You Can Forget About Embalming the Florida Gators Basketball Program
- Franz Beard
- Apr 8, 2021
- 9 min read
“Reports of my death are greatly exaggerated” – Mark Twain
Wasn’t it just a week ago when the University of Florida basketball program was being read last rites by the high priests of the internet? Four players had entered the transfer portal and the two five-star recruits from the class of 2019 were going pro, one that will be drafted in the first round, the other who will be fortunate to get a G-League contract. Keyboard cowboys from one end of the Gator Nation to another claimed that if athletic director Scott Stricklin didn’t hurry up and fire Mike White that at least half of the 2021-22 roster would be filled by walk-ons.
When the transfers were being announced one-by-one, it seemed like a bailout of record proportions was taking place at Florida, but a quick study of what’s going on in the Southeastern Conference and all over the nation seems to indicate that what is happening at Florida isn’t all that unusual. Spring has sprung nationwide and with it the transfer season is upon us like never before. For some coaches the exodus will prove to be an unraveling of the program and their careers. Others will survive and a few of the survivors will actually thrive.
Consider Mike White a survivor. Time will tell if he thrives but the way things look right now, he has done a rebuild faster than anyone could have expected. In one short week, the disappointment of a second round NCAA Tournament loss followed by a rush of departures by half the roster has given way to a sense of optimism. Reports that proclaim the Florida basketball program embalmed and awaiting burial it seems are greatly exaggerated. Indeed, six players are in transit to St. Somewhere Else but White has already recruited three replacements with room to add two or three more to next season’s roster.
With the exception of Tre Mann, last season’s leading scorer when he was a first team All-SEC last season and currently ESPN’s 15th-ranked NBA Draft prospect, the departing players won’t be missed nearly as much as it seemed they would when they announced they were leaving. The five departing players not named Mann are Noah Locke, Omar Payne (transferring to Illinois), Ques Glover, Osayi Osifo (transferring to Jacksonville) and Scottie Lewis (declared for the NBA Draft). Since the 2020-21 season didn’t count against anyone’s eligibility per an edict from the NCAA, Locke, Payne, Glover, Osifo and Lewis each had two remaining years of eligibility.
Of the five, Locke was the only full-time starter. Lewis started nine games, Payne eight and neither Glover nor Osifo were on the floor even once for the opening tip. Now, here is their productivity from the just completed season: Locke (10.6 points, 2.4 rebounds, 0.7 assists, 0.6 steals, 0.2 blocked shots per game); Payne (3.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, 0.4 assists, 0.4 steals, 1.2 blocked shots); Glover (2.5 points, 0.8 rebounds, 0.7 assists, 0.6 steals, 0 blocked shots); Osifo (1.9 points, 2.6 rebounds, 0.4 assists, 0.2 steals, 0.1 blocked shots); Lewis (7.9 points, 3.1 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.6 steals, 1.0 blocked shots). Locke shot 40.4 percent from the three-point line and Payne shot 75 percent from the field, largely because the bulk of his 52 shot attempts were either dunks or something inside two feet.
Combined, the departing five represent 26.7 points, 12.1 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 3.4 steals and 2.5 blocked shots per game. That’s not exactly overwhelming productivity.
The three replacements that have already committed to White and the Gators are Brandon McKissic, a 6-3, 200-pound combo guard from Missouri-Kansas City; C.J. Felder, a 6-7, 235-pound power forward from Boston College; and Myreon Jones, a 6-3, 180-pound wing guard from Penn State. McKissic was being heavily recruited by blueblood Kansas as well as Oregon State, which won the Pac-12 and made the Elite Eight. Felder broke the hearts of Tennessee, Virginia and UConn when he chose Florida. The final four choices for Jones were the Gators, LSU, Arkansas and Ole Miss. McKissic is a graduate transfer so he’s a one-and-done after this season. Felder will have three years of eligibility and Jones two.
McKissic, who was the Defensive Player of the Year in the Summit League (Oral Roberts is from the Summit), averaged 17.2 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.5 steals and 0.1 blocked shots per game. He shot 50.8 percent overall and 42.9 percent from the 3-point line.
Felder, who plays taller than his 6-7, averaged 9.7 points, 5.9 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 1.0 steals and 2.2 blocked shots. He shot 45.9 percent from the field.
