Mike White enters Year 7 with the Gators as the second-longest tenured coach in the SEC and with Florida as the league's only program to reach the last four NCAA tournaments.
Harry Fodder: Off and running ... and talking
Tuesday, September 28, 2021 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The first practice of Florida's 2021-22 basketball preseason is in the books and it was notable not just for the new faces but also for the jabber that went on between both the old guys and new ones. "There was a lot of trash talk and competitiveness," senior forward Colin Castleton said Tuesday night after the two-hour-plus workout. "I love that more than anything. It was definitely enjoyable to see that, for sure."
If Day 1 was the baseline for what's to come inside the UF basketball complex the next several months, the competition standard now has a high bar. The loudest voice belonged to fifth-year senior guard Brandon McKissic, the transfer from Missouri-Kansas City, whose words definitely spiced up the five-on-five mini-scrimmages.
McKissic is one of four transfers and seven combined newcomers (two freshmen, one junior-college transfer) on the UF roster this season. He's more of a combo guard than point guard, but he had some fun matched up against his longtime friend and incumbent point guard Tyree Appleby, one of five returnees from last season, with the rest of the players feeding off his energy.
For Coach Mike White, set to enter his seventh season on the Florida sideline, the tenor had a little different feel to it, and served as a nice first-day launching pad into a season of transition.
"The level of competitive spirit was pretty high. Not a lot of drama down there. Pretty good level of chemistry for a Day 1. Serious approach, pretty good focus," said White, who returns five players from last season's team that went 15-10 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. "We have a lot to learn about our system and each other. We've got some new pieces, of course."
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— Florida Gators Men's Basketball (@GatorsMBK) September 27, 2021
Two of those pieces, McKissic and Charleston Southern transfer guard Phlandrous Fleming III, were defensive players of the year in their respective leagues. With those two, as well as the 6-foot-11 Castleton, a second-team All-Southeastern Conference selection, protecting the rim down low, to go with athleticism on the perimeter, White believes the Gators have the nucleus to be solid defensive team. The competitiveness plays into that assessment.
Offensively, UF will keep things pretty basic — a five-out, open scheme — and let the players make basketball plays. The Gators went to that method last year after losing Keyontae Johnson early in a season in which they entered with the intent of playing at a more wide-open, breakneck pace. When Johnson was lost, UF lost one of its best get-it-and-go guys.
They have more "breakout" type players on this team. They also would appear to have more unselfish players, which lends itself to better offensive potential.
"We're just going to flow into it right away in transition," Castleton said of the offense. "Obviously still push the ball, get it up and down the court, because we still like to run and that's our main motto. We've got a lot of guys that can shoot the ball well and get downhill."
And at least one who will remind his teammates about it. Early indicators are competitiveness will be bake into this team's identity cake.
"Offensively, the identity right now that I like is our unselfishness to pass it and also our willingness to pass it. Our accuracy has to be a little bit better, but the thing's moving a little bit," White said. "Generally speaking, if you have an older team you have some guys who have a better idea how to simply play the game and have a feel who's open and what shot should be taken. Generally, as we all get older in the game [we] become better passers and that's what we got right now. It's a pretty good starting point offensively and defensively."
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