Florida vs. UNF: Three Things to Watch in the Basketball Season Opener

The Florida Gators are set to kick off their 2019-20 basketball season tonight against UNF. Here are three storylines to follow.

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Florida basketball is back. 

The No. 6 Gators tip off coach Mike White’s fifth season in Gainesville with their highest preseason expectations under White ever. Before Florida focuses its efforts on the madness of March, though, it has to get there first. That campaign starts tonight with its season opener against the University of North Florida.

Kerry Blackshear Jr.’s versatility

The Virginia Tech graduate transfer is unlike any big Florida has seen under White - the 6-foot-10 forward isn’t only an inside presence. Kerry Blackshear Jr. shot two for four from beyond the arc in Florida’s exhibition against Lynn University last week, while nailing all four of his free throws. 

The sample size is tiny, yes, but having a big that can spread the floor creates so many different opportunities for Florida’s offense. Keyontae Johnson and Andrew Nembhard will have more space to create and drive. This team could potentially have five shooters on the floor together at any given time. Fans should be excited to see what White does rotation-wise tonight with Blackshear and how his versatility will affect the play of everyone around him.

Andrew Nembhard’s time

Blackshear Jr. will garner the most attention this season, but this is Nembhard’s team. 

The sophomore point guard will serve as the floor general of the offense as a starting guard. His stint at the FIBA World Cup for Team Canada this summer will prove beneficial in the long run. 

Nembhard's court awareness was impressive last season, and he’s already shown flashes of its improvement. His 17 points and six assists led Florida in both categories against Lynn. His four made threes were also a team-high, a skill which if he improves enough of this season can elevate Florida to another level. He shot just under 35 percent from beyond the arc last season. 

Look for Nembhard to flirt with a double-double performance in Florida’s season opener.

Remember how young this team is

Florida only retained six players from last year’s roster — a total that makes up less than half of this year’s team. The Gators will start at least one of the highly touted freshmen in Scottie Lewis or Tre Mann, and will expect vital contributions from Ques Glover and Omar Payne off the bench. This much youth in the rotation is a testament to White’s recruiting efforts and the player’s talents on the court.

But they are freshmen. It takes time for first-years to mesh and become acquainted with the college level. This will show in the first few months of the season.

This team’s preseason hype is based on their talent’s potential. Florida isn’t the sixth-best team in the country right now. They’re still a very raw team with some deficiencies on defense to figure out and overcome. 

But this isn’t to say the Gators won’t be good. They have the talent to become dominant as they gel. Just a warning for those Florida fans with sky-high expectations to temper them down just a bit, at least for the first few weeks of the season.