Gator Basketball Gators squeak by FCS powerhouse Towson with late rally

[gatorev12]

The optimist in me says that the team pulled through on an off night when the other team was making uncharacteristic shots and having their best night. That will happen and winning this type of game early gives us confidence and experience when the stakes are higher in a conference game on the road.

The pessimist in me says that this was piss-poor focus from a team that had 5x the talent as their opponents and should have blown the doors off the building...especially coming off a loss. White has a LOT to answer for when we struggle this much after a top 5 recruiting class with an All-American caliber big transfer AND we returned several starters and key performers from last year's team (Nembhard, Locke, and KJ...but even Bassett can be useful and is good bench cover).

The realist in me says this team is gelling and should be better as the season goes on as the parts start coming together.

 

[Musclepug]

 

[Musclepug]

 

[Marine1]

As was mentioned.....we got plenty of the shots we wanted. Wide open layups, put backs, floaters, mid-range and 3’s all night. Usually indicates decent ball movement. Just too many chip shots not going down.

I’m curious why given the shooting slumps we don’t use defensive pressure to create tempo and transition offense. We are certainly built for it. My only guess is we are holding back because both offensively and defensively we are very vanilla.

Lewis had a nice half and Mann is adjusting but I’m really excited about Payne. He is going to really contribute.

 

[MertzJay26]

Thoughts on the game:

1. Scottie Lewis is getting more comfortable. His defense is lights out. The offensive side of things seems to be coming along.

2. Omar Payne may take KJ's spot before too much longer. He has nice touch around the basket, plays outstanding D, and is bouncey.

3. Tre Mann was a sniper. I'm not sure what is going on with his shot, but I hope he comes out of it soon. I'm worried the poor shooting will get in his head.

4. I don't put this game on White. Guys were open all night long. They flat out missed shots. The one thing that bothers me is players passing up open 8-12 footers to make an extra pass. Take that freakin shot.

5. Stop playing Glover.

Payne will not overtake a player of Blackshear’s caliber as a freshman. I’d put money on that.

And Glover only played 5 minutes

Other than those two points, I agree

 

[Ocalaman]

Thoughts on the game:

1. Scottie Lewis is getting more comfortable. His defense is lights out. The offensive side of things seems to be coming along.

2. Omar Payne may take KJ's spot before too much longer. He has nice touch around the basket, plays outstanding D, and is bouncey.

3. Tre Mann was a sniper. I'm not sure what is going on with his shot, but I hope he comes out of it soon. I'm worried the poor shooting will get in his head.

4. I don't put this game on White. Guys were open all night long. They flat out missed shots. The one thing that bothers me is players passing up open 8-12 footers to make an extra pass. Take that freakin shot.

5. Stop playing Glover.

Payne is good and going to get better, but he fouls too much. K Johnson is a stud and I don't see him losing his starting position. He's our 2nd leading scorer, is shooting 50% on 3's and 52% overall from the field and is our #2 rebounder. Mann has been a liability on defense and was 0-3 from the free throw line tonight. Nembhard was good down the stretch, but he dribbles around and plays slow too much. And is good for 3-4 really bad, lazy passes each game. He needs to get better. Blackshear settled for 4 threes and missed them all and he's missed too many easy shots around the rim. His shooting percentage has to get better because the offense is running through him. Scottie Lewis started for Locke tonight and I see him becoming a true star as the season goes along. After 3 games we're shooting 23.7% from the 3 point arc, 38% from the field overall. 3 point shooting MUST get better if we're going to be a Top 20 team. Locke is 3-16, Mann 2-10, Blackshear 1-7, Lewis 2-8. Also, we have 34 assists and 34 turnovers and that has to get MUCH better. This team is too talented to not be playing better and hopefully it's just a matter of them getting comfortable playing together in real games and White figuring out his rotation and the best offense to play.

 

[NVAGATOR86]

Wasn't pretty and we did a lot of grinding with a team that at times played at a higher level than we did. We have a lot of talent and the challenge looks to be who gets minutes and who sits. Lewis is obviously the real deal and Locke will probably sit. Blackshear is a stud, but needs help in the post. Jitoboh and Payne will be good but still raw. Ball movement still gets bogged down in our half court offense and we miss too many open shots.
The team is imo loaded but still a work in progress. Young team that will get better with time.
An old ball coach of mine used to say " this ain't gymnastics and we ain't looking for style points, just wins". This looked like one of those nights .

 

[maheo30]

Payne will not overtake a player of Blackshear’s caliber as a freshman. I’d put money on that.

And Glover only played 5 minutes

Other than those two points, I agree

That's 5 minutes too many. And I was talking about Payne taking Johnson's spot, not KBJs. I know it is unlikely as KJ is playing well. I just love Payne's game.

