Observations and Notes from the Florida Gators' 10/11 Basketball Practice

The Florida Gators returned a major contributor to the hardwood and showcased the fix to an ailment of past team's in practice No. 11.

Photo: Will Richard; Credit: Zach Goodall

The Florida Gators men’s basketball program took to the hardwood for their 11th practice session of the fall preseason period on Tuesday.

As the season quickly approaches, the intense sessions are ramping up even more to simulate the competitive settings they will be in at the start of the year.

All Gators provides observations and a few notes from practice No. 11 under Todd Golden on Tuesday.

Will Richard returns

Arguably the biggest storyline for Florida since the preseason session began is the return of Will Richard to the practice floor, even if it came in a limited capacity.

It may not have contained the highlight reel plays many will come to expect from him when he debuts in orange and blue on Nov. 7, but it was a step in the right direction for an eventual crucial piece to the puzzle in the Florida rotation.

Participating in an individual training session prior to practice, Richard showed little rust as a shooter, knocking down a plethora of his midrange and deep attempts in a mildly intense period held by assistant coach Carlin Hartman.

After performing well there, Richard retook the practice floor for the first time this preseason, albeit in a non-contact capacity.

He impressed in his first day of semi-live action in the early part of practice as he caught fire in the daily five-minute three-point shooting competition. He worked in team drills before the scrimmage period came about in the final 25-to-30-minutes of practice.

His abilities slate him for a considerable role in the Florida lineup this season. If he’s not a starter — which he will be at some point — Richard will perform as the first player off the bench for the Gators in the early portion of the season.

He possesses elite size for a No. 3, excels as an off-ball shooter but can also put the ball on the floor to attack the rim as well. His dominance as a scorer at all three levels during his time at Belmont a season ago is carrying over from the early impressions he made on Tuesday.

As a result, he can contend for playing time in a crowded room and even assert himself as a top contributor at any position despite the talent that surrounds him.

Florida has shooters

In a drastic change from recent years, where the presence of more than one pure shooter lacked, Florida’s performance through 11 practice sessions this time preseason suggests multiple talents have the capability to perform in that area.

If you’ve followed Florida basketball closely last season, there are two familiar faces that, while they weren’t dominant in the area, can benefit greatly from the new style of play the Golden era brings to Gainesville.

First, Kowacie Reeves Jr. returns his prowess as a shooter to the unit after times of excellence a season ago. His successes are hen pulling up from beyond the arc are well-documented. He’s continued to show impressive elevation and fluidity in his shot at 6-foot-7 to give the Gators a valuable element of explosiveness.

Myreon Jones — who operated last offseason as the guy who was expected to assume the key role — returns to the unit after a sluggish outing shooting the basketball in 2021-22. He still possesses the potential to be a dynamic perimeter threat for the Gators this season.

He said earlier this preseason that the new staff looks at last season as an anomaly of his game. It’s not indicative of the caliber of shooter he is. 

As a result, the analytic-driven coaches approached him with the numbers he put up at Penn State in their pitch for him to return to the hardwood in orange and blue despite the coaching turnover.

Their trust in him to rekindle his excellence from beyond the arc has instilled confidence and comfortability in him heading into the 2022-23 season. It’s showing with less than a month until tip-off against Stony Brook.

However, while there is potential from the returns, three new names, in particular, are driving the boat as players who can knock down shots Florida hasn’t connected on consistently in quite some time.

Point guard transfer Trey Bonham and guard 2022 signee Riley Kugel have both shot at a high clip to this point.

Bonham, a lethal scorer with extended NBA three-point range, finds ways to impact scoring in multiple facets in the team scrimmage sessions to end practice each day.

Kugel presents a similar fearlessness to let the ball fly when he has the opening. His opportunistic shooting ability paired with elite court vision and heightened instincts on the defensive end position him to see some sort of time throughout the year.

Richard — arguably the asset in this area — has done well despite his small sample size over the three weeks of open media practice.

However, what makes the entire unit special is not just its ability to spot up and knock down shots in rhythm. Instead, each player presents a skillset that forces opponents to play them beyond the arc and off the dribble in attacking the rim.

Even big men like Alex Fudge, CJ Felder and Colin Castleton have seemingly expanded their arsenals to include triples, adhering to the modern demands of basketball.

At the very least, it keeps the defense honest.

Those multi-dimensional scoring skillsets and reliability when shooting the deep ball can allow the Gators to take a major jump on the offensive end this season.

Notes from 10/11/22

• Todd Golden on the status of Richard and Kyle Lofton: “I think both Kyle and Will will both be back by the middle of next week. We’re being super careful and, obviously, we don’t play a game that’s meaningful for another three and a half weeks so I think we don’t need to bring them back while there’s even a shadow of a doubt in regards to them being more likely to reinjure themselves so just super patient.”
• Richard participated in a non-contact capacity. Lofton remained sidelined.
• Felder aided his unit in team scrimmages as a viable scoring option on the perimeter. He knocked down multiple three-point shots on the day to keep the second-team unit in contention with the first team.
• German center Aleks Szymczyk is struggling to contend with the physicality and skillset of Castleton as he attempts to transition to the new style of basketball in America compared to Europe. He cites the speed of the game as a major difference.
• Bonham is having no issue in his transition to the heightened level of competition since transferring from VMI this offseason. He can get buckets on anyone from anywhere on the floor.

Stay tuned to All Gators for continuous coverage of Florida Gators football, basketball and recruiting. Follow along on social media at @AllGatorsOnFN on Twitter and All Gators on FanNation-Sports Illustrated on Facebook.

Get your Gators football, basketball and other sporting events tickets from SI Tickets here.