Have The Gators Regained Their Swag?
Mystifying. That might be an appropriate word to describe Mike White’s Florida basketball team 17 games into the season. It’s mystifying because this team has proven it can play so well and so physical in wins over Florida State and Ohio State, both of whom have wins over Duke. It’s mystifying because the same Gators who won those two games when they were off to a 6-0 start can be dominated by a Texas Southern team that came to the O-Dome winless. Also mystifying because the Gators 3-6 slump after that 6-0 start included three straight SEC losses to ranked teams that followed a self-destructive pattern.
Perhaps the greatest mystery of all is how this same team beat a very good Mississippi State team at the O-Dome without injured Colin Castleton despite trailing by 10 in the first half and by eight with eight minutes to go in the second. That was Florida’s second straight SEC win and it probably raises as many questions as it answered.
First and foremost, there is the question of Castleton and health. Prior to injuring his shoulder the day before Mississippi State, the 6-11 Castleton was playing the best basketball of his career, doing it at both ends of the court while providing serious leadership. In the Gators four SEC games prior to Mississippi State, he averaged 17.5 points, 8.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.0 steals and 3.5 blocked shots per game. For the season he’s averaging 15.4 points, 9.1 rebounds and 3.5 blocks per game, which ranks second in the SEC. In the win over South Carolina, Castleton scored 10 points and had seven rebounds, two assists and eight blocked shots. Despite scoring totals that are misleading, he dominated the game at both ends of the court. Offensively, South Carolina wasted so much energy collapsing on Castleton to keep him from scoring that it opened the game up for everyone else. Defensively, no one got to the rim in the second half.
“I was really down for Colin this afternoon as we go to shootaround and we got the news [that he would not play],” White said. “He’s coming off his best three-game stretch … not only numbers but confidence, swagger – some of those things we talk about – unselfishness, leadership, passion, making winning plays. He’s just been really, really good and I feel for him.”
Castleton is a warrior who played through a significant ankle injury last year. There were times last season when Castleton’s ankle was swollen the size of a softball, yet the big man from DeLand played through the injury and was one of the most consistent big men in the country. Having seen him deal with the pain with such toughness, White says that for Castleton to miss a game, the injury has to be serious. How long he will be out of the lineup is unknown at this time, but it could have a serious impact on the Gators, who have 13 SEC games remaining plus the SEC/Big 12 Challenge matchup with Oklahoma State.
Without Castleton against Mississippi State, the Gators had to go against a huge front line that measured 6-11, 6-9 and 6-8 with only one player taller than 6-7. Despite lacking the rim protector and the consistent rebounding presence that Castleton brings to the table, the Gators compensated surprisingly well. There were many unexpected contributions.
Jason Jitoboh, the likeable 6-11, 290-pound Nigerian, picked up three first half fouls and sat all but five minutes. When he picked up his fourth foul four minutes into the second half, he had one blocked shot to show for his time on the court. He played like a man possessed in the final eight minutes of the game when he played foul-free, scored eight points – the Gators won the game by eight – and used his body like a wall to keep the Bulldogs away from the rim.
“Down the stretch he was really good,” White said. “Made some plays at the rim. Both offensively and defensively had some good wall-ups … He’s a consistent guy, especially these last few months. He just kind of stays the course. He’s a guy that at times hasn’t gotten much opportunity. He’s got a great attitude.”
Tuongthach Gatkek, who hadn’t even played in a game since December 22, entered the game early when Jitoboh drew the ire of the zebras. His numbers weren’t overwhelming, he was able to contribute on both ends of the court. He scored two points on a dunk, grabbed a rebound and was very good in the full court press where he came up with a pair of steals. He used his length and quickness to help out defensively, and offensively, he helped keep the ball moving without turning it over.
“I thought he was terrific helping us,” White said. “… He did a lot of stuff that allowed for some ball movement without him scoring.”
Freshman Kowacie Reeves, starting his third straight game, had a second straight 14-point performance, hitting 3-6 from the three-point line, 3-4 from the foul line and contributing two rebounds, an assist and a blocked shot. In the wins over South Carolina and Mississippi State, he’s hit 5-9 from the three-point line and 7-9 from the foul line. As both South Carolina and Mississippi State discovered, he’s not a late-game liability at the foul line even if he is a freshman.
Tyree Appleby, whose previous four games had produced just 26 points, scored 17 against the Bulldogs, 13 in the first half. When MSU tried to neutralize him in the second half, Appleby became a distributor and a key factor in Florida’s very efficient full court press. He finished with five assists and only two turnovers. This after a six assist, two turnover game at South Carolina. Against Alabama, Auburn and LSU he had 15 assists and 12 turnovers.
