Florida Basketball: Kowacie Reeves and Todd Golden squash drama

After a disappointing weekend at the Phil Knight Invitational in Portland, OR, the biggest subplot that emerged for Florida basketball was the status of guard Kowacie Reeves. After starting the first three games of the season, Reeves started against FSU but only played 10 minutes.

Reeves then saw minimal action in Portland and it led to him scrubbing his social media pages of all things Florida basketball. 

Todd Golden appears to have squashed this drama for now as Reeves was front and center for the Gators’ blowout win over Florida A&M.

Florida Basketball: Shooters shoot

One of the struggles Golden’s offense has had in the early stages in Gainesville is the lack of three-point attempts, especially compared to what his squad at San Francisco did last year.

Reeves on paper would seem like a guy Golden would want on the floor because of his three-point ability compared to the rest of the team, and upon reflection and internal conversations it looks like Golden now agrees.

During Florida’s 102-62 win over Florida A&M, Reeves started and saw the most minutes of anyone for Florida with 29. He finished with 19 points, going 8-14 overall and 3-7 from three. Combined with Trey Bonham’s 7-7 night from three and the Gators finished the night shooting 59% from behind the arc.

For a squad that doesn’t have a bevy of pure shooters combined with a coach that wants to shoot (Riley Kugel was the only other Gator to attempt more than two three points shots, and he missed all three of his attempts), having Reeves on the floor opens up the floor and takes pressure off not just Bonham but also off of Colin Castleton.

The Reeves drama was the first real leadership test for Golden. It appears, for now, that everything has been smoothed out.

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