Florida Gators

AUBURN, Ala. — Two questions into his Monday Zoom session, Florida coach Mike White was talking about his team's shot selection of late, an issue that's been topical the last couple games because, frankly, it hasn't been very good. White actually talked about his team not being "unselfish enough." White, at first, seemed to stop short of where he was headed, but then nudge his way in the direction of marrying the Gators with the s-word. 

"I don't want to sit here and say we're a really selfish team," he said. "But we've had some really selfish possessions. We just have. Just calling it like it is." 

Some numbers: 

* In two games last week (a road loss at No. 24 Arkansas and the home win Saturday night against Georgia), the Gators totaled 14 assists. A mere six against the Razorbacks, then nine against the Bulldogs.

* Sophomore Tre Mann and fourth-year junior Tyree Appleby are UF's primary ball-handlers, but the two have totaled eight assists in those games. Making matters worse, they've combined for 17 turnovers. This is not to point fingers at those two because the problem is much bigger than them. Example: forward Colin Castleton an backup guard Scottie Lewis had four turnovers a piece in the UGA game. But Mann and Appleby are the team's top facilitators and thus its tone-setters.

* The Gators, despite ranking sixth in the Southeastern Conference in points per game, rank 12th in assists per game, ahead of only Kentucky and Texas A&M, two teams that rank 12th and 14th (last), respectively, in the league in scoring. UF's assists in conference games actually dips to 11.7 per outing.

It's true, assists numbers are only as good as the guys finishing the plays. But lack of assists can also trace to poor shot selection and be an indication the ball isn't moving enough to find a better shot. 

"I've had teams where maybe one or two guys you've got to get checked every once in a while. Last year, for the first time, we had maybe four, five or six. With this team, we've probably had more more," White said. "Outside of the moment, our guys understand it and they say the right things and embrace it. They'll at least act like they embrace it. 'I got you! You're right. That's not the one we need.' They'll say that to staff, say that to teammates, but when the lights are on and juices are flowing we don't always make the right decision relative to the best team shot." 

Well, if good, strong talking-to's or maybe some extra time on the bench aren't getting the point across maybe an up-close look at the SEC's most unselfish team — and its best point guard — will help hammer home the message. That's what's in store for the Gators (11-6, 7-5) when they take on the Auburn Tigers (11-12, 5-9), led by dynamite freshman playmaker Sharife Cooper, Tuesday night at Auburn Arena. 

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

The Tigers, now in the seventh season under Coach Bruce Pearl, aren't as talented as the three previous three teams that combined to go 81-24, won both a conference regular-season (2018) and tournament title (2019), plus went to the program's first Final Four ('19). They're also not as fast or deep as those past teams. But those Auburn teams didn't have a point guard like Sharife, the five-star prospect and two-time Georgia Gatorade Player of the Year who became just the third McDonald's All American to sign with the Tigers. 

The 6-foot-1, 180-pound Cooper, who the NCAA didn't rule eligible until early Jan. 9, is a lock to be an NBA lottery pick this summer. Though he hasn't played enough games to qualify for the SEC statistical leaders, his 20.2 points per game would rank third in the league and his 8.1 assists would be first, as well as third nationally. 

This is how much Cooper runs the Auburn show: He occupies the ball 34 percent of his team's possessions and takes 30.5 percent of the Tigers' shots, but also assists on 49.7 of their baskets when he's in the game — that's the No. 1 assist rate in the country — and is fourth in the country in drawing fouls (8.0 per game). When he gets fouled in the act (which happens a lot), Cooper is making 82.5 percent from the line. 

Basically, he's a pass-first point guard who despite pedestrian shooting percentages — 39 overall, only 23 from the 3-point line — puts double the pressure on a defense with his ability to attack and finish, coupled with his laser-beam skills at finding the open man. 

For a UF team that has struggled to defend simple straight-line drives this season, Cooper and the Tigers, despite their record (and five losses the past six games), present a formidable matchup problem. 
 
"His change of pace, his feel in terms of playing slow to fast are just elite. He's got an ability to lull you to sleep at times, and you feel like he's just surveying the floor and — BOOM! —  he goes zero to 60 as fast as I would imagine anyone at this level," White said of Cooper. "He's got an incredible feel in terms of how to draw fouls and then he finishes at the foul line, of course, and he's a big-time passer with either hand. We haven't been the best at times defending one on one. We work on it every day. We've got to continue to develop guys individually to guard the bounce."

That's on the defensive side. On the offensive side, the Gators need to move the ball better and be more connected relative to extra passes, moving without the ball, getting better spacing, holding their seals, darting back in transition on defense, and crash the glass. 

These aren't new talking points. Quite the contrary. They're things the UF coaches emphasize daily. More than that, they're winning habits that don't take much more than outstanding effort. 

"I don't think people do it on purpose. Sometimes you do the things without even noticing it," sophomore guard Tre Mann said. "But when we go over it [on tape] people see it, and when you see stuff it's easier to fix it."

Doing so (or at least trying to) in the last week in February is far from optimum, but that's where the Gators are now. 

"Every coach in the country is dealing with this and the championship level teams are dealing with it less," White said. "Guys beat their chest — 'Whoa! Let's go!' — and they get their teammates going. With this team, it's always after that individual scores. Well, let's beat our chest after Tre Mann takes a charge. Let's beat our chest after we dive to the floor and get a big loose ball. Individually, as a player for the Gators, I've got to be just as excited about that as I am when I score."

Or when somebody else scores. Or especially (maybe even preferably) when someone makes a pass (or an extra-extra pass) that leads to a score. The Gators could use a lot more of that kind of chest-beating. Probably will need it, too.