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Florida coach Mike White was asked Sunday how graduate transfer forward Canyon Barry was adapting to the role of sixth man through the first three games of the season.
“I like him there but I like him in the third man role and the eighth man role as well,” White said. “Canyon he’s a starter who is not starting right now and who knows, and again, I think if you ask Canyon, he’d probably rather start, as would everyone on our team. He’ll play starter minutes, he’ll continue to play starter minutes.”
Barry is coming off his best game as a Gator, finishing with 16 points, 5 rebounds and one assist in 23 minutes off the bench during UF’s 73-66 win over St. Bonaventure in Lakeland. Barry overcame an early air-ball 3-point attempt to finish 4 of 9 from the floor and 3 of 7 from 3-point range. And if not for Barry’s two clutch underhanded free throws with a minute remaining to break a 66-66 tie, Florida could have been toast against the Bonnies.
Which begs the question, should Barry be seeing even more time on the floor? Barry does have some deficiencies defensively, but Florida’s offense went stagnant during some late second-half stretches when he was off the floor. White said playing time is earned through trust and accountability on defense, which is why forward Devin Robinson has received increased playing and why forward Justin Leon starts as well. And Leon is a capable offensive player who scored a career-high 17 points in UF’s second win of the season against Mercer.
“We’re open and flexible relative to who’s starting and who’s not starting and where we go moving forward,” White said. “I just want his focus on playing well and he’s coming off his best game, of course. He’s going to have several really good games for us. He’s a very good player. I thought that his teammates did a good job getting him the ball the other day. I think he’s handled starting, not starting, of course, with ultimate maturity, Canyon just, he wants to win, he wants to have a great year individually and collectively, he wants to do whatever he can to help this team be the best team he can be.”
Other notes:
— White said center John Egbunu’s handling of double teams remains a work in progress. Egbunu had 5 turnovers against St. Bonaventure: “It wasn’t his best night in that regard,” White said. “He was doing really good on the offensive glass. He had some really good ball screen defensive possessions, did some good things for us, of course, we were anticipating being doubled some and he’s had times when he’s handled those doubles, with poise, and taking his time and slowing down a little bit, it’s a point of emphasis really to our whole team, right now, is those different tempos, we press, we pressure, we want a frantic pace defensively, offensively when we get the ball, everyone has to chill a little bit, it’s easier said than done when you’ve got a 6-8, 250 leaning up on you, you got another 6-8 athlete flying coming to double with you with active hands, John has shown in spurts really, really good poise. As we tell him you’ve got 4 seconds before you have to dribble, take your time, we’ll have guys come to the ball, we’ll have cutters, and so that was a good experience for him.”
— More on the subject of turnovers (considering Florida gave up 22 points off turnovers against the Bonnies), White said that point guard Kasey Hill and Chris Chiozza need to continue to do a better job of staying on their feet when they pass the ball. “We’ve got some accountability, when you make a jump pass in practice, you’ve got to go see (strength coach Preston Greene) and he’s got a little exercise for you do to whether it’s a wall sit or some jumping jacks of what have you,” White said. ” So that’s been our new tactic this fall really up until today, we’re going to continue to do it.”
— White praised the defensive improvement of Robinson, who also has been UF’s most consistent scorer this season, reaching double figures in each of his first three games. “Devin he’s a different defender not only from last year, he’s a different defender than he was six weeks ago,” White said. “He’s made a commitment to it, probably about three or four weeks ago and it’s been pretty consistent, it really has, I’m really pleased with where he’s at today, and certainly you hope he continues with this mentality, whether he scores it or not whether shots are falling or not, whether he gets a tipped dunk or not, he can hang his hat on helping this team in those areas. Offensively, it’s going to take care of itself, guards are going to get him shots, he’s tough to block out, he’s a developing wing with his skill level, he’s playing more sound, he’s become a better passer. But ultimately he’s getting more opportunity because he’s playing really hard, he’s playing with a motor, he’s made a commitment to helping his teammates by defending.”
The post White open to moving Barry into starting lineup appeared first on Hoops Scoop.
Source: GatorSports.com - Hoops Scoop
