In the wake of Florida’s 59-41 win over Navy on Friday, Mike White walked off the still-emptying court in Annapolis, Maryland, and into his crowded locker room.
There, he was greeted with a round of applause from his players.
His first win at Florida was officially recorded.
But instead of basking in the praise, White turned to Devin Robinson — the sophomore forward who had worked all summer to hone his shot, to improve his perimeter defense, to crash the boards more consistently — and delivered a message.
"Just look back, and let it sink in," White told Robinson in front of the rest of his players.
"How much better you’ve gotten, how much more productive you are than you were a month ago."
When UF (1-0) faces North Carolina A&T (0-1) tonight at 8 in the O’Connell Center, the Gators will not only look for more evidence of Robinson’s growth, but also from the whole team.
On Friday, Robinson led the Gators in scoring off the bench and earned his first career double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, but production from the starters lacked.
Forwards Dorian Finney-Smith and DeVon Walker combined for six points on 2-for-10 shooting.
"I’ll say it over and over, and I’ll say it to our guys: I don’t care who starts," White said.
"I think DeVon Walker really played at a high level defensively … and, of course, Dorian playing the four, I expect to start a lot of games. So Devin is fighting those two guys."
But while White doesn’t mind who starts, he demands precision and mistake-free basketball from those who do.
Florida had 19 turnovers against Navy — 14 of them belonged to the starters — bringing its total to 42 in the first two games of the year including the 89-42 exhibition win against Palm Beach Atlantic on Nov. 5.
Much of it had to do with poor passing.
"We honestly didn’t (get better)," guard Kasey Hill said, who finished with three turnovers.
"That’s still one area we have to get better in and value the ball more."
White said Florida’s passes are being rushed at times, while others are simply missing their mark.
The players underwent passing drills on Saturday, and again on Sunday, and will continue them throughout the week.
"I don’t want people to think we have selfishness creeping in," said White, who is accustomed to a passing-efficient offense after coaching the nation’s 2014-15 assist leader in Kenneth Smith (267) at Louisiana Tech.
"I just don’t think that’s what we are. It’s not our biggest strength right now."
Florida will also continue to work on its up-tempo offense, which didn’t manifest into as many transition opportunities over two games as it would have liked, forcing the Gators to run more offensive sets.
But the Gators still have time to clean up their play in the coming weeks — their next two opponents went a combined 22-39 during last year’s regular season.
"Every team in the country, at this point, is realizing what their strengths and weaknesses are. It’s a process," White said.
"We hope in a couple months to be a better passing team than we are right now … and everything will take care of itself."
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UF forward Devin Robinson rises for a dunk during Florida's 89-42 exhibition win against Palm Beach Atlantic.
