Breaking Down the Play will be a regular feature during the season to provide in-depth analysis on the Xs and Os of an SEC team.
Florida has some of the most talented guards in the country. But last night in an 81-74 loss to the #3 Ohio State Buckeyes, the guards reverted back to their old ways and forced the Gator offense into too many one-on-one scenarios. UF held the ball entirely too long and displayed extremely poor shot selection. They only worked the ball inside once in the first half to center Patric Young. Erving Walker, Kenny Boynton and company failed to take advantage of the pick-and-pop scenario that they created with Erik Murphy. Murphy was 4-4 from beyond the arc, but the Gator guards didn’t exploit the Buckeyes’ failure to rotate and close out on the 6’10” shooter.
Here are three consecutive Gator possessions displaying what I think went wrong with Florida’s offensive execution:
Play 1 (11:16 remaining in second half)
In the first play, Boynton runs a pick and roll with Young at the top of the key.
Young does exactly what he is supposed to do, as he rolls off of William Buford and heads straight towards the basket.
Deshaun Thomas (the defender on Young with orange arrow) doesn’t recover quick enough leaving Young wide open. Rather than hit the open man in stride, Boynton holds onto the ball too long.
Finally, Jared Sullinger (see orange arrow) helps out on Young, and Boynton has no options left on the play. He passes out on the perimeter to Walker who dribbles in and misses a contested mid-range jumper. A clear opportunity to score was wasted because of Boynton’s inability to find the open man cutting to the basket.
Play 2 (10:16 remaining in second half)
In the very next possession, Mike Rosario takes advantage of a play that worked for Florida each time they ran it — the pick and pop with Erik Murphy. In the first picture, Murphy sets the screen on Aaron Craft, who is guarding Rosario in this play.
Craft fights through to cover Rosario while Thomas (guarding Murphy) goes with Rosario as well. Thomas is unable to recover quickly enough, leaving Murphy wide open.
Rosario dishes to a wide open Murphy for an easy three-pointer. All the defenders shifted over to follow Rosario, and the play worked to perfection as it had earlier in the game.
Play 3 (9:27 remaining in the second half)
Finally, Florida comes back in the third play, with the same situation as before. This time, Murphy comes out to set the screen for Boynton who is handling the ball.
The Ohio State defenders again sag back allowing Boynton to penetrate.
The play works the same as the last pick and pop with Murphy. Both Buckeyes defenders follow the Florida guard (Boynton in this instance), leaving Murphy wide open for three.
Unlike Rosario in the previous play, Boynton again keeps the ball rather than dish it to the open man. Boynton drives the lane into heavy traffic.
Boynton is surrounded by Ohio State defenders, and forces a shot. He was called for the charge in this play. This mistake could have been avoided by giving the ball up to the hot player who was standing wide open at the top of the key.
The Florida Gators had three straight possessions, two of which resulted in mistakes. In the second play, the Florida guard dished to the wide open man and scored. Florida coach Billy Donovan will be sure to work with his guards on giving the ball up on these high screen plays from the perimeter. The Gator backcourt held the ball way too many times, and most often it resulted in a forced shot or offensive foul. Had they played more unselfishly, the Gators could have had a chance at the end to beat the #3 team on the Buckeyes’ home court last night.