In the No. 20 Florida men’s basketball team’s 77-72 loss to South Carolina on Wednesday, three-point defense and poor shooting down the stretch resulted in a sloppy conference defeat, UF’s second of the season.
But not everything was negative for the Gators. Florida continues to diversify its scoring, including one player who has continued his scoring aggression over his last three games.
KeVaughn Allen is back when the team needs him most
After six straight games without taking more than nine shots, junior guard KeVaughn Allen has led the Gators (14-6, 6-2 SEC) in field goal attempts over Florida’s last three SEC matchups.
The junior took 15 shots from the floor in the loss to the Gamecocks, making five of those attempts. This comes after attempting 16 field goals on Jan. 20 against Kentucky and scoring a season-high 28 points on 12 shot attempts in a Jan. 17 road game with Arkansas.
“KeVaughn didn’t shoot a great percentage, but I like him being really aggressive,” coach Mike White said.
Despite the recent rise increase in scoring opportunities, the 2017 First-Team All-SEC player still came into Wednesday’s contest averaging a career-low 11.3 points per game.
As the team enters its final third of the regular season, it’ll need Allen’s shooting touch to bolster the offense and relieve some pressure from guards Jalen Hudson and Egor Koulechov.
Bassett causing some racket inside
Sunday morning, redshirt freshman forward Dontay Bassett took to Twitter to talk about the slow process of improvement.
“Greatness is never easy, there is a lot of up and downs and a lot of failures,” Bassett wrote. “The same people who talk down about you are the same ones that will praise you when the time comes. Success is a long and twisted road so you just have to take it day by day and see where it gets you.”
Prior to Wednesday night’s game against the Gamecocks, Bassett had scored a total of seven points through 48 minutes of game action in 11 contests this season.
But on Wednesday night, Bassett more than doubled his season point total with nine points in 13 minutes, making solid contributions while providing needed rest to fellow centers Kevarrius Hayes and Gorjok Gak.
The Oakland, California, native showcased a variety of moves inside, backing down defenders calmly and finding a few creases to get himself easy looks.
While defense and rebounding are still necessary facets of the game that Bassett must continue to improve, his ability to provide an offensive spark enhances his value.
“I could definitely see the confidence in his step,” Hudson said. “I’m excited for him. We’re gonna need him down the stretch.”
Follow Skyler Lebron on Twitter @SkylerLebron and contact him at slebron@alligator.org.
Coach Mike White said he didn't mind if KeVaughn Allen missed 10 shots in a game. He went 5 of 15 Wednesday against South Carolina. “KeVaughn didn’t shoot a great percentage, but I like him being really aggressive,” White said.
