Todd Golden previews ECU, provides Aleks Szymczyk update

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Following an 87-76 win over Richmond on Saturday, the Gators (6-3) return to the court Thursday for another neutral site matchup. UF takes on Richmond (6-4) at 7 p.m. in the Florida Tip-Off.

Before the short trip to Lakeland, Fla., UF coach Todd Golden met with the media to preview the matchup, provide an injury update on sophomore forward Aleks Szymczyk and more. Here is everything Golden had to say:

On Will Richard‘s game vs. Richmond:

Golden: “It was great. He’s improved in a lot of areas since last year. Obviously, his shooting hasn’t been at the same level, as we’ve talked about a lot, as guys try to figure out their roles and get comfortable a little bit. But to go on that stretch where he made three 3s on three straight possessions to take our lead from seven to 16, and then kind of got us in position to feel a little more comfortable down the stretch was huge. And for him? I think it was a huge weight off his shoulders, as well. Just having that excitement of seeing that ball go through the hoop and getting some good confidence that way. I think it’s going to be a huge boost for him going forward.”

On using a four-man rotation of bigs:

Golden: “Felt great. Micah is obviously a very good player. He does a lot of things under the radar and just makes us really, really good on the glass. He’s good defensively and is easy to play with offensively. And being able move Condo and Tommy back to those reserve roles was great. I thought Condo played really, really well. He didn’t shoot it great, but he played really well. And Tommy gaves us really good minutes as well. Like we’ve talked about, I think when we’re healthy we have a really good rotation and I think it showed up Saturday.” 

On the status of Aleks Szymczyk:

Golden: “He’s still working on it. I think after Christmas, at this point.”

On the return of Micah Handlogten:

Golden: “I thought he was great. I didn’t think he looked great against Merrimack. He was moving around, but he looked a little tentative. And then on practice Thursday and Friday of last week, he was coming out of it. He was really good last Friday when we practiced down there and that gave us confidence that he’s be ready to go. That’s why we ripped him back in the starting lineup and I thought he played, a really, really good game.” 

On players feeling more comfortable in their roles now:

Golden: “I think it’s more of just us getting back to be able to play all those guys in the same rotation that we had in the beginning of the year, in the preseason, and what we had [against] Florida State – and what went away in New York once Micah got hurt. It’s the constant adjusting that’s the issue. When Micah went out now guys have to do other things. Micah’s back, now guys have to do some adjusting. If we can maintain our health I think it will be really beneficial for the comfort of the guys. But, again, that being the second game all year we’ve been at full strength, I thought we played pretty well.”

On how critical the next four non-league games are: 

Golden: “The way teams are evaluated for the tournament has changed a lot. It’s way more analytical now. Obviously, they’re important, but they’re not must-win, do-or-die games. We have 18 opportunities in league play. I think 13 or 14 of those are on target to be Quad 1 or Quad 2 opportunities. So even if we have a slip-up, it’s not like we want have an opportunity to build a resume and get there. Obviously, it would help us to win these games and finish up December, but it’s not life or death. We’ll attack it that way, but it’s not the end of the world if we lose a game. We’re going to have plenty of chances to continue building. IF we can get to league play at 10-3, we’re going to be in really good position. If it’s 9-4, it won’t be the end of the world, but we’ll have 18 more opportunities to get one back, so to speak.”

On being able to score with low shooting percentages:

Golden: “We haven’t had one night all year with the exception of maybe the Florida State game where we shot a really high percentage from 3. We’ve been right around that 33 percent mark most nights so the fact that we’ve done such a good job getting on the glass and we’re consistently getting better taking care of the ball, I think are the main drivers behind that. Once we get it really going and guys are comfortable, you know, Walt, Will, guys like that banging a bunch of shots, we should be a top-10 offense in the country. I think it does say a lot that on a night where we made only eight or nine 3s and we shot a little bit under 33 percent, we were still able to put 87 up on the board.”

