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RALEIGH, N.C. ― The screams come from the bench, echoing through the arena the moment a Florida basketball player grabs a defensive rebound.
“Run… run.”
Then, whether it’s a Florida Gators big man bringing the ball up court or one of trio of talented UF guards, the pace is set to put opposing defenses in difficult binds.
Florida’s high-octane offense, ranked No. 1 in KenPom in Adjusted Offensive Efficiency, will be on display when No. 1 seed UF opens NCAA Tournament play on Friday against No. 16 Norfolk State at the Lenovo Center (6:50 p.m., TNT).
The offense is the brainchild of third-year Florida assistant coach Kevin Hovde and includes elements of Gonzaga, Arizona, Yale and Richmond offenses he either played with or against during his career.
Florida enters NCAA Tournament play ranked second in the nation in fast break points (16.6 ppg), third in scoring (85.3 ppg) and 28th in 3-pointers made per game (9.9).
“The number one key is we have great players and obviously it’s the most important thing,” Hovde said. “A lot of what we’ve been able to do is just a result of their skillsets, the guard's ability to make plays, their bigs ability to get on the glass, all of those things, but I do think our structure and our continuity kind of help to, they take advantage of our talent.”
ESPN and Westwood One college basketball analyst Tom Crean said personnel plays a large role in UF’s offensive success.
“Florida has four guys on the floor, and sometimes five guys, that can constantly start the offense on the break,” said Crean, who previously coached at Indiana and Georgia. “They can start the offense, they can throw it ahead, they can drive coast to coast, they can space, they make your matchups in transition extremely hard.”
Hovde said the heart and soul of the offense is the rim runs, having two bigs that can run the floor at a fast pace.
“Whichever is big is ahead of the other one, his job is to rim run and put pressure on the rim,” Hovde said. “That’s really the biggest key to the transition push because if you can get them doing that every time, not only are you going to get some of those rim runs where they actually get the ball up over the top, but it’s also going to suck in the defense and help the guards get good 3s or penetration so having, really, four guys in the rotation doing that and are dedicated to it and understand that’s their role is huge.”
Offseason conditioning plays a factor. Florida sophomore forward Alex Condon said he often ran sprints during the summer at Percy Beard track across from the UF basketball facility in the mid-afternoon heat and humidity.
“You get a really good sweat up and it’s great conditioning, too,” Condon said.
The 6-foot-11 Condon has enjoyed the freedom within the offense to make decisions with the ball in his hands. A deft passer, Condon has 69 assists on the season but has also improved his ability to stretch the defense, shooting 32.7% from 3-point range on the season (16-49)
“We have an awesome offensive scheme here at Florida,” Condon said. “We play a lot through our bigs and it puts us in scenarios where we have to make decisions for the offense and I think me and Tommy (Haugh) do a great job of orchestrating that and just following what the coaches put in play. It’s all them.”
Celebrate Florida basketball's SEC title with a commemorative poster
Florida basketball plays five guards who can all pass, dribble and shoot, led by consensus first-team All-American point guard Walter Clayton Jr. (17.5 ppg. 4.3 apg). Alijah Martin. Will Richard, Denzel Aberdeen and Urban Klavzar all have range beyond the 3-point line and are athletic enough to beat opposing defenders off the dribble.
“There’s a lot of opportunities for our guards to play out of the pick and roll, which is their strengths,” Hovde said.
It helps that all of UF’s guards are unselfish and eager to make the extra pass, which keeps offensive sets in the halfcourt from becoming stagnant. UF averages 15.9 assists per game.
“They have the best combination in the country, to me, of playing the most different ways offensively, whether they are four out-one in, whether they are five out,” Crean said. “They do a great job of actions, which gets you moving, which gets rotations starting.”
In the halfcourt, Florida is constantly hunting for mismatches against switching defenses.
“We tell our guards if they have a mismatch or a switch, they have the freedom to try to drive that switch quickly,” Hovde said. “But what you want to make sure, if you are taking advantage of mismatches, you are doing it quickly and decisively. Where you can get in trouble is you are pulling the ball back out and you are trying to go one-and-one because you feel like you have a mismatch, because you are allowing the defense to load up.”
All five of UF’s guards can initiate the offense, though Clayton has flourished this season taking over as the starter at the point. He’s been as adept finishing as the basket as he has been coming off screens and sinking 3-pointers, making 97 on the season while shooting 37.7% from beyond the arc.
“We've got multiple guys that can do multiple things,” Clayton said. “Multiple guys that can be on ball, off ball. So, I think it's just a healthy balance of guys, depending on the game, whatever the game is, guys provide different things. That's what makes it so great.”
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: High-octane Florida basketball rocketing into NCAA Tournament
Continue reading...
