GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Mere minutes after his team's gut-punch loss Sunday night to Oral Roberts,
Mike White got a question in his post-game zoom session that had an upbeat ring to it. Something about players who stepped up and how excited it made him about next season.
He'd barely had time to lament the disappointing end to
this season.
"I'm nowhere near that. I'm crushed right now. Our guys are crushed," White said. "It's been a really long year. In today's day and age, you just — we have to re-evaluate some stuff, of course, like every team that doesn't get as far as they want to get. And who knows these days, who is going to return and who is not? All of us coaches throughout college basketball will hit the ground running here when done playing in terms of recruiting."
It took a couple days, but White got much nearer to thinking more big-picture about his program; more so in what lies ahead than the missed opportunities of 2020-21. The Gators, who finished the season 15-10 overall, as well as 9-7 and fifth in the Southeastern Conference, advanced to a fourth straight NCAA Tournament via an at-large berth as a No. 7 seed. Once there, UF defeated Virginia Tech in opening-round play in overtime, but were upset by 15th-seeded ORU in a game the Gators led by 11 in the second half, only to collapse amid turnovers, ill-timed fouls against the No. 2 free-throw shooting team in the country, and an inability to score or get stops when it mattered most.
A brutal end, especially given what was there for the taking. But the NCAA Tournament specializes in cruel endings. The Gators can say they're the only team in the SEC to reach the tournament each of the last four years, as well as one of only six in the country to win at least one game, but they don't raise banners for that. They do at Exactech Arena for "Sweet 16s," and Florida had one there for the taking.
The goal is to have another shot next season.
Obviously, that's a long ways off, but it didn't take long for the 2021-22 dominoes to start falling. Three days after UF's loss, first-team All-SEC sophomore guard
Tre Mann announced he would chase his dream of playing in the NBA and enter the league's underclassmen process. On Thursday, assistant coach
Jordan Mincy was officially named head coach at the Jacksonville University.
More news is expected to follow; with the roster and possibly the staff.
"As is the case every spring throughout power-conference basketball there will be movement and the transfer portal will become as prominent as ever," White said Thursday. "We look forward to getting to the point where we find out who's on our roster and getting back to work, finishing our schedule, and hopefully more of a normal offseason."
The Gators in 2021-22 will be built around 6-foot-11 forward Colin Castleton, who was a second-team All-Southeastern Conference selection during his first UF season after transferring from Michigan.
With regard to the transfer portal, both current Gators and future ones will use it; or already have. The first wave of the former kicked in Thursday when junior shooting guard and three-year starter
Noah Locke joined sophomore point guard
Ques Glover in entering the transfer portal.
Locke, ranked No. 9 in program history with 217 3-pointers, started all but one game this season and averaged 10.3 points and shot 42.5 percent overall, just over 40 percent from deep and and 77.8 percent from the free throw line to go with 2.3 rebounds and just 17 assists over 25 games. Locke will exit his career just 77 points shy of the 1,000-point milestone. Glover, who was a rotational substitute for most of the season before four consecutive "DNP/Coach's Decision" games to end the season, averaged 3.6 points over his two years and had nearly twice as many turnovers (60) as assists (32).
Both players announced their departures Thursday via Twitter.
News of other players — both outgoing and incoming — will come to light all in good time. As of Thursday, more than 800 players across the country had put their names in the portal.
Because UF had no seniors on the team, the Gators could have returned their squad intact, but Mann's loss obviously is a big one. One of the most improved players in the country, Mann finished the season averaging 16 points and 5.6 rebounds per game (against 5.3 points and 1.7 rebounds as a freshman), while shooting 46 percent overall and 40 from the 3-point line. His production and offensive skills (with the ability to get his own shot) will be missed.
The Gators have signed one incoming freshman, 6-5, 180-pound small forward Kowacie Reeves, a consensus top-100 prospect from Macon, Ga. That's it. So look for any spring additions will come from the portal, not from unsigned high-school players.
The Florida coaches had exit meetings with each member of the '20-21 squad Tuesday. The Gators know for certain that junior forward
Colin Castleton, a second-team all-league selection after scoring 12.4 points and grabbing 6.4 rebounds, will be back, along with fourth-year junior forward
Anthony Duruji (6.1 ppg, 4.1 rpg), fourth-year junior guard
Tyree Appleby (11.3 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 3.3 apg). That's three starters. UF's reserve corps included forwards
Omar Payne, Osayi Osfio and
Jason Jitoboh, as well as guards
Scottie Lewis,
Samson Ruzhentsev and
Niels Lane. It's safe to assume none of those players got the minutes they wanted, so each has a decision to make. Payne and Jitoboh already have informed the coaches they want to come back.
The situation with Lewis, who averaged 7.9 points and 3.1 rebounds, is more complicated. He spent some time in the NBA underclassmen pool last season before announcing fairly early in the process he was returning for his sophomore. Lewis, who arrived at UF wearing a "one-and-done" label, had some really good games this season and others when he was frustrated by foul trouble and turnovers. His athleticism is elite and confidence always high. It's possible Lewis could opt again to pursuit a pro path.
Finally, there's
Keyontae Johnson, the 6-5 standout forward and preseason SEC Player of the Year whose horrifying collapse on the floor at Florida State four games into the season removed a potential All American with 12 career double doubles from the lineup. Johnson's playing status — at whatever level — will not be known for months, as he continues a battery of doctors visits and tests, but he has stated he hopes to play again.
The Gators definitely will be playing again come next fall. With whom remains to be seen.
