'Big' Stuff Brewing for Gators in Frontcourt

Tuesday, January 21

Baton Rouge, LA

7 PM

Florida Gators

LSU

Omar Payne has made 13 straight field goals over the last two games, is shooting 65 percent for his rookie season and has more offensive rebounds (39) than defensive (38).

'Big' Stuff Brewing for Gators in Frontcourt

Tuesday, January 21, 2020 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry

By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer

BATON ROUGE, La. — First things first. What Omar Payne did Saturday would have been a fabulous achievement for any player, much less a freshman in just his fifth Southeastern Conference game. Payne, the 6-foot-10, 223-pound post man, tallied career highs of 19 points and 11 rebounds, while dropping all nine of his field-goal attempts in the Gators' 22-point blasting of fourth-ranked Auburn.

But that Payne did so while grad-transfer forward Kerry Blackshear was working for 11 points and a season-best 16 rebounds probably bears a double-take — even three days later — given what the UF basketball program has dealt with relative to production (as in lack thereof ) from "bigs" over the previous three seasons.

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

Feb. 14, 2017. That was the day UF center John Egbunu, a 6-11, 255-pound defensive force who had to be accounted for in ball-screen offense, suffered a season-ending knee injury for a team that eventually went to the Elite Eight. Over the next two and a half seasons, Kevarrius Hayes, an energetic and outstanding defensive player with limitations on offense, basically was the Gators' best low-post option in the halfcourt, as the likes of Gorjok Gak, Isaiah Stokes, Chase Johnson and Keith Stone took turns in the paint and (for whatever reason) moved on.

And now?

* There's Payne, playing the role of a tradition "5" man, parked on the block, with his 7-5 wingspan and stats that show — get this — 38 offensive rebounds versus 37 defensive. Against Auburn, all seven of his offensive boards became putback baskets.

* There's Blackshear, who goes 6-10, 240 and is as adept a passer from the high or low post as any "big" in the SEC. He's now taking turns on the outside as a "stretch-4" shooting 3s, but also drawing double-teams down low, letting Payne clean up from the weak side, but also drawing fouls at an uncanny rate.

* And there's 6-5, 231-pound Keyontae Johnson, who last year played an undersized "4," but now is getting more time on the perimeter, at the small forward "3" spot, where works up a head of steam for downhill drives or spots up at the arc, where he shoots nearly 37 percent from deep.

"They're big," Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said of the Gators after watching them hit 50 percent overall and pound his Tigers on the glass by 15 in falling 69-47 at Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center. "That's a pretty formidable lineup. We couldn't play our 94-foot game."

Whether that's the way Florida (12-5, 4-1), winner of five of the previous six, rolls out Tuesday night against red-hot LSU (13-4, 5-0) in its big SEC showdown at Maravich Assembly Center remains to be seen. Given this bunch of Tigers presents a different kind of challenge than the weekend's group (LSU ranks first in the league in offensive efficiency and also leads the conference in shooting percentage and rebounding margin), the Gators may go another way.

Or not.

"We have some options now," associate head coach Al Pinkins said.

Like moving Johnson back to the "4" and going with athletic freshman wing Scottie Lewis at the small forward spot. Or playing Lewis at the "4" and messing with a four-guard lineup with any combination of Andrew Nembhard, Noah Locke, plus backups Ques Glover and Tre Mann, both of whom are getting more comfortable in their freshman seasons.

These combinations, of course, have been available to the Gators all season, but it's taken a couple months for the youngest team in the league to get a feel for playing with one another, and for the talented rookie class to take a next (and collective) step. Payne's play was the most glowing example since Lewis put his stamp on the big Alabama comeback with 17 points and 10 rebounds.

Grad-transfer forward **Kerry Blackshear Jr.**, shooting just 30 percent from the 3-point line, will continue to have the green light from the arc because of the way it spreads the floor and because the UF coaches and players know from practice that "KJ" is capable of making more than he has to date.

After his breakout performance Saturday, Payne's cell phone blew up with congratulatory calls and texts. Understood. He was fabulous, and on national television, to boot. But what the UF coaches wanted their lengthy rookie big to understand afterward was that the reason he had such an excellent game was because of the work and focus Payne had put into practices the last several weeks. They had one more suggestion. A rather strong one.

"Block out the noise," he said.

Good advice because Payne better understand the Tigers, a team with a trio of players averaging around seven rebounds per game (including forward Darius Days, fourth in the league at 8.1 per game) are going to block him out. From now on, Payne will be very much a part of future opponents' scouting reports.

"It so happened to be Omar the other day [who] really shined, and we hope that continues,'' UF coach Mike White said. "He's worked really hard. When he's playing that well, and with the growing experience of Keyontae, complemented by Blackshear's talent and experience, it gives you a pretty good frontline."

Now, if Blackshear's shooting touch at practice ever migrates its way to the real thing — even to the tune of a 4- or 5-percent increase — it could be a game-changer for the UF offense. Blackshear hit just one of five long balls against Auburn, making him 15-for-50 this season. That's 30.0 percent. In SEC play, he's 5-for-18. That's 27.8 percent. For those sitting and watching from their couch, the first inclination might a shout for Blackshear to stop shooting 3s and move closer to the basket.

Nope. The Gators, instead, believe he'll make more eventually.

"He shoots it well enough that you have to let him shoot the wide-open ones," Pinkins said.

Added White: "When he's open, I just want him to shoot it. I don't want him to hesitate. When he does that, it becomes a harder shot. We're trying to get him to bend and anticipate the shot. Catch it and think shot first. Just let it go. His percentage is higher when he's in rhythm."

And when he takes an opposing big out to the arc, with Payne and Johnson on the floor, the former is parked beneath the rim and the latter is crashing from the perimeter.

"It spreads the floor when he's out there," Payne said.

That's an option that has worked well for the Gators. They have a few of them right now they feel good about. As the season moves on, maybe they'll find a few more.