Make it six in a row for Florida basketball after sweeping the season series from the South Carolina Gamecocks with a 76-62 victory inside the O’Connell Center on Tuesday night.
While it was not quite the statement the Gators made with their 47-point shellacking of the ‘Cocks on their home court back in late January, Todd Golden’s team still won by a comfortable margin without any significant stress. Alex Condon passed a career milestone and Rueben Chinyelu tied a Gator great with his 16th double-double of the season in securing the program’s 20th victory of the season.
After the final horn, Golden and Condon met up with the sports media and offered the following answers to their questions.
Todd Golden’s opening statement
“Yeah, I thought we did a nice job tonight, you know, just keeping a tough, scrappy South Carolina team at arm’s distance today. A lot of things that we got to clean up prior to going on the road this weekend, but we did a good job controlling the game.
“We obviously did a great job on the boards, plus-17. I thought we needed to do a little better job taking care of the ball, but defensively, we gave up some stuff in the paint, but our game-plan was to limit their three-point opportunities, and, you know, try to close any volatility out of the game, and our guys did a really good job of that.
“And, you know, up-22 with three minutes to go, I thought we played a pretty good game overall.”
Alex Condon on reaching the 1,000-point club
“Yeah It was definitely cool. I think during the timeout, when it happened, they put it up on the screen, I saw it. It was cool to get that recognition a little bit, but I think it’s really important we just stay focused on the main goal this year, running it back, and yeah that’s all I can think about right now.”
Golden on Florida’s defensive effort
“Yeah, I think our guys have done a really good job of understanding that we have incredible defensive talent, physicality, and when we pour into that, it makes the rest of the game easier, and I thought we did really good job of that tonight.
“We held them under 40% from the field, 21% from three. Fouled a little bit late in the second half that we’ll live with that the way the game was going, and we’ve turned ourselves into a pretty good defensive team, and we got to continue that if we want to reach the goals that we’re striving for.”
Golden on defensive changes made by Gamecocks from last game
“I thought they were just a little more physical than the first time we played them. Other than that, I don’t think they did a whole lot. Honestly, we had a lot of turnovers tonight, but a lot of them were, you know, kind of 50/50 plays where, you know, if one, the pass is one-inch this way it turns into a dunk.
“Like, we were making what I thought were aggressive turnovers, which we’ll live with in a game like tonight. And we were 24-for-43, I mean, we shot well over 50% from two. So we did a good job that way. We didn’t shoot the three-ball very well, but over 70 from the free throw line, solid, you know.
“And then the game was not very fast. I think that was one thing that looking back on, like, we were not able to control, and the pace and the tempo and make sure we’re getting up and down. We want to play games with possessions in the 70s.
“Tonight, this was definitely in the 60s, think it was like 69 or something like that. So that’s a little bit why our offensive output was down.”
Goldon on Condon coming back with Rueben Chinyelu
“Yeah, I mean, I’m not really sure of the NBA part about it, but just having these guys in our program makes me feel really good on a daily basis. And we talked about it a lot, we have incredible players. These guys next to me are two of the best players in America, and they’ve worked really hard to get there.
“Their consistency, their unselfishness, their toughness, and belief, it’s allowed us to grow into one of the best programs in America while they’ve been here. And these guys deserve a lot of credit for that.”
Condon on staying locked in against South Carolina after 47-point win
“Yeah, coach really insists on not being complacent this game. It’s not just another game. Tuesday night, it’s easy, me and Boogie were talking about it, it’s almost like a trap game. A team coming in here who I think is better than what people make them out to be.
“We just got to attack it, that’s what championship teams do every night. Come out with the same mentality and keep rolling.”
Condon on his changed approach to 3-point shots
“I’m just shooting the ones that I feel like are, ones where I’m in rhythm and I’m confident, because I know I can shoot it at practice. I think I let it bother me a few games, and stopped doing what I do well and everything else. I just got to keep playing my game and I feel like in some point in my career it’s gonna start falling so I don’t worry about it too much.”
What made Condon change that approach?
“It’s the coaches, their belief in me. I feel like they still want me to shoot it if it’s a good one for me but I’m just not going to force it and keep us in the offense and keep playing.”
