By the end of Florida’s Gators Madness event on Friday, there were only two champions left standing.
One was Brandone Francis-Ramirez, the redshirt freshman who beat out former UF greats Jason Williams and Lee Humphrey in a three-point shooting contest.
The other was freshman Kevarrius Hayes, whose behind-the-back slam elevated him past sophomores Chris Chiozza and Devin Robinson in the dunk contest.
In short, on a night reserved for fun and games to rejuvenate a disappointed fan-base, the youngest Gators carried the load.
And they might have to this season.
Nine of UF’s 16 players are underclassmen, and only two seniors will likely receive significant playing time this year: forwards Alex Murphy and Dorian Finney-Smith.
However, Chiozza and Robinson are both coming off freshman campaigns in which they averaged more than 19 minutes, and with the return of redshirt junior DeVon Walker from a torn ACL, the Gators may have more of a veteran voice than they did last season.
"Last year I didn’t know what to expect, but as a sophomore, now I know how the game is, how the speed is, how everything operates," Robinson said.
"I should go in and pretty much, not know what I’m doing, but have an idea of what it takes to be successful."
Florida’s lack of leadership was evident last year, and reared its head in one important statistic.
In games where the final score was decided by single digits, the Gators were a mediocre 8-11.
And while much of that may have been due to an absence of veteran players to fight for wins at the end of games, a lot of it had to do with free throw shooting.
Florida shot 63.5 percent from the free throw line last year, 328th worst in the nation.
Mike White hasn’t shied away from that subject in team meetings.
"He’s always honest with you," guard Lexx Edwards said of White.
"He’s always observant of every player, every aspect of the game. He’s always trying to critique something."
White’s honesty has manifested into a pre-emptive practice strategy.
On the days when Florida works on its conditioning, the coach has added a caveat: Each player must make three out of four free throws.
If a player misses more than one, the whole team has to run again.
Not only does White hope this will improve the team’s free throw shooting, but it also mimics a game-like pressure situation that is usually difficult to replicate in practice.
"Last year, we saw how easy it is to lose a game by one point or two points," Francis-Ramirez said.
"But we also saw how hard it is to lose games like that."
If the Gators can turn their 8-11 clip in close games into a winning record by simply converting more of their free throws, many players believe an NCAA Tournament berth is within reach.
"You just have to have that mentality just to kill your (opponent). You’ve got your foot on his neck, just crack his neck right there. Get the job done," Robinson said.
"Don’t let them back in the game and toy around with them. Keep going and keep being aggressive and you are going to get the win."
Follow Ian Cohen on Twitter @icohenb
Freshman Devin Robinson drives into the paint during Florida's 75-50 win against Texas Southern on Friday in the O'Connell Center.
