The reverse-Samson effect has Gators poised to dominate

With the new do Boogie is on a roll (UAA Photo)

If you grew up in Sunday School or watching the old Cecile B. DeMille movies, you’re probably familiar with the story of Samson, the strongest man the world has ever known. Until Samson was coaxed into confessing the source of his strength was never cutting his hair, he was the scourge of the countryside. The Philistines quivered in fear that Samson would go on one of those rampages like the one with the jawbone of a donkey. Then he told Delilah his secret, his golden locks were trimmed and his strength drained from his body.

Well, think of what has happened with Boogie Fland a reverse Samson. Since his first haircut in five years, Boogie has become the catalyst of a Florida surge that has moved the 19^th-ranked Gators (12-5, 3-1 SEC) to the forefront of the Southeastern Conference race. In Florida’s SEC opening loss to Missouri, the Gators looked like a team that might struggle in SEC play. The Gators blew out Georgia in the next game, but that’s when Fland went to see the same barber who cut Walter Clayton Jr.’s hair. Walt went from All-SEC to All-America after his clip. In the two games since Fland got his new do, the Gators have begun the transformation into the team everybody thought they would be when the season began.

It’s like putting a puzzle together. Sometimes it just takes awhile for all the parts to fit together and there is usually one piece – in this case, Fland – that hastens the picture becoming complete. With Fland’s game on the upswing, the entire Florida team has played with new intensity, making Saturday’s matchup with 10^th-ranked Vanderbilt (16-1, 3-1 SEC) in Nashville) an opportunity for the Gators to assert themselves as not just the best team in the SEC, but a legitimate challenger to go deep into the NCAA Tournament in March.

The key has been the guard play. The Gators have the best and most experienced front line in the country, but the big guys can’t do it alone. With the improved play on the perimeter since the loss to Missouri, the Gators have dominated three straight opponents, scoring more than 90 points in wins over Georgia, Tennessee and Oklahoma while winning by an average of 18.7.

The big guys – Alex Condon, Rueben Chinyelu, Tommy Haugh and Micah Handlogten – have simply done what they always do, but thanks to the improvement in the guard play, the floor has opened up. Fland and his mates in the backcourt – Xaivian Lee, Urban Klavzar and Isaiah Brown – still haven’t found any consistency shooting the ball, but their defense and speed have opened up the floor.

Georgia, Tennessee and Oklahoma tried to collapse the defense around the big guys, but the guards got enough penetration and hit just enough shots to render that strategy useless. Since he shed the dreads after the Georgia game, Fland has put up 38 points, eight rebounds, 12 assists and six steals with an impressive assist-to-turnover margin of 12-to-3. Add the Georgia game in and Fland, Lee, Klavzar and Brown have combined for 115 points, 28 rebounds, 37 assists and 14 steals.

The guards aren’t exactly burning it up from the 3-point line – just 14-52 in the last three games – but the way the Gators have been rebounding, 3-point makes are more of a luxury than a necessity. Already leading the nation in rebounding, the Gators average a  46.7-32 advantage in the last three games with 51 of those misses retrieved on the offensive end.

The big guys, meanwhile, have combined for 145 points, 97 rebounds, 19 assists, 12 steals and 18 blocked shots.

The way the Gators have won these last three games, they’ve taken on the look of a team on a search and destroy mission. The defensive intensity has picked up considerably, particularly on the perimeter where Fland has turned three very good shooters very ordinary. With Fland all over him, Georgia’s Jeremiah Wilkinson went 1-9 from the floor just a game removed destroying Auburn with 31. On the heels of a 34-point game against Texas, Tennessee’s Ja’Kobi Gillespie, who managed only 12. Tuesday against Oklahoma, Nijel Pack scored only five. The game before he lit up the Aggies for 24.

With their best scorers shut down on the perimeter, opponents have struggled in the paint. Possessions have been one-and-done. Meanwhile, the Gators sometimes seem like they’re playing volleyball on the offensive end. The ball goes up and if it’s missed it can lead to multiple shot possessions.

