Basketball practice: Another good day for Castleton

Practice six is in the books for the Gators, who worked out for the second straight day in the O-Dome Tuesday. The Gators did some full court work on both offensive and defensive transition, but most of the practice was devoted to half court work.

Play of the day

Freshman Riley Kugel (6-5, 190, FR) maneuvered his way through a crowded paint area, elevated above everyone and hammered home a two-handed jam. This is the third straight practice that Kugel has shown serious hops and the ability to thunder home a poster finish. Before practice, Niels Lane (6-5, 215, JR) said, “He’s definitely super advanced and he’s super athletic. Probably one of the bounciest guys on the team. He surprises me every time we get on the court. I’d say he has more bounce than me.” Lane has a 43-inch vertical. Kugel may be up around 45. Kugel spent a lot of time with the first unit Tuesday and did a few rounds at the point where he looked very much in control.

Player of the day

Once again, that was Colin Castleton (6-11, 247, 5th YR), who spent the day showing what happens if you double team him. Doubled on the left block, he spied Kowacie Reeves (6-6, 190, SO) deep beyond the 3-point line. It was an easy catch-and-shoot 3-pointer for Reeves, who was a good 24 feet beyond the basket. Later on, the two of them connected again. This time Castleton was at the high post when Reeves rubbed off a pick to make a catch in stride for a layup. Castleton had to physically fight through a double team to find Alex Fudge (6-9, 200, SO) on a cut through the lane for a layup. Those two connected again on a high-low with Castleton seeing the floor from the top of the key and Fudge rubbing off the pick for the score.

Quote of the day

Kowacie Reeves on the importance of Colin Castleton returning for one more year: “Crucial, crucial part. I guarantee if he doesn’t come back we’re not the team we’re about to be. He’s a crucial part of the team and like Coach Golden says, ’17 and 10’ – that’s pretty self-explanatory for how much he can impact the game.”

Other players of note:

Reeves: After a frustrating day on Monday when Lane was in a defensive coma in which he was truly harassing, Kowacie finally got the best of him from what seemed to be another time zone. With the shot clock winding down, Reeves launched and nailed the three. Fouled as he shot, he knocked down the free throw. Lane gave it that old “even blind squirrels find an acorn sometimes” grin and shrugged his shoulder. All-in-all, it was a productive day for Reeves on the offensive end. He shot the ball rather well, but he still needs to put the ball on the deck and take it to the rack. He’s too quick and too good a ball handler not to be able to either get to the rack or draw a foul.

“I like to be guarded by guys like that (Lane) because in a game it makes me so much easier,” Reeves said.

Lane: He’s truly elite on the defensive end. One-on-one, he can guard four of the five positions (center the only one he can’t) and lock them down. He looked good in full court pressure as well as defending in the half court. What’s surprising is his growing offensive game. He had one really nice play when he elevated over everyone just to the right of the foul line and banked in (on purpose) about an 8-footer over Fudge. After practice he hung around and had managers feeding him for 3-pointers. He’s done some mechanical work on his shot.

“I’m just trying to make it all one motion and make it smoother and working on knocking down open threes and making some midrange shots,” Lane said.

Fudge: Watching him, you realize he doesn’t have to have the ball in his hands to be a scoring threat. He runs constantly so he’s open a lot for passes near the rim where he’s a strong finisher. He gets his hands on a lot of loose balls so he’s going to score points every game on stickbacks. Those quick hands serve him well on the defensive end. He’s like Lane, a truly elite defender. He blocks shots, gets his hand in the passing lane and tips a lot of loose balls into teammates’ hands.

“He can be one of those guys that just fills up the start sheet – blocks, rebounds, dunks, threes,” Reeves said. “He can do it all and I’m excited to see what he has in store for this team.”

Trey Bonham (6-0, 170, JR): He should be nicknamed Area Code, as in he is in range from area codes outside the 352. He’s a legitimate deep threat but he’s not an unconscious gunner. He does a really nice job of shooting when he’s open and most of the time, keeping the ball moving from the point. You may have to go all the way back to Anthony Roberson to find a Florida guard with his kind of quickness. He had a couple of ankle-breaker crossover dribbles. He’s fearless in the paint, not afraid of contact. He had a very nice slice through a double team to finish with a high off the glass bank over Jason Jitoboh (6-11, 300, SR).

Denzel Aberdeen (6-5, 185, FR): He’s growing more comfortable out there. He played the point most of the day with the twos and had a very nice day. Only had a couple of turnovers that can best be described as freshman mistakes. He’ll learn. He showed some confidence and some range when he nailed a long (probably 24 feet) jumper from just left of the key.

Jitoboh: He still doesn’t have complete vision in his left eye from the injury in Knoxville back in February, but he’s very aware of teammates, sets lethal picks and he’s not turning the ball over. Defensively, he doesn’t elevate to block many shots but doesn’t have to. He’s a wall and he’s very strong.

“He’s a big guy,” said associate head coach Carlin Hartman. “When he sets a ball screen you’re not going through him first of all. It’s had to go around him because he’s so wide and he’s a target at the rim. He’s a wrecking ball in there. There’s a lot of use for a guy like that. The thing I’m impressed the most with him is how great a teammate he is.”

Aleks Szymczyk (6-11, 232, FR): He gets beat up a lot going head-to-head with Castleton, Jitoboh, Fudge and Felder, but he doesn’t back down on either end of the court. He had a nice shot over Castleton that hung on the rim before dropping in and showed some skill when he hit Lane cutting through the lane for a layup.

CJ Felder (6-7, 240, SR): He had a solid defensive day and showed some real toughness battling in the paint for rebounds. He only got off a couple of shots in the offense but his play was solid throughout. He’s still getting back to where he was as a freshman at Boston College after an injury-filled season last year at UF, but he’s so physical and so strong inside, plus he can guard at least three positions.

Myreon Jones (6-3, 177, GR): He played some point, mostly wing with the ones. He had a good day shooting although he didn’t launch many shots, just mostly kept the ball moving. He handles the ball with a lot more confidence this year.

Injured reserve

Kyle Lofton (6-3, 186, GR) wasn’t dressed out again. This is just short term and a precaution from a groin bruise from Saturday.

Will Rich (6-4, 206, SO): He’s hoisting shots whenever he can. Still recovering from an ankle sprain but the compression was off the ankle Tuesday so he could be back in a matter of days.