2020-21 Florida Gators – Detailed Team Preview

2019-20 Florida season recap

Going into the 2019-20 season, the Florida Gators were looking to chomp their way to the SEC regular season title, and maybe even a national championship after Virginia Tech transfer Kerry Blackshear Jr. moved down south. The roster consisted of stellar guard play which was led by Andrew Nembhard, Noah Locke, Scottie Lewis, and Tre Mann. Then came the two star forwards on the team, Kerry Blackshear Jr. and Keyontae Johnson. The forward duo led the Gators in scoring, Johnson at 14 ppg and Blackshear Jr with 13 ppg.

Very high expectations swirled around the team that played in Gainesville. A lot of star power with some great young talent and an experienced graduate transfer were perfect ingredients for a national title run. What happened next was very surprising.

Struggles in Gainesville

Florida started the year sixth in the preseason top 25 poll, but that lasted all of a month. By the end of November, the Gators were unranked. Mike White and the crew started the year 2-2 losing to in-state rival, Florida State, the second game of the season. A couple of games later they went on a season long four-game winning streak and for the rest of the year went back in forth in the win and loss column. A lot of close games that maybe shouldn’t have been close haunted Florida all year long.

To recap all of the season, Florida finished the year 19-12 (11-7) which was good for fourth in the SEC. Florida also did not rank anywhere higher than 70th in the country in any offensive stat. To say the least, it was probably a disappointing year expectation wise not only for the players but the fans as well. Let’s dive into the 2020-21 season.

2020-21 season preview

Every year the end goal is to win your conference and contend for the national title in March. High expectations from last year will transfer over to this year for Florida. The Gators lose Kerry Blackshear Jr and lose Andrew Nembhard who assisted on 33% of baskets made when he was on the floor. He entered the transfer portal, and he is moving to the West Coast Conference to play for Mark Few and the Bulldogs.

Not all went wrong for Mike White’s team. He returns three of his top five scorers from last season. Those being Keyonte Johnson, Noah Locke, and Scottie Lewis. Other players who are going to be looked at this season are Ques Glover, and Tre Mann who both averaged in the mid to upper teens in minutes played. 

Florida impact players

When it comes to the SEC and other high major conferences, you need guys that will make plays to win the game in big moments. Here are some players on the roster this season that will make a major impact.

• Keyonte Johnson, Jr
• Tre Mann, So
• Noah Locke, Jr

2020-21 projected starting lineup

There are plenty of different ways the Gators could go about a starting lineup for this upcoming season, but this is how I think it will go.

G: Tre Mann, 6-4

G: Scottie Lewis, 6-5

G: Noah Locke, 6-3

F: Keyontae Johnson, 6-5

F: Omar Payne, 6-10

Well, that does it for the first team preview of November. If you want more up to date college basketball content don’t forget to go follow me on my Twitter account, @worldofcollege1.

Are you a die-hard sports fan? Well, if you are make sure you stop by the Overtime Heroics sports forums. Make a comment and start a great debate on any subject and any sport.