Some thoughts following UF’s 79-70 preseason win over Division II Barry:
– Billy Donovan was blunt in saying following the game the Gators don’t have a back-to-the-basket scorer. Redshirt senior Jon Horford tried hard, but it’s clear that he’s not an offensive force. Horford got the time on the court he lacked at Michigan, logging 32 minutes and finishing with 5 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. Expect Horford to continue to get plenty of playing time until Chris Walker returns from his suspension Nov. 21 against Louisiana-Monroe.
– It’s early, but it appears that freshman point guard Chris Chiozza could spell starter Kasey Hill and still run the offense effectively. In 14 minutes, Chiozza had 4 points, 3 assists and a steal. Chiozza put his passing on display on the final four minutes of the game with a nice alley-oop feed to fellow freshman forward Devin Robinson and a nice bullet-pass inside to Eli Carter that set up a Carter trip to the free throw line. Chiozza also had a steal on the press and a breakaway layup. “He did some nice things,” Florida coach Billy Donovan said. Hill, meanwhile, was up-and-down against Barry with 7 points, 8 assists, 4 rebounds and 4 turnovers. With teammates bombing 37 3-point attempts around him, Hill didn’t try any shots from beyond the arc.
– You wonder if it’s ever going to happen at Florida for redshirt sophomore guard Dillon Graham. While guard Eli Carter scored 21 points coming off a medical redshirt year, Graham is still looking for his lost confidence after sitting out last year following hip surgery. Graham played a team-low four minutes against Barry and was pulled shortly after turning the ball over on a traveling violation. Graham did have a steal on the press but missed both of his shot attempts. With walk-on forward Jacob Kurtz playing 17 minutes, Graham still has work to do to prove to coaches that he’s worthy of contributing as a rotation player.
