Then got here a 3-level taking pictures contest (stroll-on guard Alex Klatsky received), a slam-dunk contest (take a bow, junior guard Niels Lane) and a half-court docket taking pictures contest (with stroll-on Jack May throwing one in and profitable a flat-display screen TV for a fortunate Rowdy Reptile).
A great time was had by corridor, so it appeared.
As for the dwell 5-on-5 basketball portion, Golden stored it fairly free.
“I don’t think we’re going evaluate much, but we were able to finish the night with no injuries,” Golden mentioned. “Other than [sophomore transfer forward] Alex Fudge taking tumble in the dunk contest.”
Fudge was wonderful, by the way in which.
Richard, meantime, appeared higher than wonderful, which was an excellent factor contemplating the Belmont switch missed the primary three weeks of preseason apply with a sprained knee. The 6-foot-5 wing flashed his all-round offensive recreation and helped his staff to a victory in what was about quarter-hour of motion with officers however no fouls known as. He was paired alongside a beginning Blue lineup of fifth-12 months guard Myreon Jones, sophomore level guard Trey Bonham, ahead CJ Felder and freshman heart Aleks Szymczyk. Freshman guard Denzel Aberdeen and Klatsky, the fourth-12 months junior, got here off the bench.
The White squad had the roster’s two headliners, two-time All-Southeastern Conference ahead Colin Castleton and St. Bonaventure switch/fifth-12 months level guard Kyle Lofton. They teamed with Fudge, sophomore wing Kowacie Reeves and freshman guard Riley Kugel. The two reserves had been heart Jason Jitoboh and Niels Lane, a pair of key function gamers on final 12 months’s staff — the final beneath Mike White, now at Georgia — that went 20-14 and missed the NCAA Tournament for the primary time in six years.
Golden got here to Florida in March after three seasons at San Francisco, the place he led that program to its first NCAA berth in 24 years. His first UF staff can have some acquainted faces (six returning scholarship gamers), however the Gators’ employees can have some choices to make recreation to recreation relative to personnel. And they’re completely happy about it.
“Our depth. It’s a challenge for me and the staff to really drill down on an eight-man rotation at this point. To be honest, we can’t and we wouldn’t even try,” mentioned Golden, whose staff opens the common season Monday evening at house in opposition to Stony Brook. “We have a number of guys that we feel really good about playing. …With that the biggest challenge, for the staff now, [is] how are we going to put these pieces together and are we going to make sure they all fit properly? I honestly think our biggest strength is depth and there will different guys every night giving us something.”
And, as Golden added, that is not a foul downside to have.