Florida Gators
Predicted finish: 13th
Key returners (last season’s stats)
F- Haley Lorenzen, 6’3, SR– 11.6 PPG, 48%FG, 42% 3pt, 6 RPG, 29 MPG
G- Delicia Washington, 5’10, SO– 11.1 PPG, 41%FG, 10-33 from three, 5.3 RPG, 1.3 SPG, 26 MPG, All Freshman, SEC Co-Freshman of the Year
G- Dyandria Anderson, 5’10, SR– 7.2 PPG, 40%FG, 13-57 from three, 4.8 RPG, 4.9 APG, 1.6 SPG, 34 MPG
G- Simone Westbrrok, 5’8, R-SR- *Missed last season with ACL injury* 8.0 PPG, 39%FG, 31% 3pt, 2.3 SPG, 21 MPG, All-Defense in 2015-16
Biggest losses (last season’s stats)
F- Ronni Williams, 6’0- 19.2 PPG, 54%FG, 7.8 RPG, 2.3 APG, 30 MPG, First Team All-SEC
C- Tyshara Fleming, 6’4- 7 PPG, 56%FG, 6.8 RPG, 1.4 BPG, 21 MPG
Newcomers
G- Funda Nakkasoglu, 5’8 (Utah State), R-JR- 19.1 PPG in two seasons at Utah State, 1000 point club member
F- Mikayla Hayes, 6’2, (Brooklyn Park, MN), FR- Ranked #131 in 2017 class; #23 power foward
G- Tameria Johnson, 5’6, (Ocala, FL), FR- Ranked #144 in 2017 class; #37 point guard
F- Jalaysha Thomas, 6’2, (Ocala, FL), FR- Ranked #163 in 2017 class; #26 power forward
G- Corey Staples, 5’8, (Sante Fe College), JR- 12.4 PPG, 5 RPG at Sante Fe College
Head coach- Cam Newbauer, 1st season
After just four NCAA tournament appearances in 10 seasons, culminated by a disappointing 12th place finish in the SEC last season, Amanda Butler was relieved of her head coaching duties following the 2016-17 season. With a new athletic director in charge, Florida looked for a head coach to inject some life and energy into the once proud program. Enter Cameron Newbauer. For anyone who has ever met Newbauer, you know he is all energy, all the time. Newbauer comes to Florida from Belmont where he was the head coach for four seasons. In that time, the Bruins went to the NCAA tournament the past two seasons, while compiling a 35-1 conference record during that time. His team’s were known for excellent shooting, spreading the court and being unafraid to let the ball fly. It’s unknown if Newbauer will try to build a team whose identity is similar to those Belmont teams or if he will try to build a team with more athleticism. With stops at both Louisville and Georgia as an assistant coach, Newbauer knows what it takes to be successful at the BCS level.
Key non-conference games
Nov. 17- Florida State
Dec. 3- @ Oklahoma
Dec. 6- Ohio State
Outlook
The presence of Ronni Williams will no doubt be felt for this Florida squad. It is always so difficult to properly gauge what a new coaching staff will do for a program and this situation is no different. Newbauer’s Belmont squads had tons of players who could hit the outside shot with consistency, whereas this Gator team hit just 27% of their threes last season. Lorenzen should thrive in the new system and I expect her to take another step forward with her game. They do have a few solid newcomers but, again, who knows how they will fit into the new system. Their best non-conference wins last year were Chattanooga by 11 and Temple by 7; not a great resume for a team of their prestige. While I do think Newbauer will get Florida back towards the top of the SEC eventually, I just don’t know how quickly that impact will be felt.
Best Case Scenario- Newbauer sparks a new energy, team becomes more consistent on offense, surprise many and finish in 10th
Worst Case Scenario- Team never is able to put it together, Lorenzen and Williams don’t get help on offense, Gator’s fight to not finish last