GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- Florida basketball had a bit of a makeover in the offseason.
"We have a whole new team basically," joked Noah Locke.
Nine new faces.
And with these new faces Locke went from being one of the youngest guys on the court to becoming a veteran.
"I don't know what our leadership is going to be, but I think we have more potential leaders on this team than any team that I've coached," said Gators head coach Mike White on Tuesday. "I think we have four, five, six, maybe seven guys that have a chance to lead in some capacity, Noah being one of those guys."
"As a freshman we were thrown into the fire pretty early," Locke told Gators Territory during an exclusive one-on-one interview. "We learned pretty quickly. I feel like midway through my freshman year I was a sophomore already."
During his first year campaign, the guard averaged 9.4 points per game, which is second on the team, and led the team with a .379 three-point percentage and 81 made three-pointers.
Locke has grown since last year.
The Maryland native will be one of the first people to tell you that he had a lot to learn when he arrived on campus last fall - not just about basketball, but about being a student athlete away from home.
Now he hopes to share those experiences with the younger athletes on the team.
"Just helping them out as much as I can. Not just on the court, I feel like leaders help off the court as well," explained Locke. "Not just a goody-goody person, like, 'yeah yeah, you're doing so good.' I don't feel like that is being a leader. I feel like you can still talk to them and tell them what they are doing wrong. I mean you can still tell them things that they are doing right, just having a good mix of everything, Just being the guy that knows what is going on.. and being able to accept what they have to say."
This was not an overnight mission for Locke. Actually at the end of last season, Locke and Andrew Nembhard went to White's office to let the Gators head coach know his search for leaders was over.
"We wanted to make the culture as one and not just split up," explained Locke. "We wanted guys that like each other and hang out with each other."
So when the new faces started appearing on campus, the team hanged out together. No more cliques.
"Guys are really connected. I feel like the guys connected way earlier than we did last year," said Locke. "Last year it took a long time for me to even get to know my teammates."
This team certainly has its fair share of personalities, however, if each player checks in their ego, this team can live up to the high expectations.
"I feel like we can go as far as possible," said Locke. "If guys do the right thing as a culture as a team, play as a team, not have any egos, I feel like we can go as far as possible. I'm talking about Final Four, National Championship."
For my full interview with Locke, make sure to click on the video above.
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