Three Takeaways From the Florida Gators Season-Opening Victory

The Florida Gators tipped off their season with a 13-point victory over the Elon Phoenix Tuesday night.

Debuting a vastly different lineup – characterized by length, athleticism and tenacity – from a year ago, Florida was impressively active on both ends of the court. As a result, the Gators improved to 6-1 under head coach Mike White in season openers.

To recap, AllGators’ presents three takeaways from Florida’s 74-61 victory to begin the 2021-22 campaign.

Myreon Jones is even better than advertised

When the Gators scoured the transfer portal to fill the holes on their roster following the 2020-21 season, Myreon Jones was viewed as a viable scoring option.

Shooting 40% from the field in his 80 career games at Penn State, Florida expected to get a talented two-guard with a smooth shooting stroke. Instead, however, Jones contributed in a way that stretches beyond the scoring department for the Gators.

Starting 1-6 from the field against Elon, Jones went into the halftime break as the leader in rebounds with five and assists with three. He served as a catalyst for the quick ball movement that created open shots throughout the night.

Making smart plays as the primary ball-handler, he looked to settle firmly into a role as a point guard.

In the second half, Jones found his rhythm.

His hot streak started quickly and was a significant reason Florida held on to their double-digit lead down the stretch. Knocking down an And-1 corner three just over a minute into the second half, Jones gained the confidence to start letting the ball fly.

He shot 46% from the field and made 4-8 attempts beyond the arc despite going into halftime 0-3. Scoring 20 points in the contest, he was the Gators leading scorer on the night. 

As a result, he proved why his teammates had praised his ability to knock down shots in bulk in the preseason.

Jones’ shooting ability may be his strength, but he’s proving to be a complete multi-dimensional guard that can facilitate, attack the glass and help the team win even when his shots aren’t falling.

There was no answer for Colin Castleton

Eighteen points, five rebounds, four assists and six blocks.

If there was something that needed to be done Tuesday night, Colin Castleton got it done.

Following a rough performance scoring the basketball against Emory-Riddle, Castleton was a man on a mission in game one of the regular season.

Showcasing his refined skillset of post moves like he did a season ago, Castleton was able to win on the interior with physicality against an out-matched Elon team. Defensively, the big man served as a rim protector, backing up the comments he made Monday about the pride he takes playing defense.

However, it wasn’t just his ability to continue the success of a season ago. Castleton has shown he’s become a more complete player since we last saw him in March.

Showing he can effectively pass from the interior and be a factor when not scoring the basketball, the big man showed why AllGators chose him to be the Gators MVP this season in our preseason accolades.

His improvements add another dimension to the offense.

Operating in five-out sets, Castleton has served as the centerpiece in the pick and roll for two years. But now, he is a threat to pick and pop, showing he is willing and able to take shots from up top or put the ball on the floor and attack the paint.

Ultimately, it forces opposing big men to respect him outside the three-point line, creating slashing lanes for others to generate lay-up opportunities without a help defender crashing down.

If he continues on his track of progression and continues getting better as the season wears on, he has the potential to lead the Gators to surpass outsiders’ expectations.

A tale of two halves

The Gators burst out of the gate hot, torching the Phoenix on both ends of the court.

As a team, Florida connected on 52% of their shots in the first half, capitalizing on the open looks that come with turning defense into offense.

Operating through Castleton, Florida posted nearly 50 first-half points, an impressive feat as a squad that averaged 74 points per game. Scoring 47, UF was in a position where eclipsing the triple-digit mark was a reasonable target.

However, despite Jones serving as a bright spot, Florida’s overall level of play decreased significantly on both ends of the court.

Coming out of the halftime break sloppy, the Gators were outscored by 10, allowing Elon to cut into their 28 point lead down the stretch.

Notably, Florida failed to play with the same intensity defensively and didn’t attack the basket as frequently. They totaled just 8 of their 32 points in the paint in the second half.

“I thought we let our foot off the gas pedal and didn’t play with a lot of maturity down the stretch,” White said. He emphasized that UF has to play for 40 minutes to achieve the goals they’ve set out for this season and that he felt they played a more complete game in their exhibition matchup versus Embry-Riddle.

The Gators 42.4% from the field and matched their points per game number of 74 by scoring just 27 second-half points.

They won’t be able to afford a meltdown in the second 20 minutes of action in their next matchup.

Florida squares off with the in-state rival Florida State Seminoles on Sunday at the O’Connell Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m.

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