This will be an unpopular column.
So, before I begin, allow me to start by rattling off a series of opinions. If you’re a Gators fan, they will likely make you hate me with all the boiling rage of an anonymous commenter on the internet who just lost his fourth-straight goblin battle in World of Warcraft and really needs to let off some steam.
I only do this in the hopes that after I am done, the words that follow will seem tame in comparison, and so you will be able to absorb them better than you would have otherwise.
So. Let’s begin.
Urban Meyer was right to leave Florida. Tim Tebow was an overrated college football player. Steve Spurrier was an average coach in a weak SEC with a terribly unstylish visor. The Gator Chomp is one of the cheesiest celebrations in collegiate sports. LSU is the real DBU.
Whew. Glad that’s done. Happy you made it this far.
Let’s continue.
*Clears throat*
The Florida basketball team’s season is done.
A week ago, UF lost its starting center — John Egbunu — to a torn ACL. He’s out for the season. It’ll take him 10 to 12 months to recover.
I repeat: The Florida basketball team’s season is done.
Let me explain.
Egbunu is not Florida’s best all-around player. On any given night, that honor probably belongs to either KeVaughn Allen, Justin Leon, Kasey Hill, Devin Robinson or Canyon Barry, but it has never been the same player every night, and it probably never will be.
This is a team with depth, where multiple players have the ability to take the lead on different nights, but never consistently and usually not all at the same time.
This is also a team that needs to come together as a group to achieve a common goal. And yes, while that may sound obvious (and while you may have just looked up the definition of “team” on the internet and found that I just copy and pasted that exact phrase from Google), it is especially true in Florida’s case.
If one player were to go down, it would be difficult for the Gators to recover.
But if one of its centers were to go down, it would be nearly impossible for the Gators to recover.
The Gators rely so much on their center position — it is their rim protector, their shot-blocker, their main rebounder and their last line of defense against driving wings and guards. And for those reasons, depth at the center position is the most important aspect of this team. Without at least two quality bigs who can give each other rest or relieve one another in case of foul trouble, Florida’s interior defense falls apart.
And the only other quality center on Florida’s roster is sophomore Kevarrius Hayes.
Yes, there’s also walk-on Schuyler Rimmer, but let’s be honest. He’s really just the break-glass-in-case-of-emergency option that would cause most Gator fans to wake up screaming from the dream in which UF was forced to rely on Rimmer in meaningful NCAA Tournament games.
Well, Gators fans, welcome to your nightmare.
Without Egbunu, Florida will start Hayes — a very serviceable replacement and, in my opinion, one of the most underrated players on UF’s roster — and have Rimmer come off the bench. Reluctantly, UF coach Mike White will play some small-ball lineups, with 6-foot-8 forwards Keith Stone and Justin Leon at the center position.
“Not out of want,” White admitted on Friday, “but out of necessity.”
Necessity.
With just four games left in its season and missing one of its most important cogs, White and his coaching staff are faced with the unenviable task of trying to implement new lineups, strategies and role changes, all because Egbunu went down.
Not because they want to. But because they need to.
And for a Florida team that relied so much on its interior defense, it may be too little, too late.
Florida may still have a chance at winning the SEC Tournament in March, and they’ll almost assuredly make the NCAA Tournament after that.
But all other plans — a possible Elite Eight run, maybe even further — can be put to bed.
Not without their starting center. Not with Schuyler Rimmer as your primary backup.
For those reasons, Gator fans, your season is done.
Maybe next year.
Ian Cohen is a sports writer. His column appears on Tuesdays. Contact him at icohen@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @icohenb.
Kevarrius Hayes (13) plays defense in UF's 71-62 win against Texas A&M on Feb. 11 in the O'Connell Center.
