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JU, UNF both dealing with NIL exits
College basketball’s revolving door, thanks to NIL money luring top players away from mid-major schools, is expected to put a significant dent in the rosters of ASUN Conference rivals Jacksonville University and North Florida.
After JU finishes playing in the 11-team CBI tournament in Daytona Beach, which starts Monday (Noon) against the Incarnate Word-Manhattan winner, the Dolphins anticipate versatile 6-foot-4 wing RobertMcCray V (16.6 ppg, 4.9 reb., 4.6 assists) and junior guard Zach Bell to enter the transfer portal, which has a March 24-April 22 window.
With seniors Jakari Spence, Kendall Munson and Zimi Nwokeji being out of eligibility, head coach Jordan Mincy will be in rebuilding mode next season.
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More: Gene Frenette's NCAA bracket has Florida carrying the SEC banner, cutting down the nets
McCray, who transferred to JU two years ago from Wake Forest, is expected to command deep six-figure money from power conference schools. He turned down a lucrative offer from South Carolina last year to stay one more season with the Dolphins.
“Robert [McCray] has already had some crazy offers,” said Mincy. “It’s crazy how college has become free agency.”
UNF coach Matthew Driscoll, who lost top player Chaz Lanier to Tennessee last year, expects to have three of the Ospreys’ top four scorers — 6-foot-8 freshman Josh Harris, along with sophomore guards Jasai Miles and Jaylen Smith — entering the portal. With agents all over the country helping players chase NIL money, the transfer portal is expected to have more activity than ever.
“A lot of guys are going to fly quick,” said Driscoll. “I talked to the team when our season was over, so [players leaving] is no surprise at all. I don’t anticipate any more attrition, but you never know.
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“This isn’t going away. Mid-majors are going to be dealing with this every year.”
FSU hiring Loucks follows popular ACC formula
It’s hard to criticize Florida State for bringing aboard former Seminoles player and NBA assistant LukeLoucks to succeed his ex-coach, Leonard Hamilton, because ACC schools hiring an alumnus as their head coach has been a winning formula.
Some of the most successful ACC coaches — Roy Williams (North Carolina), Jim Boeheim (Syracuse), Gary Williams (Maryland) and Norm Sloan (North Carolina State) — attended the schools they ended up coaching and won a combined six NCAA championships.
Now, that doesn’t mean Loucks is guaranteed to bring consistent success to FSU. But when a head coach in any sport is also an alumnus, that carries a built-in personal drive to win at the highest level.
The Seminoles’ best head coach by winning percentage (229-96, .705), Jacksonville resident Hugh Durham, is FSU’s 18th leading scorer all-time with 1,381 points. He also guided the Noles to their only Final Four appearance in 1972, narrowly losing to UCLA, 81-76.
Among current ACC coaches who also played for their schools, Duke’s Jon Scheyer won a national title as a senior and his team is a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. UNC’s Hubert Davis, a prolific scorer for the Tar Heels with 1,615 points, took his alma mater to the NCAA title game in his first season, losing to Kansas in 2022.
Loucks, a point guard on FSU’s 2012 ACC tournament championship team and the youngest ACC head coach at 34, worked exclusively in the NBA after his playing career. He has a combined seven years in player development with the Golden State Warriors and as an assistant with the Sacramento Kings.
Time will tell if FSU turning to a former player is the right call for its hoops program, but that formula sure has served ACC schools pretty well.
Golf trivia
When Rory McIlroy won The Players Championship, it marked the sixth consecutive time that a player with a top-10 world ranking prevailed on the Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass. Since 2018, only one golfer ranked outside the top 50 at the time of his victory has won in the past 25 majors. Who is it? Answer at the bottom.
Gators could be moving up NCAA win column
Florida coach Todd Golden enters the NCAA Tournament searching for his first victory Friday against Norfolk State, but the Gators are positioned to keep climbing up a couple pertinent March Madness categories if UF can hold serve as a No. 1 seed.
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Thanks mostly to the success of Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame finalist Billy Donovan over 19 seasons, the Gators have a spectacular NCAA Tournament win percentage at .692 (45-20), which is sixth all-time among schools playing a minimum 50 games.
UF is behind only blueblood programs Duke (.748, 119-40), North Carolina (.730, 133-49), UCLA (.709, 110-45), Kansas (.704, 117-49) and Kentucky (.699, 130-56) in NCAA win percentage.
The Gators are 18th in all-time wins at 45, but could move past 46-win Cincinnati and Gonzaga with a significant run in the tournament.
Will FT shooting be UF kryptonite?
Few teams in the NCAA Tournament can match Florida for all-around efficiency on both ends of the floor, but the big concern for Golden, especially if UF gets in a tight game late, is his team’s free throw shooting.
The Gators convert at a rate of 71.75 percent, ranking them No. 196 in the country. Three potential UF opponents at various stages of the NCAA tournament — UConn (79.07), Michigan State (78.11) and Duke (78.45) — are top-20 in the same category.
When Florida opponents need to foul, one player they’ll likely prefer at the free throw stripe is 6-11 Australian forward Alex Condon, who has made just 92 of 150 attempts for 61.30 percent. It’s going to be hard for Golden to keep Condon off the floor in a close game because he gets so many offensive rebounds.
Here’s why free throws could be UF’s undoing: In four losses, the Gators combined for a FT shooting percentage of .658 (75 of 114).
Golf trivia answer
At the 2021 PGA Championship, Phil Mickelson became the oldest winner of a major title at age 50 years, 11 months and 3 days. He was ranked No. 115 at the time.
[email protected]: (904) 359-4540; Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @genefrenette
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: JU, UNF hoops coaches Mincy, Driscoll preparing to lose star players
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