When the final buzzer rang in Madison Square Garden in the Elite Eight on Sunday afternoon, three things became clear: The Gators were completely outplayed by South Carolina, their season was over and, last but not least, senior point guard Kasey Hill’s career as a Florida Gators basketball player was over as well.
Now, in this column, I will not be writing about how Hill didn’t have the career he wanted, how he didn’t live up to the expectations of the fans or anything of that matter. Frankly, it’s too tiring and not worth discussing — especially considering he’ll never play at UF again.
Instead, what logically flows is who will take over at the point guard position once the 2017-18 season kicks off?
The most likely answer is junior guard Chris Chiozza — the man who saved Florida’s tournament run with a running, buzzer-beating three-pointer in overtime against Wisconsin.
Chiozza only averaged 7.2 points per game this season, but the strides he took after the Gators lost to Vanderbilt — the first time — were unprecedented.
In the final 17 games since that scoreless outing against the Commodores on Jan. 21, Chiozza upped his scoring average to 9.6 points per game and had nine double-figure scoring games. He also averaged 4.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.8 turnovers per game in that same frame.
In many ways, Chiozza is actually very similar to Hill.
They’re both creative passers. They’re both small, even for point guards (Hill is 6-foot-1 and Chiozza is 6-foot). And they both play incredibly tenacious defense.
For example, during the Gators’ 22-point route of Kentucky in the O’Connell Center during the regular season, Hill and Chiozza were charged with shadowing the Wildcats’ electric scorer, Malik Monk. Monk had one of his worst games of the season, totaling 11 points on 14 shots and four fouls.
“We both play hard. We’re tough,” Chiozza said about the similarities he sees between himself and Hill.
“We’ve got that dog in us.”
Welcomed differences between the duo’s games, however, are Chiozza’s ability to stretch the floor and take care of the ball.
It’s no secret that in Hill’s four years with the team, he never truly learned to hit a shot from anywhere outside the paint. He’s a career 23.8-percent shooter from beyond the arc, and this season, he averaged a career-high 3.1 turnovers per game.
With Florida down two with 1:58 left in Sunday’s game against South Carolina, Hill bounced a pass to what he thought would be a cutting Devin Robinson. In reality, it went to the Gamecocks’ Sindarius Thornwell. South Carolina eventually scored on the other end. You know the rest.
On the other hand, Chiozza connected on 30 threes this year (31.3 percent) and shot 78.8 percent from the charity stripe. Admittedly, Chiozza averaged significantly less minutes than Hill, but his 1.6 turnovers per game was a saving grace for the Gators’ offense.
Point is, Florida fans have eagerly awaited quality point guard play ever since Scottie Wilbekin graduated at the end of UF’s last Final Four run in 2014.
I think Chiozza could be the answer to those problems.
Ray Boone is a sports writer. His columns appear on Fridays. Contact him at rboone@alligator.org, and follow him on Twitter @rboone1994.
Point guard Chris Chiozza shoots a contested layup in Florida's 65-39 win over Virginia in the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament on Saturday in Orlando.