Golden on handling the difference between the previous and current win
“We did a good job. Like I said, we weren’t perfect but I thought our minds were in the right place. I thought our intent was really good that way, and I agree with what Alex said.
“Obviously, South Carolina’s record isn’t great but they have some talent, like they have good players. Our performance a few weeks ago was incredible, we played like by far the best team in America on their floor, so it would have been hard to back that up with another similar performance.
“Obviously, coach Parish is a really good coach, they wanna do some different things to make this game more difficult for us, and I thought they did with the way they slowed the game down. They really tried to emphasize getting the ball inside, they didn’t do that at their place.
“Credit to them for the way they attacked tonight, but I thought our guys did a really good job of incrementally pushing that lead out over the course of 40 minutes. I feel like there’s an expectation right now with our program that if we’re not up by 15 at halftime, if we don’t win by 25, that something isn’t going right, but we’re in the best league in America.
“I still feel like being up 10 at halftime, up 22 with three minutes to go, we played pretty dang well. We didn’t play our best, but even when we’re not at our best I think we’re really good.”
Golden on expectations for Rueben on a nightly basis
“He’s raised my expectations for himself quite high. I’m not saying that I expect you to do 15 (points) and 17 (rebounds) every night, but I mean, listen, we know what this guy’s been doing this year. He’s turned himself into one of the best centers in America.
“And, I mean, yeah, we expect a double-double. I mean, the guy grabs every rebound. I don’t know what to tell you. If he doesn’t grab it, he (Alex Condon) grabs it. And there’s a reason why Tommy only had one. They had 27 combined.
“And you know, the maturation and growth that he’s had, you know, just really elevating his game over the course of his time here has been incredible. You know, he’s a tireless worker, and he backs up what he says. He’s super unselfish.
“I mean, all these guys are. I mean, we have a ton of great players, and it would be very easy for these guys, you know, with their future aspirations and wanting to become NBA players to worry about themselves and not worry about the team, but that’s our secret sauce with this group, man. These guys are incredible players, and they’re mature enough to understand that if they win, that the rest take care of itself.
“Obviously, having Walt, Will and Alijah in our program last year and seeing what happened with them after we won the national championship, all three get drafted, they understand that winning is the most important thing, and they back it up every day.”
Golden on dealing with expectations, message to the team
“Well, nobody has higher expectations for our team than I do and our staff, and I think these guys understand that we’re very constructively critical of them at practice and trying to bring the best out of them. And, at the end of the day, we really are focused on effort and intent, like, making sure that we are the hardest-playing team and that we’re playing together.
“We’re not gonna always be perfect. We’re not gonna always execute exactly the way we want, but if we go in and run to the fight every night and be the harder playing team, like, I’ll be able to sleep well at night, and I think these guys will also.”
Golden on if any win is a good win at this point
“Hell yes, man. That’s how I feel. Everyone’s a great win. It’s the SEC. No nights off and, you know, every time, you know, we’re not playing a team after the new year that is any worse than, like, the 75th, you know, 80th-best team in America.
“So, anytime you’re going to win, or you can win, that’s a huge step in the right direction. And I tell these guys all the time, like, when we’re preparing for games, I don’t care if it’s Alabama, I don’t care if it’s Tennessee, Kentucky, South Carolina, like, we’re treating that game like the national championship.
“We want to win regardless of who our opponent is. And you know, these guys allow us to push them that way, and it’s why we’ve been successful the way we have.”
Golden on a potential extra year of eligibility for Micah Handlogten
“Yeah, I mean, obviously we’re supporting Micah trying to get that year back. I think, you know, his case is pretty clear cut in the sense of, you missed the postseason, where he was an integral part of the team’s success to get there, and then he missed basically 90% of a regular season.
“So, you know, when you have guys that are 26 playing on TROs, you know, he’s the kind of guy that, you know, is a college athlete and wants to take advantage of the ability to get his degree and start working towards a master’s. And, you know, I think he has a pretty good case, so we’ll see what happens.”
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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Golden, Condon talk Florida basketball’s home win over South Carolina
Reporting by Adam Dubbin, Gators Wire / Gators Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
