When No. 10 Florida (11-2) opens its Southeastern Conference schedule against South Carolina (7-6) tonight at 7 in the O’Connell Center, the Gamecocks will see a different Patric Young than they did nearly one year ago.
In fact, they will see about 10 pounds of difference.
The 6-foot-9 center dropped from 250 pounds to 240 during the offseason in order to increase his quickness and agility on the floor.
Coach Billy Donovan said losing the weight along with gaining more mobility has helped the senior enjoy his best season of his career.
"I think he’s in better condition; he’s running the floor better, and he’s chasing balls better," Donovan said.
"I think his motor and his energy has been much, much better up to this point in time then it has in any previous years."
Despite slimming down, Young had a hard time starting the season, and his total number of points and rebounds tanked.
In the first two games of the year against North Florida and Wisconsin, Young made only 2 of 8 shots while grabbing just eight boards. Even Jacob Kurtz, who walked on the squad in 2011 after being the team manager, recorded three more rebounds than the man who drew comparisons to Dwight Howard and Amare Stoudemire.
But in the nine matchups since, Young’s play has steadily improved, averaging 11.1 points and 6.3 rebounds per game.
In his last two outings against Richmond and Savannah State, the senior totaled 30 points on 13-of-18 shooting.
"I think he’s doing a lot more things that we would like to see him do that maybe we were missing the last couple of years," Donovan said. "Patric is an opportunity scorer. In the last game he was 6 for 8, that’s good. He’s going to get fouled some, he gives us a presence at the basket; he’s a big, strong kid."
Although he lost 10 pounds, the Gators big man has not lost any strength. Despite the slow start to the season, which saw him averaging five rebounds in his first seven games, Young has powered his way to grabbing seven boards per game in his past six contests.
Young’s newfound mobility and agility have helped him tie for ninth in the SEC in offensive rebounds per game with just more than 2.9.
With Young’s resurgence in the frontcourt alongside transfer Dorian Finney-Smith, who leads the team with 7.7 rebounds per game, the Gators are riding a five-game winning streak and 23-game home winning streak into the SEC opener.
Another strong outing by Young against South Carolina should help Florida tie the school’s longest home winning streak tonight.
But to his teammates, Young is much more than the numbers he records when on the court.
The center is one of four seniors on the team and is a leader on and off the floor. Michael Frazier II said despite all of the skill on the squad, the team still needs the more-experienced players to keep everyone in line.
"(The seniors) do a good job of keeping us focused during games and just telling us we have to stay in the moment, focus on the task at hand," Frazier said.
"That’s very valuable to a team like this. We have a lot of talent, but we need guys to kind of keep us zoned in to what we need to do."
Follow Jonathan Czupryn on Twitter @jczupryn
Patric Young attempts a layup against Middle Tennessee on Nov. 21, 2013, in the O’Connell Center. Young is averaging 10.8 points per game and 5.9 rebounds per game this season.
