Next up for Florida: SEC Tournament in Tampa, Thursday, Time TBD, SEC Network
Notable
* Florida honored seven seniors, including Keyontae Johnson who was introduced with the starting five and was on court for the tip before exiting to a send-off from Florida’s fans. Johnson has not played since a medical incident during a game on Dec. 12, 2020.
* The Gators wrap the regular season awaiting further results from around the league to determine their seeding for next week’s SEC Tournament in Tampa. Florida will open action on Thursday.
* Colin Castleton had a big performance for the Gators on Saturday, posting 23 points and 11 rebounds. It marked his ninth double-double of the season and 13th of his career and his third game with 20+ points and 10+ rebounds.
Head Coach Mike White
On looking back at today 20 years from now…
“It’s a unique day. It’s a weird day. You can go so many different ways with it. It’s a special day. It’s a great day, but it’s a really, really tough day. I’ll remember the L. I take L’s hard, but I’ll also remember the opportunity to celebrate these guys. Obviously, Keyontae’s situation is an incredible situation. He’s a special, special guy. To celebrate him, what our administration did and what our fans did for him, I’ll always remember and I’ll always be really appreciative of.”
On the emotions of senior day…
“I think these senior days can sometimes have a huge positive impact and can sometimes come back a little bit. I think we all know that. I don’t want to take anything away from Kentucky, but we’ve been mentally tougher than that lately. We’ve come a long way in that regard. I thought we were too emotional. I thought we got pouty at times after giving them baskets which affected our transition offense push. That said, in the second half, I thought we put together some parts that were pretty good. We dug ourselves too big of a hole. Even in the second half, there were possessions we just didn’t finish with. Late clock, tough ones we contested and we are not rebounding down. We’re in there with the Wildcats in the paint, we’re spotting bodies, and a couple of our guys went in with one hand and Oscar is going up there with two hands. I don’t know how we can stress more other than stressing it another day… Some stuff we are just going to continue to stress… Transition defense, defensive rebounding, live ball turnovers.”
On the pregame ceremony…
“We were able to celebrate some special young men. Of course, led by the guy that was just sitting to my left. It was a really, really cool memorable moment for everyone in the building. It was very fitting for a special young man to be celebrated the way he was.”
#11 Keyontae Johnson, Senior Forward
On finding out he was taking the court…
“It was an unbelievable feeling. It was my first time taking the court since my incident. So, hearing everybody cheering and stuff like that just shows how much work I put in and how much it shows that everybody cares and appreciates me for being a Gator here.”
On holding emotions back…
“It was very hard. I wasn’t trying to cry in front of the team and just be sad. Once I saw the videos of my God-Mom and my sisters telling their speech, it just hit. Walking out with my parents, just hearing the crowds, it’s the best feeling I had in a while.”
On what it meant to have family and life-saving doctor here…
“It just shows how much they care. She didn’t have to come from Tally to support me on my senior night, so it just shows how much love I have around me.”
On going past the Rowdies pregame…
“When I first ran out, everybody was screaming but they didn’t know what was going on. It just felt like the first day, my first game, when we ran out and everybody was screaming. It felt like that day all over again.”
On kissing the court…
“This program and Coach White… He put trust in me. He was the only coach my senior year that constantly came up to Oak Hill. He came late at night, constantly trying, showing how much he cared for me and wanted me to come. He never guaranteed me anything which was something I was looking for. I don’t want stuff handed to me, never let it get handed to me. Just the love behind him – he’s done a lot for me. Me kissing the court… this program basically changed my life. Me coming here changed everything for me. I’ll never forget it.”