 

[CU-UF]

Well back from a not fun trip. My poor man observations:
Payne is got a huge upside
Blackshear must have been promised free reign to try and showcase NBA skills, shooting 3 way too early in shot clock
Scotty seems to be best defender and will improve as he gets feel for college game
Offensive sets seem slow. A lot of passing around up top with little movement down low, maybe some dribble penetration, idk, seem to do better in transition and just playing quicker.
Still believe a lot of upside potential for team.

 

[MertzJay26]

That's 5 minutes too many. And I was talking about Payne taking Johnson's spot, not KBJs. I know it is unlikely as KJ is playing well. I just love Payne's game.

I don’t mind Glover as a change of pace guy here and there. I think he’s got a bright future.

I see I read your post too quick lol. I do love Payne, but KJ is a stud too. I do like our rotation with Payne at the 4 and KBJ at the 5. Wonder if Scottie can play the 2 and KJ can slide to the 3...

 

[Jbossgator8]

We are going to have to play much better and shoot much better if we are going to have a chance to pull the upset @UCONN on Sunday.

 

[Musclepug]

We are going to have to play much better and shoot much better if we are going to have a chance to pull the upset @UCONN on Sunday.

 

[rogdochar]

This multi-talented "ready-to-gel" team is a blank canvas for a good bball coach to develop. White has a tall inside gang but it looks as though White scoffs at close-in scoring. With a front line of Blackshear, Payne, Jitiboh, etc. White should be insisting these Gators look & look to get the ball inside -- say, Blackshear shoots with Payne expecting to get the putback. White's team doesn't expect the inside game, they expect only the arc-shots -- that is basketball to White..... 95% inside passes are not for a quick put-up, instead it's for a play to pass it back out quickly.??

We see 2 or 3 defenders collapse on the guy with the ball inside but 1 or less go for the guy outside the arc. Why? 'cause that inside shot has that much more likelihood of scoring. White should be pounding that "style" into their BB-IQ at every practice. Hell, truth is, guys can practice those 3-point shots outside of practice or at the other end of court, while bigs go against each other near the basket. IDK, Do something to make this a power team.

Omar Payne is a sure bet to get great, just by more in-game playing time. Jitiboh IMO will be solid player given extra attention in practice & games. But both Payne & Jitiboh need a coach that believes that championship teams ride on their big brute-style play. That is the truth, 90% of the time.

If you watch theTowson replay, notice how "barren" the floor is where a good team's forwards would populate. No Gator is thinking that area is a useful area to be in? (coaching/practice). Big guy leads his defender away from it then zips back. If you're coached right, the disher will look somewhere else, but knows where to zip it -- inside in a smooth non-stop motion the big player scores or gets fouled. If this is the move favored in practice, acoupla Gators will learn to collapse for the rebound because they are in on that play again & again in practice. Also, they have to know that inside play is the play their coach admires most.

Also, getting notarized as an inside-play team will attract those talented big recruits.
As is, this team is pegged as circumference-runners. By that, the D can think only left-right body movement to hamper us. White simplifies things for our opponents' D.

 

[-THE DUDE-]

Glad I was flying during this game...and suddenly not looking forward to going to the butler game as much. Yikes this team is bad

 

[rogdochar]

Gators stunk up the place ... right now they are the fumigators. Our rim-clanging misses will forever bother me.?? It's like some curse that won't leave us. It makes us the weaker team on the court.

Have we ever been able to relax saying White's Gators have solved it all and will handily win this next game? White should have these guys having a bit of Globtrotter type fun even starting the season. Still, they should naturally start dominating as time goes by - a little more courtjoy for these fellows.

 

[NVGator]

18 point favorite. Keep that in mind.

WOW

 

[itsgr82bag8r]

WOW

:pitypost:

 

[Spurdog98]

You can definitely see the individual talent but it's very scattered and NO chemistry whatsoever. It just look like one of those McDonalds's All American games. The big question is can White put the puzzle together before conference play starts or at least by mid-season.

 

[NVAGATOR86]

You can definitely see the individual talent but it's very scattered and NO chemistry whatsoever. It just look like one of those McDonalds's All American games. The big question is can White put the puzzle together before conference play starts or at least by mid-season.

Good points about the talent and the chemistry. When you listen to White comment about his team he basically says the same. The challenge is getting the individuals to perform as a team.
A puzzle is a good analogy and the coaches need to fit the pieces together, while managing the minutes and egos, of guys who will sit.

 

[Captain Sasquatch]

There’s scarcely been a time in White’s tenure when the team had good chemistry on offense, no matter how young or old the team was.