Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — College basketball's closed scrimmages this time of year are closed for a reason, with any details mostly coming in generalities. This guy played well. So did so-and-so. We were pretty good in these areas, but need work in those. That kind of thing. 

The Florida Gators scrimmaged a very good Miami team at Exactech Arena last weekend, with the results giving Coach Todd Golden a nice baseline from which to navigate the final two weeks of the preseason. The Gators had some highs and some lows against the Hurricanes, a team that advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament last season and is picked to finish fourth in the Atlantic Coast Conference, but UF also was operating without fifth-year point guard Kyle Lofton, the marquee transfer by way of St. Bonaventure. Lofton had been sidelined since suffering a groin strain the first week of preseason practice. 

He was cleared for full-contact work Monday, however, and returned to practice this week, which means he'll make his UF debut in Saturday's scrimmage — again, behind closed gymnasium doors — at Jacksonville. 

What does it mean to have him back? 

"Well, we won't have 20 turnovers in this game, so let's start with that," associate head coach Korey McCray said, giving away a little bit of scrimmage detail.
 

Lofton definitely will have an impact on UF's ball security, a facet the Gators were not very sound with against the Hurricanes. The 6-foot-3, 190-pounder started all 116 games of his career with the Bonnies, averaged 38.1 minutes and posted a better than 2-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio (5.2 to 2.4) over his four seasons. 

When he takes the floor, Lofton will be the program's first true point guard since Andrew Nembhard started all 67 games over the 2018-19 and '19-20 seasons. 

"He's an organizer, he's a pressure releaser. He'll definitely help us that way," said Golden, who turned to junior Trey Bonham (Virginia Military institute transfer) in Lofton's stead, while allowing fifth-year senior Myreon Jones and freshman Riley Kugel take some turns on the ball, as well. "But Kyle, he's a real point guard and he's a guy that's been doing it his whole life, and I anticipate we will be a much better ball-handling team with him on the floor." 

At SBU last year, Lofton started 30 games he played (he missed three with an ankle injury), averaged 38.5 minutes, plus 12.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 2.0 steals and 2.6 turnovers, while guiding the Bonnies to the NIT Final Four. He was among the nation's most-sought point guards to enter the transfer portal and canceled trips to Arizona, Purdue, Tennessee and Texas to sign with the Gators. 

UF is lucky to have him, but he feels just as fortunate for this new opportunity.

"I've played so much and so many minutes and, obviously, I'm blessed to still be out here playing," Lofton said after practice Thursday, a light one of mostly honing offensive actions as the Saturday scrimmage at JU (and regular-season opener Nov. 7 against Stony Brook) inched closer. "I feel like I'm learning Coach's system, with all the pick-and-roll stuff. That's like riding a bike for me. That's my game."

It should work quite well with 6-foot-11 Colin Castleton setting the screens and surrounded by a supporting cast the coaching staff has faith will knock down shots and thus spread the floor for Lofton to execute the offense. 

The coaches have oodles of confidence in Lofton's feel for the game and ability to make the right play. 

"He will get us in our offense and he will calm us down — if we need calming down — and he can go get a bucket if we need one," McCray said. "He is our leader. He is our quarterback." 

And it's nice to have the quarterback back. 

Lofton watched the Miami scrimmage from the sidelines. He had some thoughts, noting a couple bright spots, but offered some constructive criticism, too. 

"We have to be more physical. We have to hit some guys and bring the fight," Lofton said before breaking into a grin. "Me? I'm a physical guy." 

Better yet, he is a proven and elite floor general the likes of which the Gators have been missing the last two seasons and were without their first time on the floor in this new era of Florida basketball. 

But not this next time. 

"We didn't have Kyle, so I think getting him back will make us a little more solid," Golden said. "I think we're in a good spot."