Riley Kugel talks starting as a frosh, his offensive strides, Kentucky

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Freshman Riley Kugel has stepped up for the Gators since the injury to Alex Fudge. Kugel made three starts in a row and scored a career-high 14 points against South Carolina.

Fudge has returned to action in the last two games, but Kugel has maintained his starting role and is expected to get the nod again Saturday on the road against rival Kentucky (15-7/6-3 SEC).

Kugel met with the media Friday to preview the matchup with the Wildcats, playing in Rupp Arena, the effectiveness of Florida’s smaller lineup with him, his improvement offensively and more.

On hearing stories about Rupp Arena and the atmosphere:

Kugel: “I know the atmosphere, but I haven’t really heard any stories. I just know from past experiences, watching on YouTube, all the great players that came out of Rupp Arena, watching them play. It just looks like a great atmosphere just to be able to play.”

On the team keeping its poise in that kind of atmosphere:

Kugel: “I say we just stay physical even if this, they’re going to go on a run, we expect it, it’s just how we handle it and how we respond to it. You know, it’s either we’re going to fold when they do get that run or we’re going to stay composed and battle it out and stay tough and, you know, just get the job done at the end.”

On how has offensive game has expanded:

Kugel: “Defensively, I just try to go 100 percent every down. I feel like that translates toward offense, because once you get a stop on defense, offensively, you know, it’s going to come naturally. So, I try to not to force it a lot on offense, you know. I’m just going to take the open shots, I’m not trying to force anything.”

On if he’s more confident in his shot now:

Kugel: “Yeah, definitely, especially since the first half of the season. I just had to find what was wrong, I had to correct some footwork, and definitely the confidence aspect. I really fixed that point, though.”

On the smaller line-up impacting transition offense:

Kugel: “I mean, we really, we really run a lot, so I feel that’s a really key point. Not a lot of teams start basically four guards, so, when you’re facing a team like us, against them it’s really hard to play against.”

On how he has handled conditioning in his first year:

Kugel: “I wouldn’t really say it’s a struggle, I just attack every day 100 percent. You know, even if it’s light days, individual workouts, just shooting around. I attack everything 100 percent, so I wouldn’t really say it’s a struggle. I would just say it’s definitely something to develop my game though. I can definitely work on it a little bit more, but I would definitely say I’m pretty good at my conditioning so far.”

On what he did during the summer to stay in shape:

Kugel: “Yeah, I was working out about like two to three times a day. You know, I had a strength and conditioning coach back home. My team around me, my coaches, my trainers. They’re really supportive and they really just kept me on track when I was on that little break I had when everybody was here.”

On the challenge of him guarding larger guys:

Kugel: “It’s definitely really natural for me. I’m used to dudes, back home I used to always play against, I’d always play as a big or little. I grew up playing against my brother all the time, so I always played against older guys. It’s really nothing different for me.”

On him being a power forward with earnest:

“Yeah, a little bit.”

On 3-point shooting has improving this season:

Kugel: “Yeah, I definitely have been putting up a lot more shots, you know, after practice, during practice. I wasn’t really doing it during practice before because of my confidence, but now that my confidence is back up, I’ve definitely been shooting a lot more consistently. Just getting in the gym with (Jordan) Talley and TG (Taurean Green) it’s just been helping me really a lot.”

On what Taurean Green has been teaching him:

Kugel: “He teaches me a lot. I definitely look up to him as somebody, as a role model. He’s just always there for me. You know, he teaches the game of basketball just so well. It’s just a blessing to be here.”

On anything technical Green has taught him:

Kugel: “My footwork at times, my follow and release point. He definitely tells me to keep holding it. I used to always just flick it and let it go, but now I’ve been holding it a lot more and it’s more consistent for me.”

On his excitement about playing his first game in Rupp:

Kugel: “Yeah, I mean, who wouldn’t be? I mean, if you love basketball you love to be at a game like that. To be able to play there is a blessing, especially as a freshman. I’m not going to take this for granted. I’m just blessed to be a part of it.”

On the feeling about this game in the locker room:

Kugel: “I’d say everybody on the team has excitement for this game. People don’t feel like we’re going to come in there and win, but I feel like that’s not the case at all. I feel like we’re definitely going to go into Rupp Arena just like it’s any other arena and show everybody in the nation who we can beat. We can beat anybody in the nation.”

On what the Tennessee win does for team confidence:

Kugel: “I don’t know, I feel like those losses, just because they were decided by one possession, we can’t let them carry on over. They’re three losses. You know, pulling that out actually was a really big one for us. Winning that game definitely gives us a confidence boost. It can show us that we can win in close games. A lot of people didn’t think, just because they were No. 2 we’re not going to be competitive, that we can’t close out games, finish games. That’s definitely not the case and I feel like we’re just a very good team we can compete. We should be able to get the job done the rest of the season.”

On how Florida’s NCAA Tournament resume stacks up:

Kugel: “This is my first year, so I really don’t know how that stuff works. I feel like we need to win the games that we’re supposed to win – Vandy and teams like that. No disrespect, they’re like good teams, but we should be able to beat those teams. Definitely beat a lot of these ranked teams that are coming up like Alabama, Kentucky, teams like that.”

On the moment in the season where he felt he belonged:

Kugel: “Definitely, the eye opener was the Auburn game. It definitely put a lot in perspective that just because they’re a top 25 in the nation, they’re winning all these games, they’re not special. They’re not really different and after that I feel like I can deal with anybody in the nation. That’s just my confidence, not cocky. I just feel like when I step on the court nobody really can stand in my way.”