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SAN ANTONIO ― If Florida basketball finds itself down in the second half in Saturday night’s Final Four matchup with Auburn, it can draw upon a morning at a bayfront park where it kept its feet squarely on the ground.
The process is called grounding, employed by Florida Gators strength coach Victor Lopez, designed for players to acclimate when crossing time zones. Studies show there are physical benefits to have skin touch soil in new surroundings, including reducing stress and improving mental clarity.
So Lopez had UF’s squad take off their shoes in a San Francisco park overlooking Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge.
“Guys were kind of jokingly like oh Vic is on his West Coast, hippie stuff,” said Lopez, a San Francisco native. “So, I’ll take it man because when we got there, I was kind of looking around and a lot of the guys were kind of smiling and enjoying just kind of being out and kind of having that moment.”
A few days later, the cardiac Gators rallied from down 10 points in the second half of their 84-79 Elite Eight win against Texas Tech at the Chase Center. UF has shown resilience throughout the 2024-25 season and may need to do draw upon it again when it faces Auburn on Saturday at the Alamodome (6:09 p.m., EDT).
Florida has posted four double-digit comebacks this season and rallied from down six points in the second half to beat UConn in the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament.
“As long as there is time on the clock, we can give ourselves a chance to win,” Florida senior guard Will Richard said. “I feel like that is what makes this team special, how hard we're going to fight till the end knowing we don't want to lose a game.”
Florida basketball coach Todd Golden said UF's maturity has played into its ability to handle adversity, led by its senior backcourt trio of Richard, Alijah Martin and All-American Walter Clayton Jr.
"We've shown it twice already in the tournament, obviously with the UConn game ― pretty good comeback in the second half that way ― and obviously Saturday against Tech," Golden said. "We had our back against the wall a couple times there in the last five minutes of the game. Instead of letting our emotions get the best of us or pointing fingers, we did a good job staying the course."
That process began with Richard, a transfer from Belmont who was Golden's first recruit three years ago. Richard fit the analytical profile Golden was looking for in a player, but it was two in-person meetings with Richard and his family in Nashville and Gainesville that cemented the signing. In those meetings, Richard emphasized a message of putting the team first.
"We felt like if we could get 13 Will Richards, we could have a good shot to build a really successful program." Golden said.
Florida junior center Micah Handlogten said this is the closest team he's ever been a part of. The 7-foot-1 Handlogten expected to redshirt after suffering a compound fracture to his lower leg in the SEC Tournament in March of 2024 against Auburn. But he came back when injuries beset UF's frontcourt in early February because he sensed UF could achieve something special this season.
“You could tell during the summer, because last year we had a really tight group even though we were like 90% transfers or first year guys," Handlogten said. "But just to have a couple of more returners, and then mix in some really good transfers, personality wise and player wise, it was a good recipe for success, and we all got really close.”
Handlogten admitted he thought Lopez's idea was wacky at first but came to appreciate it as another bonding experience with teammates.
"It kind of brought us closer together, even if we didn’t know what we were doing," Handlogten said.
Junior guard Denzel Aberdeen said that closeness shows up when Florida finds itself having to play uphill, even through pressure situations. Florida rallied from down 15 points in the second half to beat South Carolina and nearly came all the way back from 26 points in the second half in an eventual 88-83 loss at Georgia.
"We don’t put our heads down when we are down," Aberdeen said. "We still fight. We fight together. It just speaks about the character of our team."
Florida has won 10 straight since the Georgia loss and now finds itself on college basketball's biggest stage, two wins away from its first national championship since 2007.
Kevin Brockway is The Gainesville Sun's Florida beat writer. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on X @KevinBrockwayG1
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: How maturity has helped Florida basketball rally back during Final Four run
Continue reading...
The process is called grounding, employed by Florida Gators strength coach Victor Lopez, designed for players to acclimate when crossing time zones. Studies show there are physical benefits to have skin touch soil in new surroundings, including reducing stress and improving mental clarity.
So Lopez had UF’s squad take off their shoes in a San Francisco park overlooking Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge.
“Guys were kind of jokingly like oh Vic is on his West Coast, hippie stuff,” said Lopez, a San Francisco native. “So, I’ll take it man because when we got there, I was kind of looking around and a lot of the guys were kind of smiling and enjoying just kind of being out and kind of having that moment.”
A few days later, the cardiac Gators rallied from down 10 points in the second half of their 84-79 Elite Eight win against Texas Tech at the Chase Center. UF has shown resilience throughout the 2024-25 season and may need to do draw upon it again when it faces Auburn on Saturday at the Alamodome (6:09 p.m., EDT).
What makes Florida basketball a good comeback team?
Florida has posted four double-digit comebacks this season and rallied from down six points in the second half to beat UConn in the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament.
“As long as there is time on the clock, we can give ourselves a chance to win,” Florida senior guard Will Richard said. “I feel like that is what makes this team special, how hard we're going to fight till the end knowing we don't want to lose a game.”
Florida basketball coach Todd Golden said UF's maturity has played into its ability to handle adversity, led by its senior backcourt trio of Richard, Alijah Martin and All-American Walter Clayton Jr.
"We've shown it twice already in the tournament, obviously with the UConn game ― pretty good comeback in the second half that way ― and obviously Saturday against Tech," Golden said. "We had our back against the wall a couple times there in the last five minutes of the game. Instead of letting our emotions get the best of us or pointing fingers, we did a good job staying the course."
That process began with Richard, a transfer from Belmont who was Golden's first recruit three years ago. Richard fit the analytical profile Golden was looking for in a player, but it was two in-person meetings with Richard and his family in Nashville and Gainesville that cemented the signing. In those meetings, Richard emphasized a message of putting the team first.
"We felt like if we could get 13 Will Richards, we could have a good shot to build a really successful program." Golden said.
How Florida basketball has bonded through adversity
Florida junior center Micah Handlogten said this is the closest team he's ever been a part of. The 7-foot-1 Handlogten expected to redshirt after suffering a compound fracture to his lower leg in the SEC Tournament in March of 2024 against Auburn. But he came back when injuries beset UF's frontcourt in early February because he sensed UF could achieve something special this season.
“You could tell during the summer, because last year we had a really tight group even though we were like 90% transfers or first year guys," Handlogten said. "But just to have a couple of more returners, and then mix in some really good transfers, personality wise and player wise, it was a good recipe for success, and we all got really close.”
Handlogten admitted he thought Lopez's idea was wacky at first but came to appreciate it as another bonding experience with teammates.
"It kind of brought us closer together, even if we didn’t know what we were doing," Handlogten said.
Junior guard Denzel Aberdeen said that closeness shows up when Florida finds itself having to play uphill, even through pressure situations. Florida rallied from down 15 points in the second half to beat South Carolina and nearly came all the way back from 26 points in the second half in an eventual 88-83 loss at Georgia.
"We don’t put our heads down when we are down," Aberdeen said. "We still fight. We fight together. It just speaks about the character of our team."
Florida has won 10 straight since the Georgia loss and now finds itself on college basketball's biggest stage, two wins away from its first national championship since 2007.
Kevin Brockway is The Gainesville Sun's Florida beat writer. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on X @KevinBrockwayG1
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: How maturity has helped Florida basketball rally back during Final Four run
Continue reading...
