Kowacie Reeves returns to Florida lineup, Gators cruise past FAMU
Florida needed to make a statement after falling to West Virginia by 29 points in the Phil Knight Legacy Tournament, and the Gators answered with a 40-point rout of the Florida A&M Rattlers that ended 102-62.
The Gators came out of the gate hot and never really looked back against a lesser opponent. The big story coming into the game was how many minutes Kowacie Reeves would get after playing minimal time in Portland. Injuries to Florida’s starting guards, Kyle Lofton and Will Richard, forced Reeves back in the starting lineup, and the sophomore shined… at least in the first half.
Trey Bonham, who started at point guard, was lights out from three-point range, setting a school record on 7-of-7 shooting from deep, and he led all scorers with 23 points. Colin Castleton wasn’t the dominant big man he was earlier in the season, but Alex Fudge made up for it off the bench with a double-double.
Even Jack May and Alex Klatsky got some playing time against FAMU, which is the hallmark of a blowout Gators win. Florida needed this one badly, but it won’t mean much in the long run.
Stetson is up next on Sunday, and then it’s time for another test as Connecticut comes to town on Wednesday.
Kowacie Reeves is back... maybe?
There’s very little chance that Todd Golden forgets about Kowacie Reeves again this season. After Golden explained a dropoff in Reeves’ playing time with his own forgetfulness, he made sure to start the sophomore wing against FAMU. In truth, Florida was down its starting guards tonight, but Reeves might have gotten the nod anyway given all the attention the situation has received.
‘Wacie got the night going with a slam dunk that made a statement and finished the first half with 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including three from downtown.
He cooled off in the second half, scoring just two points and putting up a couple of confusing shots. It’s important that Reeves doesn’t let the success go to his head and he continues to play the focused ball he was in the first half. Golden won’t be able to deny him minutes in that scenario.
Don't forget about Trey
As good as Kowacie Reeves was in the first half, it was Trey Bonham who led all scorers at halftime. Bonham took five threes and made all of them to outpace Reeves, and it looks like Florida has a bit of a logjam in the backcourt to deal with.
Kyle Lofton and Will Richard have proven themselves as solid starters, but Bonham and Reeves didn’t look fraudulent in the same role. Sure, Reeves can start at the three and move around as needed, but Bonham might have to come off the bench.
He finished with a UF career-high 23 points and was a perfect 7-of-7 from three-point distance by the end of the night. That ties a school record.
Colin Castleton is still finding his groove
Colin Castleton didn’t look bad in this one, but he’s not the dominant player he was for Florida through the first four games of the season. A 20-point night seems like a lot to ask for at this point, and FAMU isn’t exactly the litmus test for good basketball.
He finished with 11 points and six rebounds, which is a far cry from the back-to-back 30 bombs he put together earlier in the year. It doesn’t seem like Golden is running the offense through Castleton any less often, but defenses seem to have figured out how to stop him from crashing in after watching some early-season film.
This could be a good thing for Florida, though. Extra attention on Castleton should free things up for the guards, and he has no problem being the assist man when needed. He finished with five of them, and the guards scored plenty tonight.
Alex Fudge impresses again
The good news is that while Castleton struggles, Alex Fudge is figuring things out nicely and providing a show along the way. Fudge is a dynamic finisher at the rim, especially when he finds a lane, and he provided fans with two SportsCenter Top-10-worthy jams in this one. Maybe even three?
He secured a double-double and was easily the most impressive player on the court in the second half. Still, there’s a youthfulness to Fudge’s game that will take some time to work through. Having a tandem like him and Bonham off the bench is far from a problem for Florida, though.
A bit sloppy out of the half
Florida missed its first four shots out of halftime and struggled to put points up through the first five minutes of the second half. That’s not the biggest indictment of a team, especially after a 40-point win, but Golden should take note of when his team struggles. A sloppy start to the second half could make the difference in a conference game, and Florida’s not exactly positioned to play any sort of lazy ball.
Keep an eye on how Florida comes out of the half against Stetson on Sunday because UConn (Florida’s Dec. 7 matchup) is the kind of team that will punish Florida for a slow start out of either half.
Remember, it's FAMU
Before anyone claims that Florida redeemed itself from the blowout loss, let’s be realistic. The Gators entered the game as 32.5-point favorites and FAMU has struggled to put up points all year. Florida simply did its job in this one and needs to keep a business attitude through next Wednesday.
Injuries forced Todd Golden to go with a different lineup than usual and it worked out, but Florida needs its top eight players to thrive to beat Connecticut. There are still questions about Golden’s ability to manage the rotation, and this game didn’t exactly help solve those problems.
A win’s a win, but Florida still has a long way to go before convincing the country that it’s an NCAA Tournament-caliber team.
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