Aleks Szymczyk is Available if Todd Golden Calls His Number

Gators hoping this guy shows up. Aleks Szymczyk return means five more fouls to give. (UAA Photo)

It turns out that even with Micah Handlogten gone for the year after his gruesome injury in the SEC Tournament Championship Game that Todd Golden may have five tall fouls to give when the Gators crank it up in the NCAA Tournament Friday afternoon.

Sophomore Aleks Szymczyk, all 6-10 and 250 pounds of him, has been sidelined all year recovering from surgery on a foot he broke during summer practice. After the way he played at the end of his freshman season, Szymczyk was thought to be a regular part of the inside rotation this year, but the broken foot was a real setback. He hasn’t gotten in a game even for a nanosecond but he’s been practicing and dressing out with the team most of the Southeastern Conference portion of the schedule. So, he’s sort of the forgotten man on the roster.

Well, maybe no longer. With the Gators down one big in the rotation, Szymczyk could offer up minutes in a pinch when NCAA Tournament play begins Friday when the Gators (24-11) face the winner of tonight’s 10th-seed play-in game between Boise State (22-10) of the Mountain West Conference and Colorado (24-10) of the Pac-12. Although he hasn’t played, Szymczyk is tall and you can’t teach that, plus even if it’s just a minute or two on the floor, it’s a break for one of the big guys.

Golden said Tuesday that 6-10 Tyrese Samuel will be joined in the starting lineup by 6-11 freshman Alex Condon with 6-9 freshman Thomas Haugh serving as the backup. The three of them worked together in a 3-man rotation earlier in the year when Handlogten sprained an ankle in the first minute of a win over Pittsburgh then missed consecutive losses to Baylor and Wake Forest.

In the win over Pitt, Samuel scored 20 points with 10 rebounds, three assists, three blocked shots and three steals. Condon had 11 points, six rebounds and Haugh had seven points, five rebounds. 8 The next night against Baylor, Samuel had 18 points and six rebounds, while Condon had four points, five rebounds and Haugh had two points, two rebounds. Denzel Aberdeen came off the bench that night to contribute eight points and three rebounds. A few days later against Wake Forest, Samuel had 12 points, eight rebounds, while Condon had five points, five rebounds and Haugh had three points and six rebounds.

Tyrese Samuel, says the loss of Handlogten will hurt on the defensive end, but he believes Condon and Samuel are more than capable.

"It hurts a little bit because, you know, he's [Handlogten] a good rim protector and just having his presence there in the paint, and stuff like that helps us for sure, because he’s great, 7-1, long arms and stuff like that. Just altering shots on the rim just helps us go out and transition and that's where our bread and butter, is in transition. So, it's gonna hurt a little bit, but we've still got great rim protectors, especially like Condon in, and Thomas. They just make the second-effort plays that me and Micah probably are not as good at making. But yeah, it hurts us a little bit, but we'll be ready."

Depending on who they play and perhaps the foul situation, the Gators could go unconventional with Will Richard playing the four (power forward), which they did on occasions last season when the Gators were a vertically challenged team. That would basically be a four-guard lineup, but the way the game is played these days, that isn’t all that unusual.

Playing small ball will require contributions from Riley Kugel and Denzel Aberdeen. Kugel’s minutes have been diminishing lately. Aberdeen came through with a 20-point effort off the bench Saturday to lead the Gators from 18 points down to a semifinal win over Texas A&M.

Kugel, who didn’t play either against Texas A&M in the SEC semifinal or Auburn in the championship game, has the skills to help the Gators, especially on the defensive end. Kugel is nearly 6-6, capable of guarding all the perimeter positions and able to guard taller players if required. His defense against Alabama in the quarterfinal win in Nashville was critical. Kugel has had some big offensive games this season but hasn’t scored double figures since he got 10 against South Carolina. He has scored 20 or more four times this season. When Handlogten was out earlier in the year, Kugel went off for 25 against Baylor, 24 against Wake Forest.

Golden didn’t go into detail about why Kugel’s minutes have diminished, but said he believes Kugel will be ready to respond if and when his number is called.

“I have faith that he will respond the right way,” Golden said. “Obviously, he was disappointed [that he didn’t play two games in Nashville]. I would have been if I was him, too, but again, there's a new opportunity this week is the best way I can say it. And you know, nothing that's happened in the past will prevent him from getting on the court if he deserves to be there this week.

“So I expect and anticipate him having a great week and understanding this is another great opportunity to play in the best event in college sports, in my opinion. I assume a lot of the football people wouldn’t agree with me on that, but March Madness is amazing and I think he’ll be geared up and ready to go.”

Will Richard, who is Kugel’s roommate, says the recent downturn in playing time has not affected his interaction with teammates.

“I’m proud of him with the way he’s handled everything,” Richard said. “There’s definitely been some highs and lows, but he’s been with the team. He’s been encouraging and been positive around the guys. He’s still coming in here and working hard.” 

And, if there is a need for another of the big guys, Golden believes he can count on Szymczyk to answer the bell.

“He's ready to go,” Golden said. “I think it'd be a lot to ask of him to step up, but after Micah went down, I did go down and say, ‘Hey, you better be ready to go’ and his eyes got about that wide. I'm not sure if he knew I was serious, but yeah, we need everybody. And he's capable, man, he's a capable player. He's obviously not in great shape right now, hasn't played in game minutes, but I believe and trust in him in a pinch that he can give us a good effort if we need it.”