Only one Gator remembers Florida’s trip to the 2014 Final Four first-hand.
Point guard Kasey Hill was a freshman that first time in Arlington, Texas. He scored seven points in 15 minutes in the loss to Connecticut.
Three years later, he’s the last remaining Florida player to have scored in an NCAA Tournament.
Florida’s two-year March Madness drought has been the dominant preseason storyline.
As a senior, Kasey Hill is doing everything he can to make it back, taking on a leadership role while also taking steps to fine tune his own game.
“You’d expect your seniors to play with a little bit more poise and to be able to utilize that experience that they have in a positive way,” second-year coach Mike White said on Thursday. “Expect that from Kasey.”
Hill said that big-game experience will help him lead the team’s freshmen and sophomores in high-pressure situations.
“It’ll start by my body language first,” Hill said. “I can’t let bad body language show in those situations. The younger guys are looking at me, and I got my head down. And that’s something I need to work on when things get hard for us.”
Hill emphasized mental toughness. And he said he learned the importance of being a competitor from that Final Four team.
“The first team with Pat (Young), Casey (Prather), Scottie (Wilbekin),” Hill said. “Scottie, he was a crazy competitor. That was one thing I learned from him, that you gotta compete every possession. Every practice, workout, everything.”
Hill even spent his summer vacation hanging out with D’Angelo Russell of the Los Angeles Lakers. Hill went to visit him in LA, since the two played in high school together at Montverde Academy in Lake County.
But when back in Florida, Hill spent plenty of time working in the gym on his jump shot. Shooting has long been the knock on the senior, who shot under 30 percent from three and 54 percent from the free-throw line last season.
“My whole life, people have labeled me as ‘not a shooter,’” Hill said.
But White said Hill’s reinvented his shot over the offseason.
Even while learning a new stroke, Hill knows he has to set the tempo. He said creating a competitive practice environment makes everyone better.
“We can’t be out there playing buddy-buddy ball, or trying to look out for our teammates. We gotta actually like go at each other,” Hill said. “And then after practice, we’re friends again.”
His teammates have noticed too.
Forward Justin Leon said Hill would win a team-wide one-on-one tournament.
“I think Kasey would probably come out on top. His offensive ability to drive the ball is really good,” Leon said. “He’s been working on his shot, all that.”
Hill, a constant competitor, agreed with hints of playful humility.
“If we had a dribble limit,” Hill said, “I like my chances.”
Contact Matt Brannon at mbrannon@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @MattB_727.
UF's Kasey Hill (0) looks to pass the ball around Ole Miss' Martavious Newby (1) during the Gators' win against the Rebels on Feb. 9, 2016, in the O'Connell Center.
