Hoops Hodgepodge 6
Jalen Hudson attempts to close out on Tennessee guard Lamonte Turner during Saturday's loss in Knoxville.
Photo By: Alex de la Osa
Sunday, February 10, 2019

Hoops Hodgepodge 6

Chris Harry
Chris Harry / Senior Writer
A scattershot and miscellaneous look at Florida basketball following the fifth weekend of SEC basketball.
THREE-POINT WEEK IN REVIEW 

TAKE A BOW
Andrew Nembhard shot an early air ball Saturday and heard about it from the Tennessee student section at Thompson-Boling Arena the rest of the game. In the second half, Florida's freshman point guard knifed through the Volunteers' defense and missed a point-blank layup. When the game was over -- and No. 1 UT had a 74-63 win to run its record to 22-1 (10-0 in Southeastern Conference play) and extended its school-record for consecutive victories to 18 -- Nembhard had scored two points and hit just one of seven field-goal attempts. His box score line, however, deserved way more scrutiny than that. Nembhard played a career-high 38 minutes against one of the most ball-hawking defenses in the country. He finished with five assists and zero turnovers to go with three steals. Make that 14 games this season that Nembhard has had two or less turnovers in a game, including eight with one or less, and three with none. He's at 5.6 assists per game while playing in an offense that, candidly, probably features fewer low-post scoring options than he had during his stellar prep career at Montverde (Fla.) Academy. We really haven't seen Nembhard's full menu of distribution skills (as far as entry passes, lobs, pick-and-rolls, etc.) and what he can do for an offense. What we have seen is that Nembhard, at 6-foot-5 and with his length, has the ability to drive the lane. He doesn't have great drop-off options in the front court, so he often tries to finish on his own. He's battled that element of his game this season. Know this, though, about Nembhard: He is a serious, driven and determined young man. He will work on fixing that, just as his coaches will work on fixing UF's imbalance on offense. 
Freshman point guard Andrew Nembhard played a career-high 38 minutes Saturday without a turnover in UF's loss at No. 1 Tennessee. 
OF CONCERN 
Four of UF's five starters played at least 26 minutes at Tennessee. Had freshman forward Keyontae Johnson not been hit with early foul trouble, he would have played much more than his 19 minutes. The UF rotation has basically been reduced to seven players since the loss of Keith Stone to a season-ending knee injury on Jan. 19. Forward/center Dontay Bassett, a third-year sophomore, has developed into a serviceable reserve who can provide 12-15 minutes in the post and thus has been rewarded for the buy-in he shows every day at practice. Jalen Hudson has been asked to play spots 1-through-4 at times this season. The offensive struggles of the fifth-year senior have been well documented and have served as something of the Gators' season in microcosm. After the starting unit (that now includes three freshmen), and after Bassett and Hudson, the coaches have tried to scratch some modicum of production from the reserve trio of Deaundrae Ballard, Mike Okauru and Isaiah Stokes. In the six games since losing Stone, those three have totaled 17 points (Ballard has 13) on 7-for-28 shooting (25 percent), 16 rebounds, nine fouls and eight turnovers in 115 combined minutes. Granted, it's difficult to impress with limited opportunity and a short leash, but that's the window for these players right now. It's up to them to climb through it. 

GET READY
After playing back-to-back games in very difficult environments, the Gators are back home Wednesday night to face Vanderbilt (9-14, 0-10), which is still searching for its first conference win. No one wants to be that team, right? Or the one playing that team. Or the team that's lost six of the last seven to that team. Especially one struggling with offensive confidence and now dealing with some defensive issues, having allowed Auburn and Tennessee to shoot a collective 55 percent over the past two second halves. The Commodores, despite losing McDonald's All-America guard and potential one-and-done lottery pick Darius Garland to a season-ending knee injury in November, should be better than their record, what with 6-foot-10 freshman center Simisola Shittu, another McDonald's guy and NBA prospect, and guard Aaron Nesmith, who was a top-30 national prospect. Sophomore point guard Saben Lee is a very good player, as well. Three of their losses have either been by three points or less or in overtime, the latter coming at home against Tennessee, when Vandy blew a six-point lead with a minute and a half to go. Next weekend, the Gators go to Alabama (15-8, 6-4), which won at Vandy 77-67 Saturday for its second straight league win and third over the previous four.


CHARTING THE GATORS 
Asked about his team's postseason chances during Saturday night's post-game media gaggle, Coach Mike White didn't mince words. He said the Gators needed to win games just to have a winning season, which is certainly no given at this point, even though the most brutal stretch of the schedule -- five straight games against Top 40 NET teams, including the last three against opponents in the top 14 -- is behind them. Guess what? Florida still has some very difficult games to play, which also means it still has opportunities to pad an NET rating that was at 41st as of Sunday morning. Here's what's left. 
 
Opponent (Date) Record (SEC) Current NET The Buzz
Vanderbilt (Wednesday) 9-14 (0-10) 124 Not a whole lot needs to be said about this one; UF has lost six of the last seven in the series against the Commodores.
@Alabama (Saturday) 15-8 (6-4) 43 The Crimson Tide and South Carolina are tied for fourth in the SEC standings. 
@LSU State
(Feb. 20)		 19-4 (9-1) 17 The Tigers, with a couple future NBA players, will be a tough out.
Missouri
(Feb. 23)		 11-11 (2-8) 91 UF will honor the 25th anniversary of the 1994 Final Four team (on '90s Night, no less) for this one 
@Vanderbilt
(Feb. 27)		 9-14 (0-10) 124 Gators are 1-5 in their last six trips to Nashville, dating to 2012.
Georgia
(March 2)		 10-13 (1-9)  114 UF beat Bulldogs on the road, 62-52, last month, but that means nothing to a rematch. 
LSU
(March 6)		 19-4 (9-1) 17 "Senior Night" for KeVaughn, Kevarrius and Jalen. 
@Kentucky
(March 9)		 20-3 (9-1) 5 Wildcats could be playing for share of SEC title. 
SEC Tournament Nashville, Tenn.
(March 13-17)		 TBD TBD Will have to win at least one, probably two (record pending, of course). UF is 0-3 in the last three SEC tournaments. 


