Amanda Butler admits she is an emotional coach.
She says her feelings are a driving force behind many of her decisions, including her tinkering with lineups early in Southeastern Conference play.
However, Butler notes her starters are never set in stone, and they are bound to change multiple times.
“Our season has many seasons in it,” Butler said. “There are a lot of different trends that present themselves where players are maybe playing great at one end of the floor and not the other.”
Senior center Azania Stewart, who has struggled of late, is a perfect example.
She is averaging just 2.8 points per contest in five conference games, including a scoreless effort in a 49-44 loss to South Carolina.
As a result, Butler has started redshirt senior forward Ndidi Madu in place of Stewart in the last two games.
Madu has shown flashes of emerging as a reliable No. 2 option in the post next to junior forward Jennifer George. Madu scored 11 points in a loss to Kentucky on Jan. 1 and nine during Sunday’s win against LSU.
“She’s just so athletic and her mid-range jumper is just perfect — nobody can block it,” Stewart said of Madu.
Despite losing her starting spot for the time being, Stewart is comfortable in her current role as a reserve.
She has experience coming off the bench both at Florida and while playing overseas for her native Great Britain during the summer.
“I am a great force when I’m on the floor defensively-wise and offensively, I’m kind of struggling right now,” Stewart said. “I’m not that type of person to get mad. It’s coach’s decision.”
Another change in the starting lineup has come at the guard position with Deana Allen taking the place of fellow senior Lanita Bartley.
Redshirt senior guard Jordan Jones and Stewart both described Allen as a high-energy player, making her ideal to get the ball rolling in the early going.
However, Allen sees things a bit differently.
“I kind of like coming off the bench better,” Allen said. “But if [Butler] needs me to start the game and give us that spark that I give us when I come off the bench, then I’ll do it.”
Allen said that starting makes her nervous, but that her preference for the bench stems from gaining a grasp of the game’s tempo before jumping right in.
“When I’m coming off the bench, I get to observe stuff more,” Allen said. “I get to see how the defense is playing and what the defense is giving us.”
Butler said the recent insertions of Madu and Allen into the starting lineup come from a need to aid the transition game in the early going.
Improved transition play will lead to increased layup attempts, which could provide a remedy to Florida’s recent offensive struggles in the first half.
“Deana and Ndidi are two of our more offensive-minded players,” Butler said. “Both of them give us a little more speed … right from the beginning.”
Jones does not see Butler ever committing to one starting lineup. It’s just not Butler’s style.
“You really don’t know who’s going to start,” Jones said. “It’s something she’ll tell us on game day.”
Butler said that the thinking process in regards to her lineup decisions is very fluid, admitting that she will “absolutely” make some more changes before season’s end.
After starting SEC play 2-3, with each game decided by six points or less, the Gators are showing they will do whatever it takes to make sure they have the right people on the floor at the right time.
“She’s just seeing what’s going to work,” Allen said.
“That way, she can put those five that she knows is going to grind it out for her towards the end of the game.”
Contact Joe Morgan at joemorgan@alligator.org.
Senior center Azania Stewart (13), who is averaging only 2.8 points during Southeastern Conference play, has been supplanted by forward Ndidi Madu as a starter.
