ATLANTA – The three walked into the tiny post-game media room collectively late Saturday afternoon. The perimeter energy trio of Walter Clayton Jr., Alijah Martin and Will Richard had simply keyed Florida’s newest trouncing of an opponent and it was their collective flip to interrupt it down.
First, although, they needed to resolve who sat the place.
Martin advised Clayton to take the center seat. Clayton declined and advised Martin to take it. Martin turned to his left and advised Richard to take it. Again, the reply was no. Finally, Martin acquiesced, it was determined, as a result of the double-double he put up within the No. 9 Gators’ 83-66 throttling of Arizona State within the Holiday Hoopsgiving at State Farm Arena – his first double-double in a UF uniform –warranted heart ring.
About 5 minutes later, as they filed out of the room in unison, Richard tossed a barb Martin’s manner.
“He wants media coaching,” Richard mentioned.
The banter was all in enjoyable, after all. Sort of like the attractive, chemistry-laced method with which the Gators have performed in profitable their first 10 video games of a season for simply the third time in this system’s 118-year historical past. Who will get credit score (or the middle seat) would not matter when the basketball is being performed appears like this.
Walter Clayton scored a game-high 25 factors, with 5 3-pointers. Martin’s double-double confirmed 15 factors (with three 3s), 11 rebounds, plus a team-best six assists. Richard, who grew up outdoors Atlanta, had a contented homecoming of 16 factors and 6 rebounds. So, 56 factors and 10 3-pointers between them. Not unhealthy.
UF (10-0) shot 47.8 p.c for the sport, held ASU (8-2) to simply 37.1 p.c (and one of many nation’s high 3-point taking pictures groups to solely 7-for-25 — smashed the Sun Devils on the glass, 47-27, with forwards Rueben Chinyelu and Alex Condon grabbing eight rebounds apiece, and ran one other foe out of the constructing with 28 fast-break factors.
With seven minutes to go within the recreation, the Gators led by 29.
“We have actually good gamers. They’ve purchased into one another, they play arduous for one another and there isn’t any selfishness on this crew proper now. I feel that is an enormous, large key for our success up to now, but additionally transferring ahead,” Gators coach Todd Golden mentioned. “We discuss it rather a lot and it is rather a lot simpler when you’ve gotten three seniors who lead you in that [direction] and have an important understanding that they will all have success on the similar time. If they do not [one night], it could possibly be their evening the following evening. We’ve had that each one yr. Will scores 25 one recreation, Alijah scores 30, possibly Walt scores 30 … the unselfishness is contagious.”
And evident in not simply how they play (17 assists this recreation), however how they rejoice each other on the ground and up and down the bench.
Make that 10 out 10 wins for the Gators by double digits, with the typical scoring margin in these victories a plus-21.1. Simply put, UF did to ASU, out of the Big 12 Conference and with the best KenPom.com rating of any Florida opponent this season, what it did to the likes of Jacksonville, Grambling and Florida A&M.
“No discredit to the groups we have performed, however that is what good basketball appears like,” Martin mentioned.
This season, it is performed on each ends. Once once more, the Florida protection set in movement transition alternatives the Gators took benefit, particularly in a dizzying first quarter-hour of the second half when UF, up by simply eight factors two minutes into the interval, used a 34-13 thunderclap over the following 11 minutes to show the sport right into a laugher.
“They had been going to interrupt,” Clayton mentioned. “We did not really feel like they may dangle with us the entire recreation, [so] simply preserve doing what we’re doing and watch for them to interrupt.”
The stage was set for that snap within the first half. The Gators opened the sport by hitting 13 of their first 26 field-goal makes an attempt to go up by 14 – at one level, Richard, Martin and Clayton mixed to make 4 consecutive 3s – inside 4 minutes remaining. The lead was 13 after Clayton’s third 3 of the half with 2:36 to go, however UF did not rating the remainder of the interval whereas the Sun Devils hit a pair buckets to enter the locker room down by simply 9.
The lead was all the way down to eight, 43-35, when the orange-and-blue twister hit.
“They had been very bodily and really aggressive,” ASU coach Bobby Hurley mentioned. “We weren’t prepared for it.”
First got here seven straight UF factors. Then got here 11 in a row, with Clayton hitting a 3, then Martin, Thomas Haugh and Sam Alexis ending back-to-back-to-back run-outs (two of them nasty slams) after defensive stops. The recreation principally was over.
“To do it at such a excessive degree was spectacular,” Golden mentioned of his crew’s both-ends execution. “In the second half we actually did an important job of letting our protection lead us to transition. We had been capable of get out in spurts, get some run-outs, get some dunks and I believed our depth confirmed up tonight.”
Everything did. When Clayton hit a 3 in transition off a steal, it gave him 5 for the sport and made him solely the second participant in program historical past – becoming a member of Anthony Roberson in 2005 – to make at the very least 5 3s in three consecutive video games.
“We see what he can do daily,” Richard mentioned. “Now, he is simply displaying everyone else.”
The similar could possibly be mentioned in regards to the Gators as a complete, because the look to stay within the rarified unbeaten air that now consists of solely seven unbeaten in Division I faculty basketball.
Their subsequent alternative comes Tuesday towards basketball blue-blood North Carolina within the Jumpman Invitational at Charlotte, N.C.
Could one other podium-seating debate await?
“We wish to play disciplined defensively and play with a number of freedom on offense,” Golden mentioned. “When a lot is given, a lot is required. Our guys have a very good really feel and understanding of that.”
Email senior author Chris Harry at chrish@gators.ufl.edu
