The Gators likely will need more from the likes of forward Alex Fudge (3), center Jason Jitoboh (33), guard/forward Kowacie Reeves (14) and whatever members of the UF bench after getting only five points in the five-point loss at Kentucky.
UF Seeks Something in Reserve at No. 3 Bama
Wednesday, February 8, 2023 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
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By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Back in the preseason, Florida coach Todd Golden was steadfast when discussing his philosophy about playing rotations. Golden, with three seasons as a head coach at University of San Francisco as a baseline, spoke of preferring a 10-man rotation the first couple months of the season and eventually weeding it down to nine, maybe even eight, once the conference season begins.
A popular question among media at the time focused on how Golden could possibly whittle this Florida roster to eight guys?
Well, here the Gators are, a week into February, and they're playing what amounts to a rotation of eight or nine. A case can be made it's really closer seven, given recent developments.
Take Saturday night's road game at Kentucky. The Gators put nine different players on the floor, but the starting five accounted for 165 of a possible 200 minutes (or 82.5 percent). Four different starters logged at least 30 minutes and two were at 37, as UF fought from 14 down in the second half and drew within a game-tying 3-point attempt with 15 seconds left before losing 72-67.
"We've definitely drilled down on our rotations, our line-ups," Golden said Tuesday. "I feel like we're in a really good spot that way."
And that's how the Gators (13-10, 6-4) will approach Wednesday night's showdown at third-ranked and Southeastern Conference-unbeaten Alabama (20-3, 10-0) at Coleman Coliseum. Golden will go with the guys who are producing and, right now, those are the members of his reconfigured four-guard starting unit.
[Read senior writer Chris Harry's "Pregame Stuff" setup here]
The quintet of fifth-year forward Colin Castleton, who is at the top of his game, alongside guards Will Richard (playing an undersized "4" spot), freshman Riley Kugel floating on the wing and the veteran backcourt of fifth-years Kyle Lofton and Myreon Jones accounted for nearly 93 percent of UF's scoring against the Wildcats.
Florida's four reserves combined for five points over their 35-plus minutes. Two of those backups played just over three minutes.
Gators coachTodd Golden confers with backup guard/forwardKowacie Reevesduring Saturday's game at Lexington.
Now line up those numbers against the vaunted Crimson Tide, not only the run-away best team in the SEC, but looking like a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament next month. 'Bama plays what amounts to a solid, consistent nine-man rotation, with none of the nine averaging less than 16 minutes. In Saturday's 79-69 win at LSU, the Tide got 31 points from their bench. In fact, over the previous three games Alabama's bench combined for 111 points.
Florida's bench over that same span? Nineteen points.
"We definitely need more," Lofton said of the reserves. "I think it'll come."
This would be a pretty good time, considering the Tide not only play more guys more minutes, but also play at the fastest tempo in all of college basketball — 73.5 possessions per game ranks No. 1 in the nation, according to KenPom.com — and check in fourth at a blistering 15.1 seconds per possession. They get it and go and are looking for the first open shot.
Such will be the challenge for Florida and a defense that sits 10th nationally in overall efficiency, but is coming off an uncharacteristic performance in the loss at Kentucky. The Wildcats rang up 14 points in transition against a Gators defense that surrendered just 30 fast-break points over the previous seven games; and none in the upset win three nights earlier against second-ranked Tennessee.
"I think our defense let us down a little bit in that [Kentucky] game, to be honest," Golden said. "I have a high standard of what I expect out of our team defensively because we've been really consistent with that."
If the season's trajectory is any indication, the Gators have a very good chance of squaring their defensive issues. The bench could be a tougher fix.
Fifth-year pointKyle Lofton(11), who last week entered the top five in NCAA history for minutes played, logged a game-high 38-plus against Kentucky and is averaging 31.3 for the Gators this season.
UF backups at Kentucky together went 1-for-9 from the floor, with sophomore wing Kowacie Reeves providing all five points in the first half. Reeves is going through an incredibly difficult spell, having hit just seven of 45 attempts from the 3-point line during SEC play. That's 15.2 percent from the Gator who has attempted the most 3s on the season and second most in conference play.
Sophomore forward Alex Fudge was in a decent rhythm over 11 consecutive starts before suffering a concussion eight seconds into the second half of the team's win at Mississippi State on Jan. 21. In the three games since being cleared, Fudge combined for six points, seven rebounds and shot 3-for-10 from the floor. Maybe he just needs to play to get his timing and confidence back.
Junior guard Trey Bonham, early in the season, was the team's No. 3 scorer. He had 21 points in the SEC home opener against Texas A&M on Jan. 4, but totaled just 10 points the last nine games. Backup center Jason Jitoboh had double-digit minutes in a couple back-to-back league games last month, but it's nearly impossible to take Colin Castleton (45 points, 17 rebounds, 15-for-15 at the free-throw line, 8 assists, 4 blocks the last two games) these days; especially against some of the opponents UF has faced of late. Jitoboh played just three minutes the last two games and likely won't be a fit for the pace-of-play against Bama.
It's not that Golden and the UF staff have lost faith in any of these guys. Reeves hit some big second-half shots in the Mississippi State win and scored 15 in a victory over South Carolina. Bonham checked in early against Tennessee and pulled-up to swish a confident 3 in transition to help the Gators build a big lead.
It's just that the starters are playing better, right now. Much better.
"We need them to pick it back up to be the team we're capable of, but it's a long season, man," Golden said. "There are ups and downs and you've got to stay the course. I'm confident in all those guys to really be able to help us down the stretch here."
