Tag: Akeem Miskdeen

Florida’s new assistants can significantly boost Mike White’s offense

The Gators would be silly to not lean on the new assistants for some of their old program’s concepts to improve their offense.

Florida men’s basketball fans have been increasingly more frustrated with coach Mike White the past few seasons because his offense has been altered more than a home improvement show. None of his changes have seemed to make his team more efficient on offense.

White hired former Oklahoma State assistant Erik Pastrana and FAU assistant Akeem Miskdeen to replace the Gators former assistants Darris Nichols and Jordan Mincy. Eric Fawcett from GatorCountry completed a deep film study on the Cowboys and Owls to see how the new coaches can benefit White’s offense.

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After six players either entered the NBA draft or the transfer portal, Florida will experiment on offense some more to find the right fit for its players.

One point of emphasis White reiterated all last season was that he wanted the Gators to play faster. Pastrana and Oklahoma State accomplished that feat and did it efficiently. Their offense was ranked the 26th fastest in the country in terms of average possession length.

Pastrana also had the luxury of having the presumed No. 1 NBA draft pick Cade Cunningham on his roster. Because they struggled to space the floor with shooters, Oklahoma State used tempo to create more space for Cunningham to display his talent.

The Cowboys also ran some effective half-court sets when they couldn’t push the tempo. They utilized off-ball movement where most of their players didn’t remain stationary and because of the action, it created easy looks at the rim because the defense made a costly mistake.

Miskdeen from FAU could help make Florida’s post players like Colin Castleton, if he elects to return to college, more productive in the post. The Owls averaged 1.1 points per possession when they passed the ball to a big man near the rim.

Their low-post offense resulted in points because once the center or power forward had the ball the Owls used off-ball movement that didn’t give opponents the chance to double their post player.

White and the Gators also mentioned that they wanted to shoot more 3-pointers last season but failed to do so. They ranked 264th in the country while FAU roamed near the top the past couple of seasons. Miskdeen and his team generated plenty of open looks from deep from dribble handoffs and off-ball screens.

Florida and White would be smart to lean on Pastrana and Miskeen for some of these concepts that their former program did well to improve the Gators offense.

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Gators hire Akeem Miskdeen to complete men’s basketball coaching staff

The Florida men’s basketball coaching staff is being rounded out with a second assistant hire, this time Akeem Miskdeen from FAU.

The Gators found themselves in need of a pair of assistant basketball coaches, after the conclusion of the 2020-2021 season. First, Jordan Mincy took up the mantle at Jacksonville, shortly followed by Darris Nichols being snapped up by Radford. Gators head coach Mike White needed a new pair of right-hand men, and the pieces are falling into place for Florida as May draws to a close.

Erik Pastrana, a recruiting expert from Oklahoma State, was hired to the first of the two open positions last week. The second is now being filled by Akeem Miskdeen, who most recently worked as a coach at Florida Atlantic.

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Perhaps not insignificant is the fact that FAU’s basketball program is headed up by Dusty May, who was himself a former White assistant at Florida. That means Miskdeen is ultimately a product of the White coaching tree and is therefore an easy fit for the team’s culture and the duties he’ll be assigned with the Gators.

“Miskdeen was likely not at the top of Florida’s list to start the process,” speculated Eric Fawcett of Gator Country after listing six other rumored candidates, “but they will still be happy to bring in a coach that is likely a good personality fit and someone who will want to stick it out in Gainesville for a while.”

The reputation Miskdeen carries into his new position with the Gators is that of unbelievable work ethic as a recruiter and a coach. He supposedly specializes in the development of guards, and Rivals noted that each team he’s coached saw an improvement in their backcourt production under his watchful eye.

Miskdeen has a Master’s degree in sports administration and over a decade in coaching experience, but the jump from his previous job at FAU to his new one at Florida is a big one. The SEC is one of the premier basketball conferences in the nation, but the deck is stacked in his favor. He’s landed in a good culture fit with a strong stable of frontcourt options, which plays to his strengths nicely.

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