“Run… run.”
Then, whether it’s a Florida Gators big man bringing the ball up court or one of trio of talented UF guards, the pace is set to put opposing defenses in difficult binds.
Florida’s high-octane offense, ranked No. 1 in KenPom in Adjusted Offensive Efficiency, will be on display when No. 1 seed UF opens NCAA Tournament play on Friday against No. 16 Norfolk State at the Lenovo Center (6:50 p.m., TNT).
The offense is the brainchild of third-year Florida assistant coach Kevin Hovde and includes elements of Gonzaga, Arizona, Yale and Richmond offenses he either played with or against during his career.
Florida enters NCAA Tournament play ranked second in the nation in fast break points (16.6 ppg), third in scoring (85.3 ppg) and 28th in 3-pointers made per game (9.9).
“The number one key is we have great players and obviously it’s the most important thing,” Hovde said. “A lot of what we’ve been able to do is just a result of their skillsets, the guard's ability to make plays, their bigs ability to get on the glass, all of those things, but I do think our structure and our continuity kind of help to, they take advantage of our talent.”
What makes the Florida basketball offense hard to guard
ESPN and Westwood One college basketball analyst Tom Crean said personnel plays a large role in UF’s offensive success.
“Florida has four guys on the floor, and sometimes five guys, that can constantly start the offense on the break,” said Crean, who previously coached at Indiana and Georgia. “They can start the offense, they can throw it ahead, they can drive coast to coast, they can space, they make your matchups in transition extremely hard.”
Hovde said the heart and soul of the offense is the rim runs, having two bigs that can run the floor at a fast pace.
“Whichever is big is ahead of the other one, his job is to rim run and put pressure on the rim,” Hovde said. “That’s really the biggest key to the transition push because if you can get them doing that every time, not only are you going to get some of those rim runs where they actually get the ball up over the top, but it’s also going to suck in the defense and help the guards get good 3s or penetration so having, really, four guys in the rotation doing that and are dedicated to it and understand that’s their role is huge.”
Offseason conditioning plays a factor. Florida sophomore forward Alex Condon said he often ran sprints during the summer at Percy Beard track across from the UF basketball facility in the mid-afternoon heat and humidity.
“You get a really good sweat up and it’s great conditioning, too,” Condon said.
The 6-foot-11 Condon has enjoyed the freedom within the offense to make decisions with the ball in his hands. A deft passer, Condon has 69 assists on the season but has also improved his ability to stretch the defense, shooting 32.7% from 3-point range on the season (16-49)
“We have an awesome offensive scheme here at Florida,” Condon said. “We play a lot through our bigs and it puts us in scenarios where we have to make decisions for the offense and I think me and Tommy (Haugh) do a great job of orchestrating that and just following what the coaches put in play. It’s all them.”
Celebrate Florida basketball's SEC title with a commemorative poster
How Florida basketball guards flourish in the offense
Florida basketball plays five guards who can all pass, dribble and shoot, led by consensus first-team All-American point guard Walter Clayton Jr. (17.5 ppg. 4.3 apg). Alijah Martin. Will Richard, Denzel Aberdeen and Urban Klavzar all have range beyond the 3-point line and are athletic enough to beat opposing defenders off the dribble.
“There’s a lot of opportunities for our guards to play out of the pick and roll, which is their strengths,” Hovde said.
It helps that all of UF’s guards are unselfish and eager to make the extra pass, which keeps offensive sets in the halfcourt from becoming stagnant. UF averages 15.9 assists per game.
“They have the best combination in the country, to me, of playing the most different ways offensively, whether they are four out-one in, whether they are five out,” Crean said. “They do a great job of actions, which gets you moving, which gets rotations starting.”
In the halfcourt, Florida is constantly hunting for mismatches against switching defenses.
“We tell our guards if they have a mismatch or a switch, they have the freedom to try to drive that switch quickly,” Hovde said. “But what you want to make sure, if you are taking advantage of mismatches, you are doing it quickly and decisively. Where you can get in trouble is you are pulling the ball back out and you are trying to go one-and-one because you feel like you have a mismatch, because you are allowing the defense to load up.”
All five of UF’s guards can initiate the offense, though Clayton has flourished this season taking over as the starter at the point. He’s been as adept finishing as the basket as he has been coming off screens and sinking 3-pointers, making 97 on the season while shooting 37.7% from beyond the arc.
“We've got multiple guys that can do multiple things,” Clayton said. “Multiple guys that can be on ball, off ball. So, I think it's just a healthy balance of guys, depending on the game, whatever the game is, guys provide different things. That's what makes it so great.”
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: High-octane Florida basketball rocketing into NCAA Tournament
Continue reading...
