Sophomore 7-1 center Micah Handlogten flushes on his way to going 7-for-8 in his UF debut, finishing with 16 points in a 93-73 win over Loyola Maryland.
Kugel, Bigs Play Big in Opening Night Win
Monday, November 6, 2023 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Early in the second half Monday night, with his team up comfortably by double digits, Florida 7-foot-1 center Micah Handlogten was parked at the top of the key when he took a pass from point guard Walter Clayton Jr. Handlogten was wide open against the Loyola Maryland defense, so Clayton encouraged his teammate and fellow transfer to let it fly.
Handlogten, who missed 11 of 12 attempts from deep during his 2023 Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year season at Marshall, proceeded to bury the second 3-ball of his career.
"Who shot that?" forward Tyrese Samuel, in disbelief, asked no one in particular as he retreated on defense, only to be surprised by the answer. "Micah? He hasn't hit any [in practice] all year?"
Less than three minutes later, Handlogten hit another one, as the Gators coasted home to a 93-73 victory over the Greyhounds in the 2023-24 season opener for both teams at Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center. Handlogten finished with 16 points on 7-for-8 shooting from the floor to go with six rebounds. The 6-foot-10 Samuel, a grad-transfer from Seton Hall, had 15 points and eight boards. And then there was 6-11 backup center Alex Condon, who came off the bench to tally 13 points, with a pair of 3-pointers, plus three rebounds.
Welcome to the new-look Gators (1-0), who have no intention of being anybody's low-post punching bag in '23-24, as was the case last season when forward Colin Castleton had to be great if Florida was going to be successful. And that was before he suffered a season-ending broken wrist, leaving UF to flail and flounder to the program's second losing season in 25 years.
Sophomore guard Riley Kugel(2) did a lot of everything, scoring a game-high 23 points to go with six steals, four assists and three rebounds. (Photo: Maddie Washburn/UAA Communications)
Coach Todd Golden and his staff restocked the front court and added other weapons on the perimeter, the combination of which – at least in the opener – proved an encouraging compliment to preseason All-Southeastern Conference guard Riley Kugel, who led all scorers with 23 points on 10-for-15 shooting, a career-high six steals, four assists and three rebounds.
He wasn't the biggest on the floor, but Kugel was the best.
"I'm definitely more than just a scorer," said Kugel, who during his 2023 SEC All-Freshman season became the first Gator since Bradley Beal to score double figures in 10 consecutive games, finishing the season on a 17.3-per-game tear. "I feel like last year you saw a glimpse, a tiny bit of my game. Now, this year, I can show y'all everything I can bring to the table."
His ability to do so will have a lot to do with the new and bigger bodies around him. The athleticism, length and competitiveness in the post with Handlogten, Samuel and Condon (along with bouncy 6-9 freshman reserve forward Thomas Haugh, who chipped in six points and three rebounds) is going to make Kugel and company all the more dangerous.
And include in that company Clayton, the Iona transfer, who stuffed his box-score line with nine points, eight rebounds, five assists and three steals over 34 minutes. With projected starting point guard and California-Riverside transfer Zyon Pullin forced to sit out the first three games for participating in the NBA-sanction Portsmouth Invitational, Clayton ran a UF offense that shot 58.1 percent for the game, including 62.9 in the second half.
The Gators scored the first 16 points of the game, led by 26 with less than 13 minutes to play and never really were challenged, though the Greyhounds (0-1) kind of stuck around just enough to give the home team something to think about.
"I would have liked us to keep our foot on the gas a little better," Golden said. "But a 20-point win, we'll take it."
Tyrese Samuel (4), the 6-10 transfer from Seton Hall, goes to work on the block against the Greyhounds on his way to 15 points and eight rebounds. (Photo: Ashley Ray/UAA Communications)
There will be plenty the UF coaches won't want to take to the next game. Loyola Maryland (0-1) shot nearly 46 percent from the floor, made nine 3-pointers and caused the Gators some problems with its Princeton-offense cuts and downhill drives.
And then there was UF's free-throw shooting, which was abysmal. The Gators went 15-for-30 at the line, a statistic that absolutely has to improve – and quickly – what with Friday night's neutral-site matchup against Virginia in Charlotte representing the season's first major test.
"I think we were a little jittery, a little bit of nerves that way," Golden said. "Defensively, we weren't as physical as I thought we needed to be."
That's not to say the Gators don't have the big bodies now to get more physical.
In fact, that's the plan.
"There's a standard Coach Golden wants us to play to and we want to hold ourselves to," Handlogten said of UF's new front court. "This was a good start, but we want to improve on it."
