Notebook: White on Nembhard, PG options; UF releases non-SEC schedule

When the Gators held their first basketball practice last Wednesday for the 2020-21 season, they were without two-year starting point guard Andrew Nembhard.

He decided to leave the program in late May and transferred to Gonzaga, where he will sit out this year. UF coach Mike White could sense Nembhard was looking to leave after their first conversation following last season.

“I knew it was very much a possibility that he would either stay in the draft or maybe enter the portal,” White said. “And after our second conversation, it was a decision that he made.”

Nembhard started 67 games for the Gators and posted the eighth-best single-season total for assists (173) in school history. After being named to the 2019 SEC All Freshman Team, he raised his scoring average by three points last season (11.2 PPG) while leading the SEC in assist/turnover ratio (2.2).

Nembhard’s style of play, however, could never mesh with White’s offensive system, and that ultimately led to their split.

“I really enjoyed coaching him. He's a wonderful kid,” White said. “Extremely accountable, tough kid, helped the Gators win some big games. We wish him nothing but the best. But simply just visions not aligning.”

Florida has a trio of players who could replace Nembhard as the starting point guard.

Sophomores Ques Glover and Tre Mann are both vying for the job after contributing as reserves last season. Junior transfer Tyree Appelby, a two-year starter at Cleveland State, is also in the mix.

“It’s up to those guys, they're fighting it out. I can’t tell you right now (who will start),” White said. “We’ve had a couple of practices where, if we put the starting lineup on the whiteboard after practice it would have been Tre Mann who won the starting job that day. And we've had a few where it’s been Ques Glover and we've had a few where it’s been Tyree Appleby. These last two, three practices, Tre Mann’s been really good.”

Mann is a former McDonald’s All-American and five-star recruit who was ranked the nation’s No. 5 PG in the Class of 2019. He made four starts during his freshman campaign and averaged 5.3 points as a combo guard, including a 13-point performance at Kentucky.

Glover exclusively played the point in his 31 appearances — two more than Mann — scoring in double figures four times and averaging 4.4 points per game. Appley, who averaged 17.2 PPG as a sophomore at Cleveland State, figures to be another scoring threat with his three-point range.

“We’re a different type of offensive system, at least right now of course, to where I think we’re going to be less call-set oriented and more free flowing-continuity based. And so, all three of those guys are going to fight it out,” White said. “They're all competing. It's a healthy competition.

“But whoever doesn't win it, we need the next guy to be ready and whoever’s third string needs to be ready. Because you just never know, not only in this climate, but you want guys for your culture to be fighting for minutes and starting positions, every day, from now until the ball stops bouncing in April.”

UF released an updated non-conference schedule of nine games for the 2020-21 season Wednesday.

The Gators will open with a pair of games at Mohegan Sun (Uncasville, Conn.), playing Maine and Virginia on Nov. 25 and 27, respectively, to replace the Emerald Coast Classic on their schedule.

White is relieved to finally have a start date and opponent after months of uncertainty.

"It seems like we spent the whole summer on Zoom. As a staff we went through some of the rollercoaster of emotions of what’s going on at times and whether we’ll be able to play. I can’t imagine how much more intensified it was for our student-athletes,” he said. “Just knowing now that football has had some success, being able to watch some college football on TV, you get a schedule together, you get the NCAA telling you when you’re going to start. It’s exciting. It’s really an exciting time for all of us involved. Let’s play some basketball.”

In place of the Orange Bowl Classic on Dec. 19, Florida will now host Florida Atlantic on that date. The Owls are coached by former UF assistant coach Dusty May, who spent seven seasons coaching under White (Louisiana Tech 2011-15, Florida 2015-18).

Four games remain unchanged from the team’s original slate:

* At Oklahoma, Dec. 2

* UConn in Gainesville, Dec. 6

* James Madison in Gainesville, Dec. 22

* SEC/Big 12 Challenge, at West Virginia, Jan. 30

Two opponents originally scheduled for November have new dates in December:

* At Florida State, Dec. 12

* North Florida in Gainesville, Dec. 16

The Gators will no longer host Samford, McNeese State or Stony Brook, nor will they play Penn State in the Basketball Hall of Fame Invitational in Brooklyn this season. SEC play is scheduled to open Dec. 29 and 30.

Florida’s Updated 2020-21 Non-Conference Schedule

Nov. 25: Maine (at Mohegan Sun)

Nov. 27: Virginia (at Mohegan Sun)

Dec. 2: at Oklahoma

Dec. 6: UCONN

Dec. 12: at Florida State

Dec. 16: NORTH FLORIDA

Dec. 19: FLORIDA ATLANTIC

Dec. 22: JAMES MADISON

Jan. 30: at West Virginia (SEC/B12)