GAINESVILLE, Fla. – KeVaughn Allen has been an enigma this season. At times, he is aggressive and looks like he did his first couple of seasons, but then he will nearly vanish from the court.

In the conference opener against South Carolina, Allen dropped ten points on 4-5 shooting (2-2 from deep) in the first half, but went scoreless in the second half with only one shot attempt.

And the lack of aggressiveness is something head coach Mike White simply can’t figure out.

"I can't explain it,” White said of his senior guard. “I love him. Talked to him about it again yesterday. I can't explain it. He's very talented and he got off to a really good start and he's hard to guard when he's ... we all see it. You see it, I see it, his teammates see it.

“When he's playing aggressive and confident, he's really good and we're much better for it. I don't know how to channel it; I don't. But I'm going to keep talking to him about it.”

However, it’s not just Allen’s problem.

“Together we all have to get him more aggressive, whether that's taking a shot or attacking. We got so tentative against their zone press, playing east and west.

“We got so tentative against their zone press, playing east and west, throwing it back and forth with one defender in the backcourt. Just looked so timid. And that spreads’l added White.

“When the guy with the ball looks timid, looks unsure of himself, his teammates see the ball, that stuff can spread. You've got to have five guys out there playing confidently offensively and playing aggressive, especially versus changing defenses."

Fortunately, for Allen and the Gators, they play Arkansas Wednesday night. Allen is an Arkansas native and has played some of his best basketball against them.

In six games against the Razorbacks Allen averages 15.5 points a game with a high of 28 coming last January.

“It’s good to always go there and play, just knowing that my family and friends are going to see me play and knowing that they’re not able to like come to every game in Gainesville,” Allen said on Tuesday.

“KeVaughn's always been aggressive, more aggressive, against Arkansas,” White added. “So we certainly hope that is the case in Fayetteville. I'm sure he's excited to see family.

“I'm sure they're really excited to see him. It seems like whenever mom's around he plays at a high level. And that's not just him; it's a few of our other guys as well.

“I'm sure he's excited to get back to his home state and play in front of a bunch of people that admire him and will be rooting for him."

Allen has all the tools to be a great player. We’ve seen it before. There was a reason he was on the preseason All-SEC coach’s team. Unfortunately, his play hasn’t shown that thus far this season.

The season has not started the way the Gators had hoped, but a turnaround is still possible with conference play just beginning.

“It seems certain guys have certain personalities, and in different context different stuff comes out,” White said of Allen and forward Jalen Hudson. “Both of those guys as I told them yesterday, they’re one game into their 18-game SEC season.

“As down as we all are, we’re 0-1. I mean, the next 17 SEC games, we’re gonna have a chance to win and a chance to lose.

“I told keVaughn Allen yesterday despite everything that’s going on in the first whatever how many games we’ve played; he can be a first-team all-league player. It starts yesterday. Depending on how he plays and the position that we all put him in.”