For Dorian Finney-Smith, Atlanta brings back plenty of unpleasant memories.
As a freshman in 2011-12, Finney-Smith — a four-star recruit coming out of high school — started at power forward for a struggling 16-16 Virginia Tech team desperate to win the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament in order to earn a berth for the Big Dance.
But a matchup with then-No. 6 Duke in the Phillips Arena in Atlanta stood in the way of VT’s quest to extend its postseason.
On March 9, 2012, Virginia Tech got bounced 60-56. About a month later, so did its coach, Seth Greenberg.
It was one of the lowest points of Finney-Smith’s basketball career.
But once an opportunity to transfer to Florida presented itself, Finney-Smith saw a glimmer of hope. The decision to leave his home state may have been a tough one, but joining an elite program like UF was too good of an offer for the Portsmouth, Va., native to pass up.
“The whole reason for me to come here was to win,” Finney-Smith said.
Fast-forward about two years, and all Finney-Smith has done so far at UF is win games. No. 1 seed Florida (29-2, 18-0 Southeastern Conference) is riding a 23-game winning streak into the SEC Tournament and will begin its postseason today at 1 p.m. against No. 8 seed Missouri in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta — a city Finney-Smith should remember well.
During the Gators’ historic regular season, Finney-Smith played an integral role. The redshirt sophomore has become one of the best sixth men in the nation, averaging 9.4 points and a team-best 6.9 rebounds off the bench in 25.5 minutes per contest. Tuesday, he was named the SEC Sixth Man of the Year.
“When I came here I just wanted to do anything to help my team win,” Finney-Smith said. “If that means coming off the bench with a lot of energy, hitting the open shots, rebounding hard, then that’s what I’ve got to do.”
Finney-Smith’s journey at Florida has been no walk in the park.
Due to NCAA transfer rules, he was held to the bench last season and could only participate in practices during the Gators’ third straight run to the Elite Eight.
His start to the 2013-14 season did not go as planned. After violating team rules, he was suspended for a portion of Florida’s preseason practices, its home exhibition and two regular-season games.
When Finney-Smith returned to the team on Nov. 16, coach Billy Donovan began utilizing him as the Gators’ spark plug off the bench. At first, the task wasn’t easy for the 6-foot-8 forward, who started 30 of 33 games at Virginia Tech his freshman year.
“The toughest part about coming off the bench is that sweat you get from warm-ups, it dries up,” Finney-Smith said. “So you’ve got to build your own momentum.”
Eventually, Finney-Smith grew accustomed to the role and began flourishing. This season, he has added a new dimension to the Gators with his ability to attack the boards, create offense and play multiple positions.
“He spreads the floor,” senior forward Casey Prather said. “He could put the ball down. It allows people like me to lay and create for myself and my teammates.
“He’s really critical for our team.”
In league play, Finney-Smith has had some breakout games — a 22-point, 15-rebound performance at Arkansas and a 19-point, nine-rebound outing at Vanderbilt — but he has also been affected by scoring droughts.
For the first seven games of February, Finney-Smith shot 1 of 23 from beyond the arc.
Donovan attributed Finney-Smith’s struggles to the redshirt sophomore sometimes putting too much pressure on himself when early shots do not go in his favor.
It’s a habit Finney-Smith has battled to work his way out of this year.
“He gets to a place where, you know, he loses energy, he loses emotion, he loses enthusiasm,” Donovan said. “He’s got to learn how to work his way through and out of those situations better than he does.
“If you looked at him going back to early in the SEC, if his first one or two possessions don’t go well for him it ended up becoming a downward spiral for him. He’s got to be mentally strong enough that when the first couple of possessions don’t go his way that he still stays the course in trying to fight through some of that. That’s been our biggest challenge as a coaching staff with him.”
But recently, Finney-Smith has done a better job of maintaining his tenacity and avoiding his past tendencies. In his last four games, he has made 10 of his 20 three-point attempts.
“My confidence level is higher than what it was because I’ve been knocking down shots,” Finney-Smith said. “Even when I wasn’t making shots, [my teammates] just stayed on me. And when somebody stays on your back and your whole coaching staff and team’s got confidence in you, it just boosts your confidence.”
Now with a little more poise, Finney-Smith enters Atlanta excited to finally make a mark in the postseason. Next week, the Gators will likely kick off their NCAA Tournament in Orlando.
The wait to play in the postseason has been a long one.
“It’s a great feeling — I have never made it to the (NCAA) Tournament,” Finney-Smith said. “So right now, I’m just staying in the moment.”
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Dorian Finney-Smith fakes out Kentucky’s Julius Randle during UF’s 84-65 win against UK on Saturday in the O’Connell Center.
