Junior-college transfer forward Tuongthach Gatkek (32) was buried beneath the depth chart, but the injury to Colin Castleton opened a door for him to contribute.
From 'Next Man Up' to Next Game Up
Friday, January 21, 2022 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
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By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Not six minutes into the first start of his college career Wednesday night, Jason Jitoboh was called for his second personal and headed for the bench. Not good. The Florida Gators already were without 6-foot-11 forward Colin Castleton, their top scorer, rebounder and low-post defender, for a pivotal Southeastern Conference home game against Mississippi State. Now his 6-11, 285-pound backup was in foul trouble.
Enter Tuongthach Gatkek, the slender, 6-9, 172-pound junior-college transfer (a.k.a. "Toon") with minimal minutes on his UF resume. Coach Mike White went into the game knowing he'd have to lean on some inexperienced guys, as well as mix and match some small-ball lineups, but Gatkek playing extended possessions — when he'd never played even double-figure minutes in a none-conference game — hardly was optimum.
"I had to step up and do what I had to do," Gatkek said.
That quote could not have better encapsulated the challenge put before the Gators (11-6, 2-3) that game; and likely for several more games — as bad luck would have it — with a Saturday afternoon date against Vanderbilt (10-7, 2-3) next on the docket. Castleton has a left shoulder injury that will take his 15.9 points (8th in the SEC), 9.1 rebounds (2nd) and 2.8 blocked shots (2nd) out of the lineup indefinitely. With its big man and leader on the bench, Florida collectively banded together to play one of its better games — certainly the most inspired — of the season in rallying from eight back in the second to beat the Bulldogs 80-72.
[Read senior writer Chris Harry's "Pregame Stuff" setup here]
Midway through the first half, UF guard Phlandrous Fleming Jr. used a ball-screen, courtesy of Gatkek, then saw his teammate roll for the rim. Fleming dumped the pass into the post and Gatkek thundered the ball through the goal with two hands. Gatkek would go on to play a career-high 16 minutes and post a plus-3 in the plus-minus stat column. He answered the call.
And then there was Jitoboh, who after checking back in the game in the first half almost immediately drew a third foul. He got his fourth mere minutes into the second half, at which point he had no points and no rebounds. When he checked back into the game with 8:55 remaining the Gators trailed by eight. Jitoboh finished with eight points, two rebounds, two blocked shots and was in the center of the UF comeback with some big plays.
"I thought i was going to be more nervous, but I was more excited than nervous," said Jitoboh, whose game has progressed commensurately as the 6-11, 285-pound center has worked himself feverishly into shape and put himself in position to contribute. "I just went out and started doing what I've been doing the last few weeks."
Junior centerJason Jitoboh flushes for two points during the second half of Wednesday night's comeback win over Mississippi State.
Neither player was perfect, but neither was the situation. When Jitoboh or Gatkek weren't on the floor, forwards Anthony Duruji and CJ Felder, both 6-7, took their turns bodying up against MSU 6-11 center Tulu Smith. Sometimes, defensive switches left 6-6 freshman wing Kowacie Reeves, or the 6-5 Fleming or even the 6-3 guards Brandon McKissic or Myreon Jones in those situations in the post.
How'd they fare?
"I would say positionally pretty good. Physically, not very good," UF coach Mike White said.
So the Gators, after an off day Thursday, spent their practice Friday shoring up such scenarios, as they no doubt will be in more low-post mismatches -- starting Saturday against 6-10 Quentin Millora-Brown -- in however many games they'll be without Castleton. The Commodores are not a big team, but they've got some girth and muscle up front and Florida, with its low-post-by-committee approach, needs to learn to exert some of its own.
"Next man up. That's it," Jitoboh said. "We just have to play with that next-man mentality, play more together to make up for Colin, and play with that toughness we know we can play with."
The Gators, to their credit, did a nice job not only of adjusting on the fly last time out, but doing so in victory; a come-from-behind victory, no less.
"Those guys got some experience and winning experience is even more valuable than experience," White said. "Fortunately, we found a way, hopefully, to have those guys gain a little bit of confidence. We've got our work cut out of for us, but hopefully we can maintain some momentum and continue to grow and get better [Saturday] and see if we have a chance here."