On East Carolina:

Golden: “They’re talented. I think they have a lot of different guys who can score. I think all five of their guys in the starting lineup have had 20-plus point games so far this year. They’ve played a lot at home. I think they had one road or neutral game out of their nine total games so getting them on the road or neutral is good. They do a lot of the little things. They rebound it well on the offensive glass, I think they’re a top-40 offensive rebounding team. They do a really good job getting fouled and they don’t turn it over. Those things that equate to being a good offense, they do three out of four really, really well. On the defensive end they p[lay very similar to how Texas Tech played a few years ago when Chris Beard was their coach. Ron Adams is on their staff and they try to keep you on the side, they try to turn you over, they try to make you make decisions on penetration. We have to play off two feet and be strong with the ball around the rim and not let them off the hook. We do that, we’ll give ourselves a good shot but they definitely do some things that are unique from some of the teams we’ve played so far this season.”

On the importance of pace:

Golden: “I think our depth plays into that as well when we’re right. We did a really good job on the offensive boards on Saturday. We out-rebounded Richmond by 19 overall so all those extra possessions that you’re creating I think is a product of wearing teams down. You get to that point in the second half, referencing Will Richard kind of going nuclear in the second half, we had kind of warn them down at that point in the second half and we grew our lead to 16 and it was going to be hard for them to get back in it but we have the backcourt and the perimeter that can play with this type of style, guys that enjoy pushing the ball and playing fast and getting downhill in transition and we can do that and constantly put pressure on defenses in the first five to seven seconds of the shot clock, you’re going to be a more efficient offense. The fact that we’ve been able to get a really good transition offense rate, I think 30 percent or so of our possessions are in transition, it’s going to give yourself a better chance to wear teams down and to be more efficient and effective toward the end of the game as well.”

On Florida’s perimeter defense so far:

Golden: “Well, guarding the three-point line, not good enough yet, you know. We’re doing a better job limiting attempts, we want it to be around 20. We gave up 22 attempts to Richmond, obviously they made 11 of them, which is, you know, a really good percentage and too many. But, you know, a little bit of that I think was a lack of a sense of urgency on some shooters, and then just some match-up things. They played really small, and we want to play big, we want to keep Tyrese and Micah out there, and so that puts Tyrese and Micah on a smaller guy that they’re going to have to chase around a little bit, and I thought they took advantage of that, and then they hit some late, which, you know, the game was, I don’t want to say it was already decided, but it was kind of already decided at that point, so, got to limit attempts. Got to keep limiting attempts better, and if we do that we’ll be alright.”

On Riley Kugel playing with “casual” effort vs. Merrimack:

Golden: “I think it’s just, again, we’ve talked about it a lot, it’s a new situation. Different role, different team, and, you know, it’s going to be, some nights it’s going to be his night like it was against Baylor and against Wake, and there are going to be other nights where other guys are scoring it. I was really proud of his defensive effort against Richmond. I thought he did a wonderful job on King, you know, the whole time he was on him, to start the game specifically, that guy had been really, really good offensively, and was a really big threat to us, and for him to be able to go out and kind of set the tone, and I don’t think he gave up a point to him all game when he was guarding him, and that’s really hard to do. That guy’s a really good offensive player, so, you know just continuing to pour in the defensive end know that the offense will work itself out, and when he’s guarding like that, he’s going to get some freedom offensively. That’s kind of a trade-off, and, again, he gave us a great defensive effort and he’s our best perimeter defender. ZP’s up there as well, they’re both really good that way, but he gives us another element on the defensive end when he’s playing with that energy and enthusiasm.”

On Kugel’s response:

Golden: “Yeah, and I think he understands, and there’s going to be ups and downs throughout the year. But the response on the court is what we needed to see. It was a great effort defensively and trying to get himself going a little bit offensively, being aggressive and trying to pick his spots.”

On getting the Gator brand to Lakeland:

Golden: “Yeah, I think it’s neat, you know, and Denver’s talked a lot about the fact that, right, a number of our guys have played in state championship games as well. And won state championships. Walt’s from right around there, right, so he should have a big presence at that game, so it’ll be nice to play there.”