The Florida Gators men’s basketball team played a secret scrimmage against the Miami Hurricanes this past weekend and came away with a 91-89 victory behind closed doors.
The Gators traveled to Coral Gables, Florida Saturday and won the back-and-forth affair. Sophomore guard Riley Kugel scored 20 points and graduate student forward Tyrese Samuel had 19 points, according to Jon Rothstein.
Although Florida’s victory won’t count to its 2023 record, the win is still impressive with the Hurricanes being the preseason Associated Press No. 13 team in the country.
“The thing that I was most pleased with, I thought our effort was great,” said UF head coach Todd Golden. “I thought we played with pace and we were super unselfish.”
The Hurricanes returned three starters from last season’s team that made the Final Four — Nigel Pack, Norchad Omier and Wooga Poplar — who Golden thought would prove to be a good test for his Gators team.
Pack scored 27 points and Poplar scored 20, according to Rothstein.
Golden applauded his team’s ability to share the ball and score inside, he said, and emphasized UF’s success playing out of the pick-and-roll. He added that Samuel and sophomore center Micah Handlogten started in the frontcourt.
“We had a lot of baskets close to the rim that are high-percentage baskets,” Golden said. “We didn’t shoot it great, but we were able to be efficient and finish around the rim.”
The Gators also performed well in transition offensively, Golden said.
“The pace was there. It’s something we’ve been harping on and focusing on,” Golden said. “I know our staff was happy with the way we played.”
He credited guards junior Walter Clayton Jr. and graduate student Zyon Pullin as doing a great job of getting the ball up the floor. He also applauded the play of guards Kugel, sophomore Denzel Aberdeen and junior Will Richard.
Kugel’s improvement in rebounding the ball stood out Saturday against Miami. If Kugel can rebound well throughout the season it will change how the team plays and improve them across the board, Golden said.
“When he gets it, a guy that's so athletic, so fast, can take the first dribble or two and then throw ahead it into some explosive plays for us,” Golden said.” He's starting to really understand the value of that, not only for our team, but for himself.”
The Gators feature two freshmen on the team this season — forwards Alex Condon and Thomas Haugh. The pair played 15 minutes and 20 minutes in the game, though Golden did not specify which players played which amount.
Haugh performed well on the glass while Condon had a great overall game, Golden added.
“Felt like they answered the bell,” Golden said. “We didn't drop when they were in the game. They're guys that are young, but we're going to count on him and they delivered on Saturday for sure.”
All four players in the front court moved the ball well and came close to 10 combined assists, Golden said. A key to the way UF wants to play is needing all five guys to be decision-makers who are adept at not turning the ball over.
Golden added the Gators’ bigs had a 2-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio.
“They found easy baskets for guys,” Golden said. “All four of those guys that played in the front court can really pass it and really have good feel and good understanding of the game. That was what I walked away from most pleased with was the way we moved the ball. ”
While UF’s head coach was pleased with several aspects of the scrimmage, there are still things to work on. He thought his team could have done a better job getting back on defense in transition, he said.
“It would have been our highest-possession game of the season last year,” Golden said. “So I think it’s going to take us a little bit of time to be solid on both ends that way.
He added that his team’s 3-point defense is not where he wants it to be, and his squad needs to do a better job limiting attempts. Although he felt his team did not defend the 3-point shot as well as it could, he applauded Miami’s ability to find shots.
"[The Hurricanes] spread you out, they put you in precarious situations and make you decide what you want to take away,” Golden said. “To Miami's credit, I feel like when we broke down defensively, they really took advantage of it.”
An emphasis for Florida is to guard the 3-point shot well, especially with their size as a team, Golden said. He thinks his team can get good at it, but there’s still work to be done.
“It's not anywhere near where it needs to be, but I'm glad it's something we can work on and improve upon in the next two weeks for sure."
Overall, Golden was pleased with his team’s performance, especially with eight new additions to the squad. The team’s performance in the offseason has given Golden the chance to think his team has a chance, but winning an actual game was significant for UF’s growth.
“You never know what effort you're going to get,” Golden said. “But to go out and then perform that way is a completely different step in the right direction.”
The Gators will open their 2023-2024 campaign against Loyola Maryland at 8 p.m. Nov. 6 in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. The game can be streamed on SEC Network+
Contact Jackson Reyes at jacksonreyes@alligator.org. Follow him on Twitter @JacksnReyes.
Jackson Reyes is a UF journalism senior and The Alligator's Fall 2023 Sports Editor. He previously served as Digital Managing Editor and was a reporter and assistant editor on the sports desk. In his free time, he enjoys collecting records, long walks on the beach and watching Bo Nix.