UF ALUM UPDATE
CATCHING UP WITH ... BRANDONE FRANCIS-RAMIREZ   
Fifth-year senior Brandone Francis-Ramirez in action for Texas Tech. 
Surely, Brandone Francis-Ramirez must love playing against West Virginia. Surely, the UF small forward three years removed loves playing at Texas Tech. 

Remember when Francis-Ramirez, who suffered through a brutal offensive season his only year on the court for UF, faced the Mountaineers in the 2016 SEC/Big 12 Challenge at the O'Dome? He hit a trio of 3-balls in an 88-71 blowout defeat of the nation's ninth-ranked team. That year, Francis-Ramirez averaged just 2.0 points and 0.5 rebounds, opting to transfer to Tech the following offseason. He sat out '16-17, and last year was a key reserve for the Red Raiders, who won 26 games and reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament, along the way eliminating the Gators in third-round NCAA action at Dallas. Along the way that season, Francis-Ramirez scored a career-high 18 points in a win over WVU. 

Well, Monday night, Texas Tech drilled West Virginia 81-50 at home, with Francis-Ramirez hitting seven of his 10 shots, including two of three 3s, on his way to 17 points over 24 minutes. He came back Saturday and buried three of five 3s, scored 11 points and grabbed five rebounds over 24 minutes in a road win at Oklahoma. Francis-Ramirez is averaging 6.0 points and 2.4 rebounds, but his numbers are trending upward as the 18th-ranked Raiders, now 19-5, roll toward another NCAA berth, probably as a No. 4- or 5-seed. 

Francis-Ramirez, a Dominican by way of Arlington Country Day in Jacksonville, was a top-40 prospect with Coach Billy Donovan's staff. It didn't work out for him at UF — it happens — but it has worked out for him Texas Tech. Sometimes it's about fit and a change of scenery. Good for him for making it happen. 

And good luck the rest of the way, BFR! 



PERSPECTIVE POLICE BEAT
(i.e. "Twitter Patter")

Coaches are held accountable. Players are held accountable. Even senior writers are held accountable. This space is dedicated to holding the fans (and fan boys) on Twitter accountable. At times, we'll also recognize those who "get it" and acknowledge those who offer entertaining social media fodder, or (God forbid) the proper perspective. [Note: If you're completely unreasonable and wonder why you don't show up here, it's probably because you've been muted or blocked, and thus in "Perspective Prison." I'm the cop, judge, jury and warden of that legal system, by the way.]

Thought of the day: I'd forgotten how liberating the "Mute" button could be. 

 
Get well, Keith. 


 
But, alas, I am the only writer who covers the Florida basketball team. Your reading, enthusiasm and interaction is appreciated.


 
You're talking about playing the nation's No. 1 team on the road. It's hard.


 
I'm guessing Laura is a Vol and decided to spend her afternoon trolling Florida basketball. I'm guessing, also, that 13 of the previous 14 football seasons have got her down.


 
Such is life in a season like this one. Probably not a coincidence.


 
My worst subject, by far.



 
A few confusing things about this one. Auburn won the rebound battle 29-28. The Tigers shot 50 percent in the second half and hit 11 of their first 17 shots, so there weren't exactly a bunch of rebounds to be had. Finally, UF has not been great on the glass all season. 


 
Wouldn't say "bored." They are who they are. The coach has said several times (even last year) he'd like to see some guys tear a locker room apart after a loss and manifest some frustration. These seniors aren't wound like that. Frankly, neither were Chris Chiozza and Egor Koulechov. That team, though, could get it going on offense, knew how to space the floor, got out in transition, and made a lot of shots. And those two seniors were the Gators' toughest players. Two very different teams in their basketball makeup, but not that different in their emotional makeup. 


 
Turning the ball over at Auburn was costly, but, yes, it is hard to win on the road against solid SEC teams. Remember when Auburn visited UF last year? Or Kentucky? But good teams, with a little poise and confidence, can win on the road, as well. Like the Gators did in Lexington last year. Like when they went to Alabama late in the season, having been blasted by the Crimson Tide, and returned the favor on Bama's home court. 


FREE THROWS
Noah Locke
With 11 points at Tennessee, senior guard KeVaughn Allen extended his streak of consecutive games reaching double figures to 12. Allen, with 1,592 career points, needs nine to pass Neal Walk (1966-69) and move into the No. 8 spot on the UF all-time scoring list. ... Freshman guard Noah Locke hit five 3-pointers against the Vols, including four after halftime, on his way to a game-high 17 points. He increased his record for at least five 3-point makes in a single by a freshman to six. Locke has 66 makes from deep, which moved him past Bradley Beal (63 in 2011-12) and Teddy Dupay (64 in 1998-99) and now has the fourth-most 3-balls by a freshman. He needs nine to move by Anthony Roberson (74 in 2002-03), which with at least nine games to go would seem like a formality. ... Allen and Locke combined to go 8-for-13 from the arc at Tennessee. The rest of the team was 0-for-13. ... Senior center Kevarrius Hayes had three more blocks against the Vols, pushing his career total to 195. That's second all-time for a Gator. ... Nembhard has 129 assists on the season. He needs 32 more to reach 161, which would be among the top-10 single-season totals by a UF player (any class). ... The game against Vandy will be one of seven over (at least) the next nine against opponents the Gators have either already played or will play again in the coming weeks. 
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