Florida Gators

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The week brought some developments within the Florida basketball program. Some good, some not so good.

Let's start with the latter, which starts with the first unit, where freshman point guard Andrew Nembhard, who has started every game, is dealing with tendinitis in his left knee. Not totally uncommon, especially for a college rookie about to play his 25th game and leading the team in minutes. And then there's shooting guard Noah Locke and the nagging hip and groin soreness that has been several weeks in the making, is not going away and will need to be dealt with after the season. Both players have been limited in practice this week, as the team's trainer, Dave Werner, tries to manage the discomfort that seemed evident at times in Wednesday's home win over Vanderbilt.  

"I've never gone through such a hard season in my life, just playing so much basketball," said Nembhard, who played a season-low 16 minutes last timeout, mostly due to foul trouble. 

Now, back to that victory against the Commodores. The Gators, what with the backcourt banged up and a couple keys players in foul trouble, needed some reserves — any of them — to answer the bell and give their teammates a pick-me-up. Coach Mike White had called for as much, both publicly and privately, the last few weeks. Maybe he finally shouted loud enough. Maybe it was the players-only meeting called Sunday (on the team's off day after suffering a third straight loss at No. 1 Tennessee). Maybe it was a reflection of playing winless-in-league-play Vandy. Who knows? Who cares? Florida got mostly quality minutes from all five of its reserves — including seldom-used forward Isaiah Stokes and guards Michael Okauru and Deaundrae Ballard — who outscored Vandy's backups, 29-7, in helping UF halt its three-game skid. 

"It's about seizing an opportunity when it's given to you," said Stokes, who scored a career-high eight points and grabbed a couple rebounds in nine minutes. "It felt good to contribute when the team needed it."

[Read senior writer Chris Harry's comprehensive "Pregame Stuff" setup here]
 
The goal, of course, is to build on that collective effort. That was the message at practice the last two days, and that will be the charge when the Gators (13-11, 5-6) take on Alabama (15-9, 6-5) in a crucial road date Saturday at Coleman Coliseum. UF, with its handful of coughed-up late-game leads, has played itself into critical-mass circumstances relative to its postseason hopes. This is serious stuff from here on out.

Maybe that's why White sounded so serious in talking about roles Friday. He praised his backup players for their latest output, but also spoke plainly with regard to expectations versus opportunity.   The situation in the Vandy game warranted playing time for the reserves, but what happened on the floor, White said, was a product of what they did in the run-up to the game.  

"I think the guys had the correct mindset and approach when their name was called. Just get in there and play a game. Do their job. Help their teammates," White said. "Not everybody can start. This isn't bitty-basketball. This is the SEC. When minutes are divied and starting roles are earned, everybody has to be mature about it. It's not Coach playing favorites. We're trying to win. We're trying to compete at the highest level. I like, more so than any other time this season, where the mentality is on the bench. What type of production that leads to, I don't know. Points, rebounds, assists, steals? Who knows? More so than anything it needs to be minutes. We need to spell some of these other guys, and we can't have an agenda as to, 'OK, here's my number being called. Let's see how many shots I can get up. Let's see if I can stay on the floor.' No. Just play the basketball game. Make winning plays for Florida. At the end of the day, that might mean more minutes for you."

The bench took a hit Jan. 19 at Georgia when fourth-year junior forward Keith Stone suffered a season-ending knee injury. In the six games that followed, the trio of Stokes, Ballard and Okauru together totaled just 17 points (with Ballard accounting for 13) on 7-for-28 shooting, 16 rebounds, nine fouls and eight turnovers in a combined 115 minutes. 

Against the Commodores, the three joined forces to score 16 points, hit five of 10 from the floor (2-for-5 from the arc), four of five free throws, and grab six rebounds over 28 minutes. Also, fifth-year swingman Jalen Hudson was good for 10 points and three steals in 28 minutes, with a stretch of seven straight points after Vandy made it a two-point game in the second half. Power forward Dontay Bassett, who has turned into a reliable backup on the front line, had three points, three rebounds and a couple steals in 18 minutes. 

To reiterate what White said: Make winning plays, get more minutes.
 
 

The performance from Stokes was particularly encouraging because it came at the end of a three-week period that saw him drop 15 pounds — leaving him more than 50 pounds lighter than the day he arrived on campus in July 2017 — and turn in some of his best practices of the season. He is, without question, the most talented low-post offensive player on the team, what with his ability to get his own shot on the block, soft hands and vision to find open shooters on the perimeter. 

And he's finally played himself into shape, thus allowing the coaches to put some trust his way.

"Stokes has made an enormous jump. For whatever reason, it's become very, very important to him," White said. "It's pretty simple. He's moving better, he's jumping better, feeling better about himself. He's getting more reps in practice, therefore he's understanding on a little bit higher level what we're trying to do offensively and defensively, and he plays a good game. Doesn't guarantee he'll play great [against Alabama] or how much opportunity he gets. I don't know, but he's getting better. The challenge for all these guys is it's got to be every day. It can't be when you're ticked off about playing time, or, 'Hey we're not playing well, let me step it up.' We've got to step up from September 1, but better late than never. Happy for [Stokes'] progress and we certainly hope it continues."

But it does makes you wonder: Why now and not earlier in the season? 

Oh well. That's a question that really doesn't matter. What matters is that — for a game — there was a newfound commitment from a different set of players that had a positive impact on the game. 

"Bench production would be amazing for us," Nembhard said. "If we have guys contribute off the bench, it will just free up time for the starters to come off a little bit more. I would love for them to have great success."

And give some hobbling guys some time off their feet. 

So far, it's happened once. 

But a phase of continued success might lead to further changes for this team, starting with where the season ultimately could be headed.