Watching the Florida Gators Basketball team this year has been hard at times. This is not the normal, steady Gators team that we have grown accustomed to in years past. This team is uneven. It is inconsistent, intriguing, and offensively challenged all at the same time. As of December the 6th, the team is under .500 at 3-4, with no good wins and a couple of ugly, not bad, but ugly losses in which the team looked dysfunctional. Billy Donovan is an excellent coach, and I am sure he will get this team back on track. That said, what exactly is wrong with the Florida Gators?
What is wrong with the Florida Gators Basketball Team?
The first (and easiest) explanation of the Gators downfall is the quality of players they lost last year. While those players might not have had eye-popping numbers, it is their leadership and composure that has been missed the most. Casey Prather (13.8 PPG & 5 RPG) was their perimeter defender, and strong wing rebounder. Scottie Wilbekin (13.1 PPG & 3.6 APG) was their floor general. Patric Young (11 PPG & 6.2 RPG) was their interior force. Will Yeguete (5.2 RPG) was probably the most underrated of them all. Yeguete was a “glue-guy”, someone who was consistent and brought energy to the team. Despite the loss of talent, this years squad has no excuses. They knew these guys would be gone.
Four of the returners, Michael Frazier II, Dorian Finney-Smith, Kasey Hill, and Chris Walker, were expected to lead this years team, and they have been mostly underwhelming to start the season.
I cannot criticize Finney-Smith for being injured, or Frazier II for forcing the defense to gameplan their whole scheme around him, although Frazier has seen his 3PT% drop from 44% to 35% this year. He was a great 3rd option, especially with open looks after Wilbekin would drive, collapse the defense, and kick to Frazier. Those looks are not coming so easy now, with Frazier being the main option. He must adjust if he wants to see his numbers improve.
Hill has played his butt off, but to no avail. His 8.2 PPG and 28% on field goals will not cut it if the Gators want to make a run. Hill is now the floor general. If he played bad last year, Coach Donovan could just throw Wilbekin back in. It isn’t so simple this year, and Hill isn’t making things any easier, either. Chris Walker has barely been able to stay on the floor, either due to academic ineligibility or team suspension. It’s a shame because Walker has so much ability and potential just waiting to take flight. Despite that, he has remained ineffective on offense, with no sense of a post move on the low block or ability to run the offense from the high post. He strength is his defense, in which his length really helps him with. Right now, he is just an athlete trying to learn the higher basics of the game, and that is a problem for the thin Gators.
Another problem with Florida this year has been front court depth. We talked about Walker already, but Jacob Kurtz and Jon Horford aren’t exactly players that will keep an opposing coach up at night. Kurtz has seen his minutes jump from 8.5 per game to 24.9 per game and Horford has seen his jump from 13.8 to 28.4 per game. Both players aren’t exactly “bad” players, and Horford, to his credit, has actually been playing extremely well by scoring 10.3 PPG and pulling down 6.7 RPG. That said, Kurtz and Horford are complementary players; they aren’t going to lead this team to its potential.
Third, Florida’s offense has been putrid overall this year. The Gators are ranked 260th in PPG, 231th in APG, and 306th in FG% so far this year, and have yet to score 70 points in a single game. They can win some games by grinding it out on the defensive end, but they still have to score enough points, which was a huge problem against #11 Kansas.
Luckily for Florida, they play in the Southeastern Conference, which is easily the worst of the Power 5 conferences. They should be able to rack up some easy wins despite their troubles, and finish 2nd or 3rd in the conference. This will mightily help them make it into the NCAA tournament, which has come to be a given for the Donovan-led squads of past.
Also, the Gators should get some important players back from injury including Finney-Smith, Eli Carter, and Lexx Edwards. Those players won’t automatically solve all of the problems right away, but they will certainly help get them back on track.
I do think the Florida Gators should be a bit concerned in their play to start the season. They had to replace a lot of talent and leadership from last year, have some depth issues, and don’t have the offensive firepower that we’ve seen in years prior. The saving grace for this team will be their conference. The lackluster SEC will help the Gators accumulate a good enough record to get into the Big Dance. Expect the Gators to struggle this season, but always be weary of Billy Donovan. This might be his biggest test.
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