Jones was the leading scorer at Penn State where he averaged 15.3 points, 2.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.3 steals and 0.1 blocks per game. Jones shot 39.5 percent from the 3-point line and 77.3 percent from the foul line.
The combined productivity of the three transfers is 42.2 points, 12.3 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 3.8 steals and 2.4 blocked shots per game.
When you compare the combined stats of the three incoming transfers against those of the four outgoing transfers and Lewis, you could call this addition by subtraction. The stat gap will become more pronounced if White, as expected, adds one or two more transfers.
The three newbies bring to 11 the number of scholarship players on the Florida roster, but that counts Keyontae Johnson, whose medical status remains a mystery at this point. While everyone in the country hopes he will be able to play basketball again, there has been nothing from Johnson’s family nor from the medical professionals to indicate if he will ever be able to return. Until there is an announcement regarding Johnson’s status, he remains on scholarship although the safe assumption is that he will not be playing next year.
This is what the roster currently looks like:
Returning (6): Colin Castleton (6-11, 235, 5th YR JR); Anthony Duruji (6-7, 220, 5th YR JR); Tyree Appleby (6-1, 172, 5th YR JR); Jason Jitoboh (6-11, 285, 3rd YR SO); Samson Ruzhentsev (6-7, 195, 2nd YR FR); Neils Lane (6-5, 205, 2nd YR FR)
Signed LOI (1): Kowacie Reeves (6-6, 180, Macon, GA Westside)
Transfers (3): Brandon McKissic (6-3, 200, GR); C.J. Felder (6-7, 235, 3rd YR SO); Myreon Jones (6-3, 185, 4th YR JR)
Status in doubt: Keyontae Johnson (6-5, 240, 4th YR JR)
If Johnson is unable to return, White will have three scholarships to fill. Since Tyree Appleby is the only true point guard on the roster, White will need to find a backup either in the transfer portal or the high school/junior college ranks. It is confirmed that White has had conversations with Deivon Smith (6-1, 165), who spent his true freshman year at Mississippi State, where he played in 33 games and started eight. Smith averaged 5.2 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.9 assists as one of the first players off Ben Howland’s bench. Florida was heavily involved in the recruitment of Smith when he was a 4-star prospect out of Grayson High School in the Atlanta metro area.
The Gators are currently pursuing high school wings Wesley Cardet Jr. (6-6, 175, Oakland Park, FL/Orlando, FL West Oaks Academy) and Jordan Shorter (6-5, 180, Miami, FL/Orlando, FL West Oaks Academy), a pair of athletic shooters. Alabama seems to have the inside track on Cardet while Florida seems to be the leader for Shorter. The Gators are also working hard to land centers Nate Tshimanga (6-9, 235, Brazzaville, Congo/Granbury, TX North Central Texas Academy) and Bretner Motumbo (6-11, 220, Kinshasha, Congo/Chattanooga, TN Hamilton Heights Christian Academy).
White continues to work the transfer portal for Tari Eason (6-8, 220), who averaged 7.3 points and 5.9 rebounds in only 18 minutes per game at Cincinnati as a true freshman, and Noah Gurley (6-8, 210), who averaged 15.4 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game on a good Furman team. Eason’s suitors include Marquette, LSU, Washington, Washington State and Iowa State. Gurley will announce Sunday from a group that includes Duke, Tennessee, San Diego State, Marquette, Auburn, Alabama and Miami.
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If you add the three recent commitments, White has brought in 10 transfers since he took the Florida job in 2015. That offsets the 16 who have departed during his tenure although it must be noted that very few of those who transferred out found success elsewhere. The most notable exception is Andrew Nembhard, who started for NCAA runner-up Gonzaga after two very good seasons with the Gators.
The list of those who have transferred out: Devon White (Troy, a Billy Donovan recruit); Brandone Francis-Ramirez (Texas Tech, another Donovan recruit); Alex Murphy (Northeastern, Donovan recruit); Keith Stone (Miami); Eric Hester (Texas Southern); Gorjok Gak (California Baptist); Mike Okauru (UNC-Wilmington); Chase Johnson (Dayton); Isaiah Stokes (Memphis); De’Aundre Ballard (South Alabama), Nembhard (Gonzaga) and the four who announced in the past two weeks.
