The No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament East Region, the Gators were not just rolling, they were rolling. coach toad golden And a handful of UF staff members were back at their old San Francisco stomping grounds, practicing in their previous school’s old gym, eating at their favorite restaurants, touching the grass in Golden Gate Park and walking on the beach at Land’s End Lookout. Then, best of all, winning their Sweet 16 and Elite Eight matchups en route to the Final Four.
The Market Street Cable Car, the Santa Cruz Mountains and the Pacific Ocean provided quite the scenic backdrop for one of the few memorable stops on the way to the 2025 national championships, as well as the program’s first visit to California in 35 years. It was worth the wait.
Nine months later, the Gators are back on the West Coast, in the middle of a different mountain range, in a different city and dealing with very different circumstances. Regarding the latter, rather than do or die in the postseason, UF is at the beginning of its regular season — the holiday tournament season, really — and in the process of figuring things out.
Especially on crime.
“We need to shoot better — I think we’re missing some good looks and we’re committing too many careless turnovers,” Golden said this week. “We’re playing really unselfish. The (offensive) rebounding part of what we want to do is up there and our foul-drawing is up there. The glaring area we need to get better at? Shot-making. We need to get better at that kind of thing if we want to have the kind of season we want to have.”
Next chance to do so for 10thThe -ranked Gators (4-1) come to blows Thursday afternoon against defensive-minded Texas Christian (3-2) in the Rady Children’s Invitational, a two-day, four-team Thanksgiving tournament at Jenny Craig Pavilion on the campus of the University of San Diego. Depending on the outcome, UF will face Wisconsin or Providence in Friday’s second game, then head to a red-eye charter home to begin preparation for some more challenges.
A road date at No. 4 and undefeated Duke on Tuesday, followed by a trip to New York City a week later to face undefeated and fifth-ranked Connecticut in their backyard at Madison Square Garden.So, it would be better to resolve that “shot-making” issue sooner rather than later.
And why not out here?
(Read Senior Writer chris harry“Pregame stuff” tournament setup here)
Florida, as of Wednesday, ranked 22nd nationally in offensive efficiency. That’s great, but the Gators were ranked No. 2 last season and Golden, who took over the offense after coordinator Kevin Hovde left to become the head coach at Columbia, is holding himself and his offense at a high level.
“This is an opportunity for us to go out there and get back into rhythm,” the UF second-year point guard said. Boogie Land Said. “We’re still in the process of getting (the offense) to where the coaches want it to be. We knew there were going to be adjustments going into the season and it’s going to take time for it to click. But it’s going to be successful.”
Out of the Big 12 Conference, doing so against TCU would be exactly the kind of effort Golden wants to see; Shot-making and low turnovers.
The Horned Frogs, in their 10th season under Jamie Dixon, are a defense-first program. Currently sitting at 43rd in overall defensive efficiency, they will pressure the ball, stretch the defense and run aggressively through passing lanes.
“This game is going to be similar to some of our conference opponents who like to put two on the ball and trap the post,” Golden said. “They’re trying to put you in scenarios where you kick the ball.”
This means crisp passing will be paramount. It also means guys will be open for kick-outs at the 3-point line, where the Gators are shooting just 25.7% for the young season. They are ranked last among the 16 teams in the Southeastern Conference and 341st among the 365 Division I teams in the country.
Worth noting: UF has sequentially improved from beyond the arc over its last four games – from 18.8% from 19.4 to 32.1 to 36.4 – and could make big strides in those numbers, as well as overall offense, if they move a shooting guard. xavien leeJoe has found his stroke, making 19 of his last 19 attempts and 15.8% of a team-high 38 attempts for the season.
And the Gators, tell a man, he will.
“It’s a unique situation. Do I believe he’ll eventually get comfortable? Yes, I do,” Golden said, praising Lee for how he defended, rebounded and overcame everything in light of his shooting difficulties. “We’ll give him a little more time to get comfortable and hopefully he’ll make some shots. He shot well all summer. He shot well in the fall. It’s obviously a little mental right now, and he’s going to have to loosen up a little bit and let the ball go through the net a few times.”
In Lee’s defense, the same can be said about the rest of the Gators on offense. Throw out Lee’s shots and UF still trails by 29.4.
He might have to travel across the country for his first regular season game in California since 1990 — just to get his shooting sights straight.
“We’ll go out there and be aggressive, be determined and play with confidence. We’ll know our keys, our principles and how to execute them,” Fland said. “If we go out and do what we’re told to do – do our job – we’ll be fine. And the shots, they’re going to fall.”
Email the senior author chris harry at chris@gator.ufl.edu, Find his story collection here.
<a href=