When Patric Young is posting up and waiting for a pass, it usually takes the Gators a day to find him.
During film sessions the following day, and in practice, coach Billy Donovan drills the need for Florida to maintain an inside-out approach to compliment the NCAA’s top 3-point shooting attack.
With Young as the only starter to not attempt a three this season, getting the junior center in scoring position has been No. 19 Florida’s (13-4, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) focus as it travels to take on South Carolina (8-8, 0-2 SEC) Saturday at 7 p.m.
“That is one of the challenges that we’re having in the team,” Donovan said. “Our guys are looking for Young, and I think for Erving Walker and Kenny Boynton, it is a different frontcourt for them than what they’ve had to deal with in the first two years.”
Last season, center Vernon Macklin and forward Alex Tyus made entry passes into the paint easy with their ability to gain deep position close to the basket.
But this year, with perimeter-oriented forward Erik Murphy at times leaving the 6-foot-9 Young to work alone in the post, the transition to a new frontline has not always gone smoothly.
“There are things that we run for Young to get him touches, but teams are going to start taking those things away,” Donovan said. “We need to get better at making those decisions, of recognizing him.”
In the Gators’ pair of SEC games, Young was limited to single-digit shot attempts, despite the fact he’s shot below 50 percent only once in his last 10 outings.
Donovan said there were opportunities to feed Young the ball when he rolled off screens in Florida’s league-opening loss to Tennessee, but UF’s guards were unable to make the extra pass.
“Coach was telling us to get the ball inside,” Boynton said. “You can’t stare down the post. They did a great job trying to deny passes and we gotta do a better job at cutting back-door.”
Even with all the struggles distributing from the perimeter, Donovan said the ability to get post scoring also relies on Young battling harder. Though he touched the ball 23 times against UAB and 13 times in the first half against Tennessee, most of the time Young was too far away from the basket to be a threat.
“That is something that he has to get better at,” Donovan said. “We can win when he is consistently shut down because you have to defend and rebound. If they do try and shut him down, there is always going to be something else open.”
While the two strongest victories on Florida’s resume — Arizona on Dec. 7 and Florida State on Dec. 22 — came at home and included Young scoring 15 or more points on a combined 22 shots, the same conviction to getting him the ball hasn’t been seen away from the O’Connell Center.
In the Gators’ four road losses, Young has seen that production tail off, only breaking 10 attempts in the first loss of the season to Ohio State.
“One thing that I would say about our team, that I really like, is that everything we are asking them to try and do, they are trying to do,” Donovan said. “They recognize that Young is a force inside and there needs to be a balance.”
Contact John Boothe at jboothe@alligator.org.
Center Patric Young has shot below 50 percent just once in the past 10 games, but he has had less than 10 attempts in both SEC games.