To his credit, White has chosen wisely among transfers because Canyon Barry (from Charleston), Jalen Hudson (from Virginia Tech), Egor Koulechov (from Rice), Kerry Blackshear Jr. (from Virginia Tech), Anthony Duruji (from Louisiana Tech), Tyree Appleby (from Cleveland State) and Colin Castleton (from Michigan) have all been very productive. Barry was the SEC Sixth Man of the Year in 2017 when he averaged 11.4 points and 2.8 rebounds to help take the Gators to the Elite Eight game. Hudson averaged 12.3 points and 3.1 rebounds per game in two seasons at UF. In his one season at UF, Koulechov averaged 13.8 points and a team-high 6.4 rebounds. Blackshear made second team All-SEC while averaging 12.8 points and a team-high 7.5 rebounds per game. Appleby was good for 11.3 points, 3.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists in the recently concluded season while Duruji was good for 6.1 points and 4.4 rebounds as a sometime starter. Castleton was the big surprise. At Michigan he averaged 2.3 points and 1.8 rebounds in two seasons. Last season at Florida he made second team All-SEC while averaging 12.4 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.3 blocked shots per game.
Detractors and White supporters alike have to be troubled by the revolving door of players leaving even if it is offset by very good transfers. During White’s tenure, Kevaughn Allen is the only high school recruit who made it through all four years. White brought in junior college transfer Justin Leon his first year on the job and Leon stayed both years and graduated. All the other recruits who began their careers at Florida left the program before finishing their four years of eligibility.
The lack of a foundation for bringing in high school kids and keeping them committed to the program is indeed a problem because that’s where a program’s foundation must begin. Most of the kids White brought in from the high school ranks weren’t good enough to play in the Southeastern Conference to begin with and that led to them leaving. The 2018 class that brought in Nembhard (5-star), Johnson (4-star), Locke (4-star) and Payne (4-star) was thought to be evidence that White finally had turned the corner in recruiting since all four were so highly regarded but three of them have departed and only Johnson remains although with no indication if he will ever play again.
White followed that up in 2019 by bringing in Mann and Lewis, both 5-star recruits and McDonald’s All-Americans. Mann is off to the NBA, which isn’t surprising. Lewis hasn’t developed, needs another year of college basketball, but is hiring an agent so his college days are over.
For 2021, Kowacie Reeves (4-star recruit and ranked among the top 30 kids) was the only signee, largely because there were no scholarships available at the time he put his name on the LOI. Now, it’s late in the process and most of the outstanding high school kids have already signed. There are a few good ones left, but most of the unsigned aren’t the types to come in and play immediately.
The number of kids leaving the program hasn’t exactly come back to bite White but only because he’s had extraordinary success bringing in capable replacements via the transfer route. As long as White can land better talent via the transfer route than the kids who leave looking for a new place to play, the Gators aren’t going to be hurt as badly as some of the other programs that are being decimated by transfers (currently more than 1,300 in the transfer portal; only half expected to land a scholarship).
Imagine how things are going to explode in a matter of weeks when the NCAA enacts legislation that will eliminate the one-year penalty that requires an athlete to sit out a year. With a one-time transfer without penalty assured, more kids than ever before are going to be looking for that grass is greener place and there will be nothing to deter kids from leaving even for the flimsiest of reasons.
How will White and every other Division I coach handle things when the new rules kick in? That is the question that has to be asked as Florida basketball moves forward. For next season, at least, White has stabilized matters by bringing in three very talented transfers with potentially two more to be added very soon. Based on what we’ve seen of White in bringing in quality transfers, he just might prove to be one of the better prepared coaches to handle what’s forthcoming.
Transfers have played a vital role to Florida’s success the past six years – we tend to forget only Kentucky has had more success in the SEC during that time – and they have turned what just a week ago was viewed as a pending disaster into what may turn into an even better season when college basketball cranks up in the fall. Mike White’s roster won’t be dominated by walk-ons and it might turn out to be one of the more capable rosters in the entire league.
So put the bottles of embalming fluid back on the shelf and fill the hole which was supposed to be the grave of the Florida basketball program. Mike White and Florida basketball won’t be kicking the bucket for at least one more year.
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