GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- One month ago, it looked like Omar Payne had signaled his arrival.
The Florida freshman had a prefect night shooting the ball, netting his first career double-double with career-highs 19 points and 11 rebounds.
"His intensity was great, "Kerry Blackshear said after Payne helped Florida defeat top-five Auburn 69-47. "His ability to learn throughout the season has been great. I think he is going to be an elite player. His energy on both sides of the floor allowed us to get out when we had the opportunity to get big stops and finish at the rim."
"He hasn't had a bad practice in a long time and thats pretty rare for a freshman," said Mike White added after the win. "He just brings it. He works and he is always asking questions. He has a serious approach and obviously is very talented. His toughness, more mental than physical, has improved a lot, and he stepped up big."
Payne went 9-for-9 from the floor on that night, however, the honeymoon phase did not last long for the first year Gator.
The freshman blues hit him.
"He’s going through some freshman stuff as of late," White told reporters a few weeks ago. "Freshmen battle complacency, being comfortable. They go through some highs and lows more so than other classes, generally speaking."
However, it seems like Payne is turning things around again. The freshman scored five points and grabbed six boards in Florida's latest win against Vandy over the weekend.
“I think he got a little bit complacent, lost a little bit of hunger. His minutes have gone down a little bit, I believe. Then as of late, the last week to 10 days, he’s had more high level practices," said White about Payne. "Putting in work and getting stuff done and not always but that usually carries over to more energy in games. I thought he was really good against Vanderbilt. Freshmen have to learn to do that every day and that’s how you become a really good player.”
“I think the biggest thing for Omar is just coming with the same energy and playing as hard as possible every possession," said Andrew Nembhard. "When he does that and gets those offensive rebounds for us it gives us all our energy. That’s when we’re at our best honestly.”
It seems like the freshmen are buying in more now - and not just Payne. In the win over the Commodores, the freshmen accounted for 33 points. The group stepped up when both Andrew Nembhard and Keyontae Johnson found themselves in foul trouble.
"We’ve got a ways to go but am I pleased at the development of our freshmen? Yeah, somewhat pleased, certain guys more so than others but collectively, we’ve made a jump with those guys," said White. "The attitude has been pretty good. The work ethic has been good. I think we’ve had more buy-in lately, more connectivity."
"I think they are really locked down on the defense more than they was," said Johnson. "I’d say after the Vandy game they came out when we got subbed out of the game, when I was in foul trouble, me and Drew, they kept the lead and got stops for us. So I feel like they are buying into every position counts. Hopefully it carries over for the rest of the season."
"I think the buy-in is at its highest point probably right now," said Nembhard. "As we go into the season we have to keep buying in even more to what coach is preaching.”
"A big part of that are the freshmen and how they handle coming into a game and not reverting back to how they affected a game for their high school team or their AAU team," added White. "It’s I’ve got to play a role on this team, I can’t hurt us. I’ve got to get into the flow. I’ve got to take our shot. We’ve got to follow through on the scouting report. So we’re growing. Our freshmen are growing, our sophomores have been pretty consistent and I think collectively we’re doing a better job of utilizing Kerry (Blackshear).”
"It’s fun with some of these guys just watching how they develop," said White. "Sometimes they really, really get it and then they revert. Sometimes freshmen immediately get it and shock you. Sometimes it takes guys three or four years.”
