Florida Basketball: Colin Castleton is all the Gators have
It wasn’t supposed to be this way for Florida basketball. The Gators brought in a new coach, some new players, and a new hope that getting bounced in the second round of the NCAA tournament was a thing of the past.
But it has become painfully obvious as the season winds down that despite all the new, the old guard is the only thing desperately trying to keep this team afloat.
Florida Basketball: One man show
You can’t get bounced from the second round of the NCAA Tournament if you don’t make the tournament.
*Taps head*
Last night’s debacle against Alabama was confirmation that what Florida pulled off against Tennessee last week was merely an illusion. You can’t go into halftime down 52-23 against anyone in the country and consider yourself a legitimate at-large contender for the NCAA tournament.
This goes beyond the old “Shake it off, we’ll get this next one.” Last night was the continuation of Saturday’s loss to Kentucky and what happens when the blueprint for Florida basketball gets ripped up.
The blueprint of course is that Colin Castleton has to play like a man possessed, block six shots, scoring 25 points, and hope that he gets assistance from literally anyone.
Last night during the first half, none of that happened. Alabama decided it’s much harder for Castleton to block shots if they themselves just shoot threes, and the Crimson Tide were successful on 9 out of 19 attempts from downtown.
Florida shot it from three-point range five times. None of them went in.
And thus, Castleton ended the night with 29 points and 10 rebounds in a 28-point defeat in Tuscaloosa.
Riley Kugel, a freshman mind you, chipped in with 15 points and Will Richard had 11 points.
Alex Fudge, Kyle Lofton, and Myreon Jones combined to shoot 15 shots. None, and I mean literarily none, of those 15 shots went in.
Beyond the lack of three-point shooting, the stat that continues to be the most troubling for Florida is assists per made basket. Florida basketball is averaging an assist on 50.1% of their made shots. That’s 201st in the country. Last night Florida had 9 assists on 22 made baskets, a rate of 40.9%.
Their assist per possession ratio is an even more putrid 239th in the country.
Translation, beyond dumping it down low to Caselton and letting him go to work, the Gators have no other consistent offensive plan to generate easy buckets.
Caselton has twice flirted with the NBA draft and twice has come back to Gainesville. At some point on the plane ride home to Gainesville you have to wonder if the thought went through his head that he should have just gone for it last year and tried his luck with the NBA than whatever this mess is in Gainesville.
Even if Colin Castleton puts the team on his back.