This will be the key against Vandy. The Commodores rely so heavily on the 3-point shot and they are especially good at funky Memorial Gymnasium. Typically, the Commodores launch 25-30 threes. That number has to be cut to somewhere around 20. The Gators held Georgia, Tennessee and Oklahoma to a combined 50 3-point attempts. When the Gators run opponents off the 3-point line, it plays into the hands of the big guys. Missed shots become Florida rebounds and rebounds become fast breaks.

Golden will insist that we can’t make too much of these last three games, that there are still 14 SEC games ahead, then the SEC Tournament and that is followed by the NCAA Tournament. He sees with a one-game-at-a-time vision, but he knows he has a good team. He also knows that if the shooting ever comes around, he could have a second straight great one.

It is a step-by-step process, but the transformation of Fland into the kind of lead guard that can take a team from good to great has begun. Fland, combined with Lee, make the Gators next to impossible to press effectively. The four big guys, particularly with Chinyelu rebounding everything in sight and Haugh playing the whatever it takes for the team to win role, are the best in the league.

If the Gators come out of Nashville with a win, they are going to dominate the SEC the rest of the season.

Wednesday’s scores

Texas (11-6, 2-2 SEC) 80, No. 10 Vanderbilt (16-1, 3-1 SEC) 65: Texas dominated the backboards, outrebounding Vanderbilt, 42-24, to hand the Commodores their first loss of the season. Vandy couldn’t contain 7-1 Matas Vokietatis, who scored 22, all in the paint. Vandy hit only 9-25 from the 3-point line. Duke Miles led Vanderbilt with 21.

No. 17 Arkansas (13-4, 3-1 SEC) 108, South Carolina (10-7, 1-3 SEC) 74: Meleek Thomas hit all five of his threes to lead Arkansas to a blowout of South Carolina. Thomas scored 21 to lead the Razorbacks while Darius Acuff Jr. had 18. Meechie Johnson scored 29 to lead South Carolina.

Ole Miss (10-7, 2-2 SEC) 97, No. 21 Georgia (14-3, 2-2 SEC) 95, OT: Patton Pinkins scored with one second remaining in overtime to give Ole Miss the upset win over Georgia. AJ Storr came off the bench to score 27 for Ole Miss, which hit 11-24 from the 3-point line. Jeremiah Wilkinson, who hit 6-10 from the 3-point line, led Georgia with 32.

Missouri (13-4, 3-1 SEC) 84, Auburn (10-7, 1-3 SEC) 74: Jayden Stone scored 22 points and Mark Mitchell 20 to lead Missouri past Auburn. The difference in the game was at the 3-point line where Mizzou went 9-19 and Auburn had a cold-shooting 6-21.  Elyjah Freeman led Auburn with 13.

Kentucky (11-6, 2-2 SEC) 75, LSU (12-5, 0-4 SEC) 74: The Wildcats trailed by 16 at the half, then rallied to win on an impossible Hail Mary that Malachi Moreno turned into the game-winning shot. The Wildcats couldn’t have won the game without 17 second half points from former Gator Denzel Aberdeen. Max Mackinnon and Marquel Sutton each scored 16 for LSU.

Saturday’s games

No. 19 FLORIDA (12-5, 3-1 SEC) at No. 10 Vanderbilt (16-1, 3-1 SEC)

No. 17 Arkansas (13-4, 3-1 SEC) at No. 21 Georgia (14-3, 2-2 SEC)

No. 18 Alabama (12-5, 2-2 SEC) at Oklahoma (11-6, 1-3 SEC)

Kentucky (11-6, 2-2 SEC) at No. 24 Tennessee (12-5, 2-2 SEC)

Missouri (13-4, 3-1 SEC) at LSU (12-5, 0-4 SEC)

Texas A&M (13-4, 3-1 SEC) at Texas (11-6, 2-2 SEC)

South Carolina (10-7, 1-3 SEC) at Auburn (10-7, 1-3 SEC)

Ole Miss (10-7, 2-2 SEC) at Mississippi State (10-7, 2-2 SEC)