Through Florida’s ongoing winning streak, one thing has remained constant. Redshirt sophomore Cassie Peoples has been spearheading the charge as the Gators’ starting point guard since December began.
The transition to starter occurred during Florida’s trip to the Bahamas for the Junkanoo Jam. Peoples played a season-high 28 minutes in the loss against Illinois State, only to top that with 35 minutes in a win against Oregon State — the first game of the current eight-game win streak.
She has averaged 33.6 minutes per game in those eight games. In the prior seven contests, Peoples averaged just under 21 minutes.
"One of our AAU coaches was at the game (against Kentucky), Jack Givens, a Kentucky great," assistant coach David Lowery said. "Jack watched and told me, ‘David, she’s grown so much.’"
Peoples accounts her growth this season to simply being able to play on a consistent basis.
"Just getting my timing back," she said. "I haven’t played a game in forever, so it’s going to take time to get timing back in a game."
Peoples’ collegiate career had been riddled with injuries; she has not played regularly since her high school days at Houston (Texas) Cypress-Fairbanks.
"It’s been a matter of figuring out exactly what coach Butler wants in her system and what she wants to do with her offense," she said. "That’s the biggest thing, as far as being able to improve, is just learning the system."
Along with more minutes, Peoples’ rapid maturation has also been a contributing factor to her recent success. A point guard holds the most responsibility of any position on the floor, acting as a general directing their players when on offense.
"I think one of the things that has given her an opportunity to grow is that she has accepted the role of being a point guard, accepted the role of trying to get her teammates to follow her on the floor," Lowery said. "I know that’s something Amanda (Butler)’s on her about all the time."
Frequently, one can look to the bench and see Butler adamantly critiquing Peoples. Vein-popping and animated finger pointing is not an uncommon scene.
"When something goes wrong, I’m the first one to hear about it because I’m the point guard," Peoples said. "She’s basically telling me to control my team, navigate the team when I’m on the court."
Added Butler: "Cassie is playing the most basketball that she’s played since she was in high school. I think it’s just a natural evolution of a young player — seeing them gain confidence with the more minutes they get, the more game experiences they have. She does a great job of post-game studying film, analyzing things she did well and things she must do better. She’s great at being coached in the middle of a game, too."
Butler, Peoples and Florida (12-3, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) are set to square off against a tough conference rival in Arkansas (14-1, 1-1 SEC) tonight in the O’Connell Center. The Gators should be well-prepared for the Razorbacks, as Arkansas is a press-heavy team — similar to Florida’s last two SEC opponents: Mississippi State and Kentucky.
"Tom (Collen) is a great coach and one of the strongest things he does is the level of consistency," Butler said. "It’s going to be good to be back at home, but we’re going to have a tough challenge."
Follow Gordon Streisand on Twitter @GordonStreisand
Ed. Note: Cassie Peoples' high school, Cypress-Fairbanks, is located in Houston, not San Antonio as previously written.
Cassie Peoples drives down the lane during Florida’s 88-77 win against North Florida on Nov. 10, 2013, in the O’Connell Center.