Phlandrous Fleming Jr., healthy again, has scored in double figures three straight games. Against MSU, he had 10 points, three rebounds, five assists, one blocked shot and a steal despite giving up three and four inches in height on the defensive end. He has become White’s defensive jack-of-all trades. In any given game he will defend four positions rather efficiently and on the offensive end, he’s a fearless driver who can get into the paint to complement good range from the perimeter.
And then there was Anthony Duruji, who had the best game of his Florida career. After a quiet first half, Duruji came alive in the final 20 minutes when the Gators needed someone to step up and carry the offensive load. Duruji scored 18 of his game-high 22 points in the second half. For the game he was 6-8 from the field including 2-3 on his three-pointers. He had three rebounds, a blocked shot and a game-high five steals while playing the point in Florida’s full court press.
When Mississippi State got the ball across midcourt, Duruji often drew the assignment of dealing with Iverson Molinar, a very gifted scorer who is likely to have a long NBA career someday. Molinar scored 10 in the first half, but only two in the second when Duruji became his primary defender. He couldn’t drive on Duruji and when the Bulldogs tried to free him up with screens he didn’t have enough room to squeeze off shots. It was a brilliant effort, the kind the Gators need on an every night basis.
“His motor has improved as much as anything along with his skill level and confidence,” White said. “He was really, really good in the second half.”
What the Gators did against Mississippi State was admirable, but can they sustain that kind of effort if Castleton is out of the lineup for a prolonged period of time? And, even when Castleton returns, can the Gators play with that kind of tenacity defensively and can then commit to moving the basketball the way they have the last two games. The Gators have hit 50 percent or better from the field only four times all season, but they made 55.1 percent of their shots against South Carolina and followed that up by hitting 51.1 percent against Mississippi State. In the three SEC losses prior to South Carolina, the best shooting effort was 42.3 percent against Alabama.
Florida’s abysmal three-point shooting seems to have found the range once again. The Gators hit 10-24 against Mississippi State. More importantly, the Gators took good shots. There weren’t any wild or out of range attempts.
If Castleton is out several games, the Gators are going to be at a serious disadvantage, both in terms of size and depth. The Gators will really be tested when they have to play three games in five days starting with Saturday’s home encounter with Vanderbilt. That will be followed by a Monday makeup game with Ole Miss in Oxford (game was postponed due to COVID back on December 29) and then a road trip to Knoxville to face No. 24 Tennessee Wednesday night.
This isn’t an ideal schedule but everyone in the league understands that the problems dealing with COVID require flexibility even if it isn’t convenient. The way the Gators have played the last two games should bolster their confidence, but especially after getting the win over Mississippi State when it took the entire team to play at a very high level on both ends of the court.
“To be able to beat Mississippi State without Colin Castleton, our guys should feel good about themselves,” White said.
It will take more than feeling good these next three games. It is a chance for UF (11-6, 2-3 SEC) to move up in the SEC standings. Currently, there are seven teams in the league with three losses in conference play so the doom and gloom of starting SEC play 0-3 should be replaced by a feeling of optimism. After the Mississippi State win, Duruji said the Gators have their swag back after that 3-6 stretch.
Swag is a fragile thing, however, and White is aware that this team has struggled at times with dealing with adversity. In the wins over South Carolina and Mississippi State there was plenty of adversity but the Gators played through it so there is hope for the rest of the season.
“We played with a ton of confidence early [against Mississippi State], and some of that was we were so proficient defensively,” White said. “We just seemed to shoot it with more confidence. I could go on and on and we definitely showed some more swagger offensively. I thought we played more downhill, played with instincts, let it fly to a certain extent … that said I like our shot selection too. It’s a really conscientious group, a really good group of guys. I think sometimes we can overthink it.”
Can the Gators make it through however many games they’ll be without Colin Castleton, but particularly these next three games without overthinking? If they can somehow go 2-1 over this short stretch, they’ll go into the month of February even at 4-4 in the SEC which will should have them very much in the NCAA Tournament conversation.
It’s mystifying that the Gators can be so good at times and yet play so poorly at others. If White has found the right buttons to push that can keep the Gators playing with the same level of consistency we’ve seen the last couple of games, and if Castleton can recover quickly from his injury, then it’s entirely possible that White could get the Gators into the NCAA Tournament for the fourth straight year.
Who would have even thought that ten days ago when it seemed the Gators were about to go in the tank?
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