First off I’ve watched Florida basketball since 1995 without missing a single game. Billy Donovan set the bar as high as one possibly can. His staff would steal 5* recruits from blue bloods. I’ve accepted that we’ll never reach that level, it just won’t happen here. Then Mike White happened, and very slowly over time the program sank into irrelevance. A lot of people stuck with Mike White to the end. Ultimately we ended up losing our identity as a winning program. An offense that featured a lot of standing around, but we were told “he knows more than we do” or “we made it to the tournament so what’s the trouble?” We were even given reasons why the offense actually works because it brings in more talent. I think that’s why Mike White lasted as long as he did. Because the fans just don’t know basketball. Now I’m seeing things we haven’t seen since Billy Donovan. Ball movement, spacing, having true big men who can score one on one consistently in the post, harassing opposing players defensively, athletic plays, being aggressive by forcing fouls, help defense, challenging opponents at the rim, being able to quickly adjust to presses and zone defenses. It’s not an overreaction to say that this is the best team since the 2014 team. And honestly I think this team’s ceiling is higher than that team. Todd Golden might not get the 5 stars but his staff is actually coaching the players the right way. As an example from last night, Kugel steals the ball and instead of flying down the court he knows his help is behind him so he slows down to a slow jog and waits. Becomes an easy 2 on 1 vs a chaotic 1 on 1 where you have close to no chance of converting a challenged layup going full speed. That’s coaching. Anyway, just wanted to show support for this site and say I’ve regained my confidence in Gator basketball. Go Gators!
Good post, but that 2014 team went 21-0 in the SEC, was the top seed in the NCAA tournament, and won over 30 games in a row. I will settle for the current team to be a top-5 team in the SEC.
Oh yea definitely. Record-wise that team was perfect. We might not finish 1st but after seeing them several games now we’ll exceed the expectations. A top 10 ranking at some point in the season should be a realistic goal. And I haven’t seen a tougher team since that 2014 so we have that going for us. Talent-wise I think I’d rather have our guards. Prather/Yeguette/Young were beasts but I think Samuel has more going for him than Yeguette. Definitely would rather have Prather than Kugel at this time. Young was the best big so will concede no one will match his value.
Wilbekin, Frazier and Kasey Hill was a pretty good backcourt. Wilbekin was unanimously selected as the SEC POY.
Frazier to me wasn’t reliable. Hill was a freshman, still very raw. Wilbekin was good but I could’ve seen more offensively. No disrespect to any of them just comparing them to our guys I genuinely feel are collectively better.
Quote me in a few months. Maybe I am making premature claims but usually the first few games are indicative of your overall season.
I get it about Hill although I think that his freshman year was his best year at UF. Frazier was solid. He shot over 45% from 3 and over 50% from 2. Wilbekin was great. If our current players at the 1 and 2 play as well as the 2014 guards, I will be very happy.
Judging based on the first few games is why I'm suggesting a bit of levity. In the past three seasons, the Gators were 12-3 through five games. A successful season calls for more than a good start. I hope you're right, though, and they end up justifying a high ranking.
Yea I’ve been unfortunately been high on plenty of our teams before only to see nothing but disappointment. One thing though that gives me more optimism is our defensive play. The great teams we’ve had all played outstanding defense and as a result were in every game even when shots weren’t falling. Hopefully we stay locked in after this tournament because there’s a tendency to get too relaxed after you’ve won some games. We need to keep pushing to get better during the easier part of the schedule after today.
FSU and Pitt wins were high quality wins. Virginia loss was close. Will see how we perform against Baylor as a ranked opponent. Cautiously optimistic but want to see how we perform versus KY.
