But also stuff to be encouraged about it.
Like Blackshear, the former Virginia Tech standout, who made five of his eight field-goal attempts, hit a couple 3-balls (including a fall-away at the halftime buzzer to put the Gators up 49-29) and verified for everyone in the house that UF, for the first time in several seasons, has a big-time low-post presence. Just as importantly, the Gators will have a veteran has seen just about everything in his more than 100 collegiate games.
"We need to be better," Blackshear said. "We want to be elite on both ends of the floor. It's a learning curve for all of us. We have a lot of new guys — me included — but I think we're going to get there and keep getting better 'cause we want to get better."
White has praised this group for its work ethic and chemistry throughout the preseason, so he wasn't about to overreact to a few breakdowns in a preseason setting when experimenting with so many (sometimes mostly young) combinations on the floor. That's why he was measured in his post-game critique of his team. Yeah, the regular-season opener is next Tuesday against North Florida, but there's five months of basketball after that.
"I was pretty calm. It's a long season, so I was holding back," White said. "They're going to tune me out at some point, but I don't want it to be in December."
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