Florida C Micah Handlogten set ‘new standard’ for himself vs. Auburn

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Micah Handlogten had one of his best performances of the season against No. 12 Auburn. He has scored and rebounded more in other games, but Florida’s starting sophomore center filled the stat sheet in the Gators’ 81-65 win Saturday.

Handlogten blocked four shots and recorded three steals — both season highs — in addition to grabbing a team-leading nine rebounds. He finished with 4 points but scored on back-to-back possessions late in the first half to help stretch the lead to 19.

Florida coach Todd Golden wanted to see more physicality out of Handlogten against the Tigers, and he raised the bar with his presence in the paint.

“I’d say that’s definitely the new standard for me,” Handlogten said of his performance vs. Auburn. “I think Coach Golden coming into that game, he challenged me. He literally said, ‘I want you to play as physical as you can. Go into this game and see how that works.’ So, I went in there, did that and obviously it paid off. I would say that’s the new standard for me.”

Handlogten had 2.4 blocks per game as a freshman at Marshall but was averaging just 0.7 blocks this season prior to the Auburn contest. The most he had in a game with the Gators was two blocks (four times) but he more than doubled that total against the Tigers.

“I would say that I’m finally coming into my own with the timing aspect (of blocking shots),” Handlogten said. “I had it last year, but it was something I was struggling with earlier this year. And I would say that I’m starting to get the hang of it again. A lot of it is confidence.”

Handlogten and the Gators return to the hardwood Tuesday vs. LSU at 8 p.m. on SEC Network. Here’s everything Handlogten said about the matchup and his performance against Auburn.

Micah Handlogten Q&A

On playing physical vs. Auburn but staying out of foul trouble:

Handlogten: “Especially with how they were calling the game. I think that we had three or four guys with four fouls. It was really important to be smart, but also to be able to remain physical and have that dominance inside the paint. When you have guys like Johni Broome in there, you have to be physical, but you can’t be jumping around, like jumping for joy. You’ve got to be there and contest sometimes. You can’t jump for everything. Being smart with that is what you have to do sometimes.”

On improving his timing for blocking shots:

Handlogten: “I would say that I’m finally coming into my own with the timing aspect. I had it last year, but it was something I was struggling with earlier this year, and I would say that I’m starting to get the hang of it again. A lot of it is confidence, like having the confidence to go up there to block a dunk because you’re putting pretty much everything on the line when you do that. You’re either going to block it or you’re going to get dunked on. You have to have the confidence to go and know that you’re going to be the one who’s going to be successful.”

On if his confidence was high against Auburn:

Handlogten: “For sure, towards the end of the first half we were on a little run where I had two tip-ins, plus an assist to Riley along with like a block and a steal. And right there I was like, this is it. This is fun. Now we’re playing. Just having those little momentum swings, it’s huge for us.”

On whether Riley Kugel shot or passed the ball to him off the backboard:

Handlogten: “I didn’t ask him. I’m not going to lie. He didn’t look my way once, so I’m counting it as a rebound.”

On feeling like everything is clicking on the floor:

Handlogten: “I felt it last year a little bit. When we played Coastal Carolina, I had a really good game. I think I had like 19 points, 20 rebounds, and a couple of blocks. Ever since that game, not really. And so, to get that edge again, it felt really good.”

On if he had been searching for that to happen again:

Handlogten: “I think that’s just a part of the game. You always try to grow in different aspects of the game, which makes you lose track of some things. So, I think it’s important to have everything in mind when you’re trying to grow your game, not just like specify on certain things but work towards those but also keep engaging and highlighting on other things that you’ve been doing well just so you can keep improving that.”

On whether he enjoys altering or blocking shots more:

Handlogten: “Blocking obviously gives you the adrenaline rush with the crowd getting into it, like hearing the crowd roar whenever you block a shot off the backboard. It’s cool though. It’s like a personal goal to alter as many shots as possible and hearing the crowd go crazy.”

On UF building chemistry with five transfer starters:

Handlogten: “A lot of it’s off the court, just like spending time with each other outside, like you can look outside right now and you have two players and two coaches talking they’ve been talking for the last 30 minutes up there, but just like having an environment the coaches have done a great job of creating an environment that we can all grow together, enjoy each other’s personality, outside of basketball and then that translates onto the court like being able to play with your friends, not just your teammates.”

On his favorite thing about being in Gainesville:

Handlogten: “Away from basketball completely? Um, it’s 70 degrees in February. I don’t think you can get much better than that.”

On whether he’s a pool person or a beach goer:

Handlogten: “I love pretty much going to any body of water. I grew up on Lake Norman, which is a big lake in Charlotte. Every weekend just going out on the lake spending time with family and friends. And so being able to come down here, have a pool like literally every block, it being this beautiful outside every single day, I mean it’s amazing.”

On what went wrong in the team’s loss at A&M:

Handlogten: “I think as far as like the A&M game, I think that we kind of got a little bit off track. We kind like expected them to do something that they didn’t really do. I mean, we knew that they were just going to kind of put up random shots and then go hard to the offensive glass. And I think that during the first half of that game, we did a really good job of keeping them away from the offensive glass, but the second half we kind of got a little bit off track and they were able to get a few on us, and I think that just, keeping our mindset on the scout, knowing what to do and doing that for all 40 minutes of the game and not just 20 I think that would be the main thing that we look for.”

On facing another 7-footer in Will Baker:

Handlogten: “I mean, you see it in just about every team that we’ve played in the SEC. You have guys like Tolu Smith, Jamoreon Sharpe, Connor Vanover, everyone in this league is tall. So it’s something you’ve just kind of like got to grow and learn to play with. I’m looking forward to it, I think it’s going to be a challenge, that we’re ready for.”

On if he’s surprised by his success with tip-ins:

Handlogten: “I wouldn’t say it surprised me; I knew what I was capable of. It’s always been kind of my game. I’ve known how to tip the ball around, get it to where I can get either the possession of it or get it to go in the basket, this is something I was successful with last year, something I was really good at in high school so I think that it’s just bringing it up a level, like I said before, confidence so if you go up there with confidence you’re going to get that ball.”

On his knack for timing it right off the cylinder:

Handlogten: “It’s something I don’t think you can really teach, just something that’s like, if you can read it, you can read it, you can’t, you can’t, and I was blessed with the ability to be able to read those. I think I got can’t of mad at the Georgia one (called back to a basket on replay) because I knew that one, there were a lot of them that were close, but that one was like late, definitely a field goal and I was like, c’mon, it’s just glad that they are lenient enough on it that they can let some play, I mean, I’m going to be honest, some of them may be on the rim but what goes in, goes in. It’s just something you have. It’s something that God blessed me with and I can just only use it to my advantage.”