GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- Kerry Blackshear Jr., Keyontae Johnson and Andrew Nembhard are three guys who have become obvious leaders on this young Florida team. While learning how to get those younger guys more comfortable, they’re also improving their own games.
Blackshear came to Florida from Virginia Tech at the start of the season and has quickly become the Gators’ MVP. The senior is leading the team with 14.9 points per game this year and is shooting at 46.9 percent on field goals and 32.4 percent from behind the arc.
Since the start of the season, he’s also become more consistent shooting free throws, something that has been a goal of his since he started playing collegiate basketball.
“That’s what my dad told me, he is a really good shooter,” he said. “He told me good shooters have to shoot over 80, so that’s something, that’s been a goal of mine and I’m going to try to do it for the rest of the season.”
Right now, he’s sitting at 84.4 percent, a career-high.
“I shot really bad my freshman year, so it was really only up from there,” he added. “But just something I’ve focused on. Also like when I’m working out, back home especially, I try to game time free throws, so every time instead of resting right away, I try to get some free throws when I’m tired and I think that’s helped and has helped my game this year.”
And as far as finding opportunities for those free throws, his ability to draw fouls has improved over his career.
“It’s something that I have gotten better at since I’ve been in college,” he said. “It’s not necessarily I’m trying to, but I also just try to put a defense at a disadvantage when I have that opportunity. I think position helps.”
Meanwhile, Florid returners, Johnson and Nembhard have slowly come into their own.
Johnson has improved just about every aspect of his game in his second season with the Gators. His shooting has improved in every category, with 52.8 percent on field goals, 40 percent on three-pointers and 75 percent on free throws.
The sophomore forward has also recorded more defensive rebounds and assists per game this season than last. He’s becoming better at being one of those consistent playmakers that the Gators need with such a young team.
“He adds a tremendous amount of diversity to the team,” said Scottie Lewis. “He’s one of those guys when you give him the ball, I trust him to make the right decision. As far as him rebounding and being a prime athlete and him being able to shoot the outside shot and him developing that skill-set, I see him every single day putting in that work and it’s carrying over into the game and it’s helping us collectively as a game.”
That diversity has made him a key player on both sides of the court. He’s averaging 13 points and 6.8 rebounds per game this season, up from last year’s averages of 8.1 and 6.4.
“He’s a versatile defender, a growing driver, playmaker,” said Mike White. “He’s developed that part of his game significantly since early last season. He’s become a better scorer because the game has slowed down for him some. He’s a developing passer, and when he’s playing with a motor, playing really hard, he is a good SEC player. That’s the challenge for him; to continue to improve the consistency with his motor. At times, when he’s flying around, he’s really productive.”
On the other hand Nembhard is coming off of a career high scoring game against Alabama. The sophomore guard is another guy who we’ve seen develop as a player and a leader this year for the Gators.
“I always looked at him as a leader, from the first day I got here,” said Scottie Lewis. “What he does for us is provide that leadership. If we know that we’re in a hectic game or any game and we need to get the ball in someone’s hands in order to make a play for us to boost our confidence or try to change the dynamic of the game, we know Andrew and kind of KJ are those guys for us. We put a lot of trust in KJ and a lot of trust in Andrew, and when those guys have the ball in their hands we know a good decision’s going to be made out of that.”
The Canadian leads he team in assists, averaging 5.8 per game, up from 5.4 last season. He’s seen more playtime this year, which has allowed him to gain confidence each time he steps onto the court. That showed against Alabama when he scored 25 points. In the game before that against Long Beach State, he hit another career-high, this time on assists with 13.
“Hopefully he gains even more confidence moving forward from that,” said White. “He’s very good. He’s one of the best passers in college basketball. He’s developing as a scorer. He’s a terrific quarterback, in terms of getting guys in the right spot and communicating efficiently, loudly, early and often while we’re playing, offensively and defensively. He’s always directing traffic, but he’s also growing as an emotional leader, as well. He’s picking his spots more and leading in practice and film and media timeouts.”
He's becoming someone who can tailor his game to his opponent, a skill that could prove very valuable for this team.
“It’s just about making reads for him, and he makes them at a high level correctly,” added White. “Certain teams are going to dare him to shoot it more. Certain teams are going to collapse, and he’ll have less shot attempts and more passes. Whether he has more assists will be determined on whether or not we make shots.”
The trio will hope to help the Gators secure their second SEC win on Tuesday night against South Carolina.
