There was something nagging Mike White.
As he talked about Kasey Hill and John Egbunu, about the former’s improvements and the latter’s injury-driven setback, as he talked about the Southeastern Conference Tournament and Florida’s sudden loss to end it, there it was, in the back of his mind.
"I know the question is coming," he said on Monday. "Was it a success?"
The last few weeks.
His first year at Florida.
The season.
"It’s never a success at the University of Florida if you don’t go to the NCAA Tournament," White said. "But I feel like we’ve laid a foundation."
They have.
Their foundation lies with KeVaughn Allen, the freshman from Arkansas who traveled nearly 900 miles southeast to play for Billy Donovan’s replacement, and excelled. His 32-point performance against Florida State on Dec. 29 was the first sign, spurring a freshman season that saw him finish second on the team in points per game (11.6).
It lies with their future frontcourt in John Egbunu and Kevarrius Hayes, Florida’s 6-foot-11 center and 6-foot-9 forward, respectively, who each displayed their own brand of effectiveness this season.
In his first year playing at Florida, Egbunu acclimated to UF’s system quickly. In his first year in college, Hayes improved each week, culminating in a National Invitation Tournament run where the freshman filled in for an injured Egbunu.
In Florida’s last two games of the season, Hayes recorded a season-high point total (14) in back-to-back games against Ohio State on March 20 and George Washington on March 23.
The foundation also lies in freshman forward Keith Stone, who redshirted his first year on campus to develop his body, his skillset and to observe, and whose progress has excited White.
More often than not, after losses and after subpar practices, Florida’s coaching staff could only wish they had Stone available.
"Boy if we just had Keith last night," White and his staff said. "Things will get better when we get Keith."
And it lies in White, the rookie Florida coach who isn’t really a rookie coach, who accepted an offer at UF to replace a legend, to overcome expectations that landed near an NCAA Tournament appearance.
He defeated then-No. 9 West Virginia at home, albeit without the Mountaineers starting forward, and played NCAA tournament teams Michigan State, Miami and Purdue close on the road. His 21 wins in his first year were more than those of the two Florida coaches who preceded him in their first years, Lon Kruger and Donovan.
And he did it all with an inherited team, who he had little time to scout, whose trust he had to earn on the fly, whose abilities he had to improvise with to navigate the nation’s 11th-ranked strength of schedule.
"We know these guys better," White said. "But we have a ways to go as a team, as a program, in terms of getting back to where we want to get to."
But if there is one thing this season has proven, it is that Florida is close.
White has a full offseason to get there.
Ian Cohen is the sports editor. Contact him at icohen@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @icohenb.
Florida coach Mike White calls out instructions to his team during Florida's 88-79 loss to Kentucky on March 1, 2016, in the O'Connell Center.
