Florida Basketball: Key to success against North Florida in 2019-20

3. Determine the scoring hierarchy.

Florida projects as one of the more balanced offensive units in the entire country this season but a scoring hierarchy still needs to be developed. This will be especially crucial once the Gators enter a more difficult stretch of their schedule and figuring this out during “tune-up” matchups could be a valuable use of these games. The team will need to understand who is the primary scoring option in a variety of situations, whether it is in the halfcourt, transition, or in crunch time.

As already alluded to, it seems likely that Florida will remain a deliberate halfcourt offense even if they look to run in transition a bit more. This is especially true following the addition of talented big man Kerry Blackshear Jr. as he will likely be one of the focal points for the offense. Expect that the Gators will look to give him touches on almost every possession as a major scoring threat with plenty of passing ability as well. Blackshear is highly regarded as a potential National Player of the Year candidate as the veteran presence on the roster.

Additionally, though, it would be a mistake to overlook the fact that Florida features plenty of other scoring threats and it is difficult to win close games without a go-to offensive weapon either in the backcourt or on the wing. Therefore, it would be prudent to groom either Locke or Lewis as potential primary offensive options. They both fit the mold of guys that could emerge as a result of their self-creating, three-level scoring, and killer mentalities. Mann will likely be the spark-plug scoring phenom off the bench.

When it comes down to crunch time in big games, every title contender needs a guard or wing that can take over the game with their scoring. There are seemingly endless examples of this over the past few years and the Gators will need to figure out who that guy will be this season.

North Florida might not exactly provide Florida with the opportunity to need a go-to crunchtime scorer but the team can still test out sets centered around different players.

That concludes this look at Florida basketball’s keys to success and storylines to watch in the season-opener against North Florida. Will this just be the first step on the way to a great season? The Gators have the talent to compete for the national title.

Final Prediction: Florida Gators – 82, North Florida Ospreys – 59