Florida Gators

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – His team had just obliterated a rival in an important early season non-conference game, but Florida coach Todd Golden almost found himself apologizing during the post-game news conference as he processed an 89-68 smoking of Florida State. To be clear, Golden had no regrets for how the game transpired, but rather with the way the rotation broke down. 
 

A few guys who saw meaningful minutes the first three games didn't see the floor until mop-up time late in the game. One didn't see it at all.  
 
"It sucks," Golden said. 
 
He was talking specifically about guard/forward Julian Rishwain and point guard Denzel Aberdeen. Rishwain, the fifth-year transfer from San Francisco, averaged about eight minutes the first three games, with a couple 3-pointers, five rebounds and some solid defense. He never left the bench against the Seminoles. Aberdeen, the sophomore, averaged about 15 minutes, with a career highs of 12 points and four rebounds in a win over Florida A&M three nights earlier. He played the final 1:23 against the Seminoles. 
 
To Golden's point, yeah, it probably did suck for those guys. For freshman Kajus Kablickas (21 seconds), also. But in the bigger and far more pivotal picture, the Gators got a great first look – and possible preview – at what their core rotation will look like now that point guard Zyon Pullin is in the mix after missing the season's first three games for participating in unsanctioned exposure games during his time in the NBA draft evaluation process. UF went with a solid rotation of eight guys against FSU, with its now-whole quartet on the perimeter averaging at least 27 minutes, including Pullin, the former California-Riverside star who led the team with 15 points to go with five rebounds, four assists and just one turnover over nearly 28 minutes. 
 
Simply put, Pullin was terrific in his role, as were the Gators with him in the game, and it only made sense to let the rotation ride. 
 
"I just think they got into a really good rhythm, a really good flow," said Golden, whose team shot 64 percent in the first half, held FSU to less than 26 percent and went to the locker room with a 30-point lead. "I wanted to see what that group was able to do and, obviously, got off to such a good start [that it was] hard to go in a different direction after that."
 
[Read senior writer Chris Harry's "Pregame Stuff" setup here]
 
Don't be surprised if the Gators (3-1) opt to go a similar direction when they take the floor against unbeaten Pittsburgh (4-0) in their NIT Season Tip-Off opening-round game Wednesday night at Barclay's Center. Golden's track record as a head coach shows he prefers tighter rotations – eight or nine players – which pretty much fell in line with what he worked against Florida State; four guards and four "bigs.

All four Florida front court players were in foul trouble most of the night. If the situation was reversed – with the guards in foul trouble – the Gators would have dipped deeper into the bench. Instead, the starting trio of Walter Clayton Jr., Riley Kugel and wing Will Richard played 28, 30 and 35 minutes, respectively, with Pullin coming off the bench early on way to his 28. 
 
"The player that he is, the way he passes it and shoots it, he just opens the floor up for everybody," Kugel said of Pullin. 
 
The front court was a mostly similar story, with the two starters Tyrese Samuel (19 minutes) and Michael Handlogten (18) sharing time with freshman backups Alex Condon (14) and Thomas Haugh (career-high 26). It was Haugh who was particularly impressive in scoring five points, grabbing a team-high and career-best 10 rebounds off the bench and being a constant source of energy. 
 
Equally impressive, though, was Haugh's answer in the post-game session when he was asked, given his tremendous productivity against an opponent known for its size and physicality, what he expected his role to be going forward. 
 
"I'm just going to go out there and do whatever Coach Golden tells me to do. Get a rebound, set screens, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter about points or any of that stuff," Haugh said. "Whatever I can do to help contribute to the team winning."
 
That's the kind of attitude, coupled with what Haugh put on tape (a week after playing 11 mostly non-descript minutes in the neutral-site loss to Virginia at Charlotte, N.C.) the Florida coaches are looking for. The kind of growth, too. Along those lines, take Condon. Against UVA, the fiery 6-foot-11 Australian looked and played like an overwhelmed freshman in his scoreless 11 minutes. Seven days later, against his next high-major opponent, he had nine points and six rebounds over 13 minutes, but also fouled out and had a technical for taunting after a spectacular blocked shot in the first half. 
 
"I loved the defensive play he made – it was a ridiculous play – and loved the energy afterward, but in a game that's more tightly contested we can't give up those [technical foul] points," Golden said. "So kind of draw that line in the sand to be able to play with energy [and] enthusiasm, but also having that mental toughness to not take it out of what we're trying to do." 
 
The block was clean, but the technical hit Condo with a third foul before intermission. To Golden's point, a similar lapse of judgment in a closer game could put the team in dire straits.
 
Foul trouble (or circumstance) could (and will) hit the backcourt eventually. Maybe here in Brooklyn. Remember how things looked versus Virginia, sans Pullin, with Clayton and Kugel forced to play 35 minutes each? Against the Seminoles, Richard went 35 minutes, which was probably too many. When defenses make Kugel a marked man, 30-plus may be high for him, also. 
 
The Gators would appear to have their solid main rotation of eight, but there will be opportunities for nine. Maybe 10. 
 
"The backcourt was fantastic, so there really wasn't an opportunity to get other guys minutes," Golden said. "But those guys need to be ready."