Florida Gators Basketball: Mike White Has UF On The Right Track
The Florida Gators basketball team currently sits at 13-3 and is tied for first place in the SEC. Are the Gators on the right track under Mike White?
After a slow start in his first season, Mike White has picked up the pace on both the recruiting trail and on the court in year two. Let’s take a look.
On-Court Success
It was no secret the Florida Gators were brutally average during their first season with Mike White. Florida finished the season with a 9-9 record against SEC opponents and a 21-15 overall record.
They made an NIT run, but would be bounced in the semifinals by George Washington. It was a solid campaign for a rebuilding program, but Gators fans wanted more.
This season, the Gators opened up with what seemed like a death schedule. They played Top 10 teams in Duke and Gonzaga at neutral sites, as well as current Top 10 team Florida State on the road.
Combine that with quality games against 2016 NCAA Tournament teams St. Bonaventure, Seton Hall, and Miami, and the Gators had a grueling non-conference schedule.
The Gators didn’t play a home game until December 20th. as Exactech Arena was still under construction. After the Gators finished off their brutal opening stretch of games, they now have hit what could be called a, “Soft spot,” in their schedule.
The SEC isn’t a bad basketball conference, but it isn’t on the level of the ACC or Big East. With that said, the Gators have started off conference play very well, going 4-0.
They’ve been beating SEC opponents by a margin of victory of 10.5 points per game, as well as winning two of their four games on the road.
The Gators still have two games against Kentucky and South Carolina coming up, which should definitely be eyed, but it wouldn’t surprise me if they came away 3-1 one from those tough games.
Florida has shown they fight tooth and nail against tough competition. At this rate, the Gators should make the NCAA Tournament.
Florida is currently projected as a No. 6 seed by CBS Sports in this mock bracket.
The Recruiting Trail
Recruiting really all started when Mike White was able to keep KeVaughn Allen on board. When Florida was able to fend off home state team Arkansas from acquiring Allen’s talents, that was the first big achievement in the White era.
Since then, White has been more than solid on the recruiting trail.
In the class of 2017, the Gators currently have three signees and one commit, which has them as the 32nd ranked class in the nation according to the 247 composite ranking. At first glance, the class doesn’t seem impressive, but all these players jumped ship before Florida started playing well.
Another thing to take note of is that five-star Shai Alexander was a Florida verbal before receiving a Kentucky offer and flipping. That sounds like horrible news, but the fact that a struggling Florida program was actually in the running for a player of that caliber is a great sign.
With three new forwards coming in 2017 and two of them being four-star recruits, the Gators’ frontcourt is ready to be reloaded.
They also have Hokie transfer Jalen Hudson, as well as recent signee Michael Okauru to run the guard spots next season.
As far as the 2018 basketball class, Florida is making attempts for big strides. They currently have no one committed, but are heavily in the running for five-star Moses Brown and Top 50 four-stars Nassir Little and Devon Doston.
If Florida could manage to land one of those players, it would go a long way towards filling out the rest of the class. The Gators are also expected to land Top 100 power forward and Gainesville native Darius Days. The 2018 class could be a real program changer for the Gators.
There is no doubt that Mike White has the Gators on the right track. They obviously aren’t a favorite for the title, but anything is possible once you get to the big dance in March.
Must Read: The Gators remain undefeated in SEC play. How did it happen?
Looking ahead, if the Florida Gators can round out their recruiting classes with some of the aforementioned targets, they could be hoisting another banner to the rafters sometime soon.