UF freshman wing Riley Kugel is very much in the mix to be part of the rotation in Coach Todd Golden's first season.
Life of Riley (So Far, So Good)
Thursday, October 13, 2022 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
Share:
By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Since arriving on campus in August, freshman guard Riley Kugel has seen varying references to his size, including one on the official Florida athletics website that put him at 6-foot-5 and 185 pounds. He knows better.
"I don't like that," Kugel said Tuesday, with a smile.
That's because Kugel, in addition to busting his backside during UF workouts and practices, has been busting it in the weight room for nearly two months, the combination of which has brought about an array of moments in which Kugel — now a solid and sturdy 207 pounds — has busted moves on just about every one of his upperclassmen teammates at one point or another during live scrimmage sessions.
Acrobatic and high-flying dunks. Driving finishes in traffic. Playing the passing lanes. Attacks and kick-outs. Three-pointers. Kugel has done a little bit of everything — sometimes in oh-wow fashion — and because of it looks like a lock to be part of Todd Golden's nine- or 10-man rotation when the Gators tip off the 2022-23 season under their new coach Nov. 7 against Stony Brook at Exactech Arena.
"He's what I call an SEC athlete," associate head coach Korey McCray said.
That Kugel, despite not officially enrolling until the start of the fall semester, has performed his way into a crowded and mix on the wing speaks to the work he's put forth in a much shorter time than his teammates. It's also a reflection of his all-around talent and a skill set.
"He didn't have a summer with us, which was a big concern because we think we're pretty complicated in what we do, but it hasn't seemed to affect him much," Golden said this week. "He came in with a great attitude. He knew he was behind. He didn't feel sorry for himself. He just kept bringing it every day."
So far, Riley Kugel has demonstrated he can do a little bit of everything on the floor.
At practice this week, Kugel got increased scrimmage reps with the Colin Castleton-led first unit, swapping places with fifth-year senior guard Myreon Jones for a couple days.
Disclaimer: It can all change again next week (and probably will), which is a good thing because that means the coaches are getting the competition they seek in trying to determine which guys play best together. The combinations are especially fluid now, what with two likely starters, fifth-year senior point guard Kyle Lofton (transfer from St. Bonaventure) and sophomore guard Will Richard (Belmont), sidelined with injuries and still not cleared for full contact.
"They all have different talents that compliment each other really well," Golden said. "We have a number of guys who do a good job getting in the paint. I would consider them our playmakers. And then I think we have a lot of guys that shoot the ball well, kind of our floor-spacers; 3&D type guys. We just have to figure out which ones are best with each other."
Kugel is smack in the middle of those conversations. Sophomore Kowacie Reeves, Jones and junior Niels Lane are the others currently knee deep at those "2" and "3" spots, but waiting Richard, who has missed all of preseason practices with a sprained knee, yet is expected to be cleared for contact work next week. All four of those players had (at least) an eight-week head start on Kugel, who spent the summer back home in Orlando finishing online academic work, all the while taking time to work on his game.
He checked in Aug. 22 and performed most of the last month-plus like he'd been there since July.
"When I get taught things, I feel I get it like that," Kugel said, snapping his fingers for effect. "When I got here, anything they could tell me or teach me I really got it like that. I feel I learned pretty quickly with the plays and adjusted real well after not being here."
He did better than that, actually. Kugel may have been learning on the fly, but his athleticism took over for some highlight-reel moments. It was apparent early on he was a further along — despite being behind — than fellow freshmen guard Denzel Aberdeen, his prep teammate at 2021 Class 7A state champion Orlando Dr. Phillips, and center Aleks Szymczyk, who was signed in August by way of Germany, as far as raw ability.
"He's an impactful playmaker, paint toucher, and what's great about Riley, he keeps it simple," Golden said. "He just makes the right play every time. He'll have some turnovers you wouldn't expect, but at the same time when he comes off a ball screen he doesn't try to reinvent the wheel — he throws it to the open guy for a shot or he hits the roller. His size, his burst, his athleticism, just really, really hard to guard. Then on the defensive end he's been advanced for a freshman, just the way he picks up defensive concepts, he's usually in the right place at the right time."
About that "right place, right time" phrasing.
Seven months ago, Kugel was a top-100 national prospect (top 15 in the state) who was signed and bound for Mississippi State, but there was a coaching change there, too. Ben Howland was fired within hours of Florida hiring Golden, who put his staff together over the next couple weeks. One of those hires was McCray, an assistant under Howland at MSU the previous seven seasons. The wheels began turning.
That Aberdeen, a friend of Kugel's since second grade and forever AAU and prep teammate, was headed for the Gators, helped move the process along.
Yet he just as easily could be in Starkville now.
"I think about that all the time," Kugel said.
It doesn't show.
"He came here with his head straight and he's doing amazing right now," Aberdeen said of his buddy. "He's getting to the basket, he's making shots, he's bringing a lot of energy and that's all you can ask for as a freshman, so he's doing very good right now." Riley Kugel won the 2021 Arby's Slam-Dunk Contest in a holiday tournament at Bristol, Tenn. [Photo by Earl Niekirk of Niekirk Image]
Kugel's reminds some leftover folks in the Hugh Hathcock Basketball Complex of Keyontae Johnson, the freshman version, when he got to town back in 2018. Specifically, the build and bounce. Johnson needed time to figure some things, eventually earning a midseason battlefield promotion into the starting lineup due to injury. By the end of his rookie year, he was putting up back-to-back double-doubles in the Southeastern Conference Tournament, something no UF freshman had done in nearly two decades.
March is a long ways off. For a first-year college player, the season can feel like an eternity (with that "freshman wall" just waiting to be hit), but Kugel is focused on the here and now, as the team gears up for a closed scrimmage Oct. 22 against Miami.
What's happened so far against his teammates has done nothing to damage his confidence. On the contrary.
"This is a great league, but I feel I can play in it right now. That's just my mentality and it's always been my mentality," Kugel said. "Growing up, always having that chip on my shoulder, a lot of people may not have liked it, but that was me. Some people think I'm cocky, but I'm actually a very humble person. I don't like to brag. That is not me. In my head, though, I'm confident."
