UF newcomer transfers Rueben Chinyelu (headband) and Sam Alexis (4) jockey for position against FIU in Saturday's "closed" scrimmage at the O'Dome.
Harry Fodder: 'Closed' Scrimmages Provide Valuable Preview
Tuesday, October 22, 2024 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
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By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. –Sophomore forward Alex Condon was mere days removed from being voted to the 2024-25 preseason All-Southeastern Conference team. The Florida Gators, ranked 21st in the Associated Press preseason poll, were mere hours (less than 24, in fact) from their first of two "closed" scrimmages of the preseason.
A layup line. A routine warm-up drill. Condon, the 6-foot-11, 230-pounder, went up for a harmless two-handed dunk Friday, but felt a sharp pain go through his knee on the landing.
"I was a little scared," Condon said.
Imagine how his coaches felt. Alex Condon
Condon, who averaged 7.4 points and was ninth in the league in rebounding at 6.4 per game as a collegiate rookie on his way to Freshman All-SEC honors last season, immediately went to the training room and before long was at the Florida Orthopedics Center for X-rays and an MRI, all of which came back negative. The results left all parties with a great sense of relief, but also left the Gators without their high-energy starting "4" for the scrimmage the next day against Florida International.
The Gators started the scrimmage slowly against the all-pressing Panthers, shot the ball horribly in the first half and got worked on the glass. The lead was just eight at the break and Coach Todd Golden gave his team a mouthful at intermission.
His guys responded with a 56-percent second-half shooting to go with 11 steals and 14 forced turnovers on the way to an 80-49 victory.
"I feel like [it was] great teaching tape and a lot to work on, as well," Golden said Tuesday. "The final result was good, but a lot of things throughout the course of the scrimmage, I feel like we can clean up, and fortunately we get another opportunity [this] Saturday to kind of right those things, big picture-wise."
Yes, they will. After beating up on a team that went 11-22 last season, Florida's second closed scrimmage at Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center will come against College of Charleston, which went 27-8 last season, won both the Colonial Athletic Association regular-season and tournament championships and reached the NCAA Tournament, where it lost in the first round to eventual Final Four participant Alabama 109-96. The Cougars' big season got Coach Pat Kelsey the Louisville job. He was replaced by Chris Mack, who's last job was also at Louisville, but he got there following some big seasons at Xavier, including a 2017 run to the Sweet 16.
UF, which opens the season Nov. 4 against South Florida at Jacksonville, was far more talented than FIU, making for a good scrimmage barometer from which to begin. Charleston will be a step up in a glass, making for another ideal scenario, especially assuming the Gators are at full strength (or close to it).
They expect to have Condon back in the fold after he spent the FIU game cheerleading from the bench.
"It was tough to watch the first half, but I was proud of the boys how they attacked in the second half," said Condon, who sat out practice Monday and Tuesday and (after Wednesday's off day) likely will go non-contact when the team returns to practice Thursday. "A lot of the guys, the transfers especially, it was the first time playing for Florida. We talked about wearing the jersey with pride and not taking any opportunities to do that for granted."
Senior wing Will Richard led all scorers with 18 points, all coming in the second half. Senior guard Walter Clayton Jr., with his new responsibilities on the ball, had 13 points, five rebounds, six assists (one turnover) and six steals at the point.
Sophomore center Rueben Chinyelu, the 6-10½, 255-pound transfer from Washington State, finished with eight points, 10 boards, four steals and two blocks. Chinyelu only had three fouls in 26 minutes, which was a good sign, given his propensity for hacking as a Cougar freshman (and during scrimmages against his new teammates). Sophomore Thomas Haugh, starting at the "4" for his buddy Condon, had 11 points, with a pair of 3s, and four rebounds.
UF forced 27 turnovers that it converted to 38 points. The Gators had 28 points in transition. Those are good numbers, given the emphasis being put on defense – UF was last in the SEC creating turnovers last season – while continuing their high pace of play (17th nationally last year).
The Gators hit just seven of 26 shots from the 3-point line, but went 19 of 23 on their free throws.
Guard Alijah Martin, the transfer from Florida Atlantic and starter at the "2" alongside Clayton, had 12 points and three rebounds, while drawing seven fouls. Center/forward Sam Alexis, the transfer from Tennessee-Chattanooga, came off the bench for eight points, five rebounds and four assists without a turnover.
FIU won the glass 37-34, including 14-11 on the offensive end. UF had 18-15 and 6-5 edges, respectively, in the second half.
UF's two backup point guards, junior Denzel Aberdeen and sophomore Kajus Kublickas, mostly struggled, but appeared to perhaps be pressing a bit, given their expanded roles (Aberdeen will definitely play more this season, while Kublickas is vying to do so). Aberdeen hit just one of his eight field goals over 18 minutes, missing shots he routinely bangs in live practice work, and finished with four points, one assist and a couple turnovers. Kublickas had five points (with a 3), no assists and two turnovers in six minutes.
Guard Isaiah Brown was the lone freshman to play. He checked in midway through the second half and scored one point and grabbed four rebounds over the final 10 minutes. Classmate Urban Klavzar, the talented shooting guard from Slovenia, has not been cleared for participation by the NCAA.
Golden said the issues on the glass have been talked about a lot this week (and will continue to be), along with the need to be more physical on both ends.
"We need to remember why we got good last year and a big part of that is we were very physical and we kind of wore teams down as the game went on. I think we wore our opponents down, but we also can't get too comfortable that we're going to be so good offensively that we don't need to be that way," said Golden, allowing the absence of Condon surely made a difference last weekend. "I think that might have been part of it, but we've got to be able to have not one of those guys and still maintain the identity of our team. It's something we're working on and addressing this week."
A layup line. A routine warm-up drill. Condon, the 6-foot-11, 230-pounder, went up for a harmless two-handed dunk Friday, but felt a sharp pain go through his knee on the landing. 
