Three days after one of the biggest wins in the Mike White era, Florida basketball fell to Arkansas at home and found itself outside of most NCAA Tournament projections.
That loss triggered the all-too-familiar debate on whether or not Mike White is the right coach for the team, but most of the input came from the Florida faithful. ESPN Staff Writer Jeff Borzello recently took a look at all of the coaches on the hot seat in college basketball, and he offers a fair defense for White.
I honestly think White gets a bit of a bad rap from Florida fans simply because he’s not Billy Donovan. He hasn’t led the Gators to the heights of the previous regime, but he’s gone to four straight NCAA tournaments — and won at least one game in all four appearances, including the Elite Eight run in 2017. That said, Tuesday’s loss to Arkansas leaves them on the wrong side of the bubble and he’ll likely be feeling some heat next season. Could he look to get out early?
Florida still has three games left in the regular season and the SEC Tournament to make it into the bracket, but even Borzello admits that White will be in a bad spot if the Gators miss the tournament. His suggestion of White getting out early lines up with a potential opening at White’s alma mater, Ole Miss.
The expectations at Florida are high, and the football team did just move on from a coach that took them to three-straight New Year’s Six bowl games. It wouldn’t be unprecedented to see White move on, but Borzello is probably right that he’ll make it at least another year.
White has two elite forwards coming in as part of the 2022 recruiting class and has worked wonders through the transfer portal (Colin Castleton, Brandon McKissic, Myreon Jones, etc.). There’s also the Keyontae Johnson factor to weigh in. Coaches don’t plan on losing a star player in that fashion and making up for it in recruiting isn’t so simple, especially during a pandemic.
That said, there does seem to be a cap on where he’s able to take this Florida team. Beating the No. 2 team in the country provided some hope that White is capable of elevating the program in the way fans want, but it’s too often paired with a loss like the one to Arkansas on Tuesday.
The final three games of the season should be crucial to Florida’s tournament hopes and White’s job security moving forward.
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