Gators Looking to Avoid Offensive Predictability Without Colin Castleton
Photo: Kyle Lofton; Credit: Zach Goodall
The Gators are in the midst of reinventing themselves on both ends of the floor after the exit of Colin Castleton with a broken right hand against Ole Miss on Feb. 15.
Eliminating one of the most utilized players in the SEC — holding a 27.9% usage rate — from the fold, Florida's task is to alter its offense approach by re-tooling the pick-and-role heavy attack that ran foremost through Castleton to earn him touches on the inside toward its new personnel set.
One of the main aspects of changing the scheme at this point in the season is avoiding the vanilla redundancy that grants the opposition the ability to key in on specific aspects of the attack, knowing the unit cannot use the All-American caliber big man as a crutch on both ends of the floor.
"It's the million-dollar question and kind of what we're working through right now," Golden said on Friday. "Obviously, we have to be a little different with missing Colin because he was such a big part of what we did. We have to do some different things."
Against Arkansas, in their first appearance without him, predictability looked to be an obstacle to Florida's success despite an impressive start getting to and finishing on the inside.
Midgame adjustments by Eric Musselman's squad forced Florida to extend itself beyond the paint to take low-percentage midrange and long-range shot attempts. That inhibited the poor shooting unit from consistently scoring the basketball, allowing the Razorbacks to take control with an impressive 17-2 scoring run to open the second half.
The Gators fell in defeat, 84-65.
However, Golden contested that the predicament Florida faces leads to predictability, at least in the sense of the new approach.
"I don't know if it necessarily makes us more predictable," he said. "I guess in a sense they know without Colin being out there, we won't be doing what we were doing. I think it's obviously clear to everybody that we have to be a little different now, so some adjustments will be made. You can probably assume we'll do things on both sides of the ball a little differently."
But, as Florida moves forward, the plethora of players taking on an increased role in the rotation and scoring attack can help do the opposite, as multiple pieces showcase the promise to put points on the board.
That was the reality against Kentucky.
Producing two efficient halves against the Wildcats, UF found its rhythm on the offensive end to piece together multiple crucial scoring runs, including 15-0 and 9-0 surges in the first half to take the lead into the half.
The Gators saw Riley Kugel and Kowacie Reeves Jr. lead the way with 24 and 16 points, respectively, in the dribble drive-focused offense aided by frequent ball movement along the perimeter. Will Richard, Myreon Jones and Kyle Lofton also proved huge at points, capitalizing on buckets in the fast break or knocking down threes to create momentum to keep Kentucky within striking distance.
The scoring came in variety, with players cashing in at the bucket, beyond the arc, in the midrange and from the charity stripe. They connected on 50% of their shot attempts as a result.
"I was actually really pleased with the way we performed on Wednesday, coming off the Arkansas game where you could tell we were a little disjointed,” Golden suggested. “We just weren't very comfortable out there without Colin [at Arkansas].
"I didn't think that was the case, especially offensively, Wednesday. We were really efficient offensively Wednesday. We got rim finishes, shot the ball, made free throws, took care of the ball pretty well for most of the game."
It didn't result in a victory — something Golden blames on the defensive lapses without the elite rim protector — but shed light on UF finding its footing for the closing stretch of a challenging 2022-23 season.
"I think we're getting there. We're growing on a day-to-day basis and just trying to find ways to grow incrementally better. But we're on the right trajectory with the group we have right now."
The recent series will come to a head on Saturday as the Gators look to get their first victory in the post-Castleton portion of the schedule at Vanderbilt. The team that not only serves as the last opponent the big man played fully healthy but one in which his supporting cast failed to produce offensively at an alarming rate.
That contest in Nashville, Tenn., will tip-off at 6 p.m. on ESPN.
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