Georgia coach Mike White spent seven seasons coaching the Gators, but will be on the opposite bench Saturday afternoon. [Brett Davis / USA Today]
Business As Usual, Both Sides Say, for White Reunion
Friday, January 6, 2023 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
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By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — No matter what he says or thinks or says he thinks, this one will be different. The feeling will be fleeting and eventually give away to an actual game, but it'll definitely be different. Even awkward, perhaps.
Mike White loved Ole Miss, but always seemed to be uneasy going back to Oxford to play the Rebels, the team for whom he was a starting point guard for four season during the 1990s. White is humble and understated, so he did not like those games because the folks telling the stories about those games often wanted to make the story about him. Florida coach Todd Golden
So bringing his Georgia Bulldogs (11-3, 1-0), even this rejuvenated, riding-high version, to Exactech Arena/O'Connell for Saturday's matinee against Todd Golden and the Florida Gators (7-7, 0-2) very likely will test White's comfort level. It shouldn't. White left UF last March as the third winningest coach in program history, guiding the Gators to a 142-88 record (.617 winning percentage) and six wins over four NCAA Tournament appearances, second-most by a UF coach only to Billy Donovan.
But for whatever reason, White went looking for something better last spring and found it at one of Florida's biggest rivals. Now, 10 months since taking over Tom Crean's train-wreck program that went 6-26 last season (including 1-17 in the SEC), White's next win will match the entire victory total of '21-22.
Not bad. Also, not gloating.
"Business. That's it," White told reporters in Athens, Ga., Wednesday night after the Bulldogs upset 22nd-ranked Auburn when asked his thoughts about returning to the O'Dome. "It's a place that [wife Kira] and myself and our [five] kids, loved. We had a great time there. I'll always be appreciative. I'm looking forward to seeing some family and some friends; a lot of people in those stands that I'm anxious to see, that I care about. People throughout the community … ."
Then came the coach-speak disclaimer.
"That said, when shoot-around is going on, I'm going to be locked in. I've got a model and when that thing's tipped, we're going down there to see if we can get a little bit better and see if we can put ourselves in a position to maybe steal one on the road. That's the name of the game in this league."
[Read senior writer Chris Harry's "Pregame Stuff" setup here]
It should come as no surprise that Golden and the Gators, including eight of White's former players (six scholarship guys, two walk-ons), will try to take the same approach.
"He's coaching them well and doing what they need to do — but it's going to be any other game," said UF fifth-year senior Colin Castleton, who played two seasons for White, including last year's second-team All-Southeastern campaign. "We've got to win, that's the bottom line, no matter who's coming in here, who's coaching, who's playing. We have to win games."
UF forward Colin Castleton(left) was plucked from the transfer portal (by way of Michigan) by then-UF coach Mike White during the Covid-crazy summer of 2020.
Yes, they do. UF is currently on a three-game losing skid, with each defeat coming down to late-game execution the opponents' did better. The Gators were in a three-point game with just over two minutes to go against Oklahoma in the Jumpman Invitational before Christmas and lost by nine. They were in a tie game with just over a minute left at Auburn and lost by three. They were tied with less than a minute remaining at home Wednesday night against Texas A&M and lost by three.
In those games, it didn't matter that Porter Moser, Bruce Pearl or Buzz Williams were the respective coaches on the opposite bench. And it won't matter that White is standing on the visiting sideline Saturday, either.
By the time the game's outcome is being decided, any awkwardness will be long over and any Florida fan craving their pound of White's flesh (in whatever verbal form that may take) will be long over.
"We've got to worry about ourselves and make sure we're doing what we're capable of to win the game," Golden said Friday. "Obviously, there might a little extra motivation for some of our guys, but it definitely won't be a point of emphasis from my perspective. For us, I want to make sure we're focusing on ourselves and what we're doing to put our best foot forward."
The Gators did that on a couple fronts against A&M, especially when it came to shooting the basketball. UF hit nearly 47 percent from the floor, including 7-for-19 shots from the 3-point line after going through a two-game clang fest when just five of 41 long balls went down.
Unfortunately, on the same night they righted some shooting wrongs, the Gators turned the ball over a season-worst 20 times (leading to 21 A&M points) and surrendered 13 offensive rebounds. Those second-chance opportunities allowed the Aggies to take 61 field-goal attempts (to UF's 44) and win a one-possession game despite making just 37.7 percent for the game, 12.5 percent from distance (2-for-16) and 64.3 from the free-throw line.
"Against a team like A&M, you can't do that and give yourself a chance to win the game," Golden said. Mike White as a Gator
Just once, the Florida staff would like to see its players put together a solid, across-the-board game against a high-major opponent — UF has lost five straight vs. power conference teams — instead of playing whack-a-mole with random areas that go from good to bad on a given night.
There's a faction of Gators (the ones in uniform), of course, who would love to do so against the guy on the other sideline Saturday.
"Even the guys that don't play that much, they're still excited. They know what kind of defense he plays and they just want to beat him," junior guard Trey Bonham, who transferred to UF last offseason from Virginia Military Institute. "[But] Coach Golden is definitely going to be on [the emotions element] early. … I feel like he's going to nip that in the butt and make sure we stay in our game."
After all, like White said, it's just business, right?
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