Tag: Alex Klatsky

Florida hoops hosting Iona transfer on official visit over weekend

The Gators are getting one of their top targets in the transfer portal on campus this weekend for an official visit.

Florida basketball’s efforts in the transfer portal continued on Friday when the team hosted former Iona guard [autotag]Walter Clayton Jr[/autotag]. on an official visit, according to the New York Post.

Clayton broke out over the last two seasons with the Iona Gaels, averaging 16.8 points per game and shooting an efficient 43.1% from three-point range in 2022-23. He led the country with a 95.3% free-throw percentage as well, making him one of the best shooters on the open market.

Despite entering the portal just a couple of days ago, Clayton is already down to two programs, the University of Florida and St. John’s University. Florida presents an opportunity to play in one of the toughest conferences in the country, and St. John’s is where former Iona coach Rick Pitino is headed after agreeing to a new deal.

“It’s really just between St. John’s and Florida, to be honest,” he said. “My mind is either going back down South or coming with Coach P.”

A reunion with Pitino seems like a tough story to beat, but student-athletes don’t always make decisions based on what their heart wants. The business decision might be going to UF and getting a closer look from pro scouts against tougher competition.

Clayton would immediately jump into the starting lineup with eight players from last year’s Florida team already gone. Right now, [autotag]Denzel Aberdeen[/autotag], [autotag]Alex Fudge[/autotag], [autotag]Alex Klatsky[/autotag], [autotag]Riley Kugel[/autotag], [autotag]Jack May[/autotag], [autotag]Will Richard[/autotag] and [autotag]Aleks Szymczyk[/autotag] remain on the team. Kugel could be selected in the upcoming draft, leaving Richard as the lone guard with playing experience on the team.

Adding a player like Clayton would be massive for Florida. It would give the Gators another scoring option in the backcourt that finished the season with almost twice as many assists as turnovers. UF didn’t exactly have that with [autotag]Kyle Lofton[/autotag] and [autotag]Myreon Jones[/autotag] last season, and both are out of college eligibility anyway.

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Kowacie Reeves returns to Florida lineup, Gators cruise past FAMU

You know it’s a good game when Alex Klatsky and Jack May get to play. Florida routed Florida A&M, 102-62, Wednesday night.

Florida needed to make a statement after falling to West Virginia by 29 points in the Phil Knight Legacy Tournament, and the Gators answered with a 40-point rout of the Florida A&M Rattlers that ended 102-62.

The Gators came out of the gate hot and never really looked back against a lesser opponent. The big story coming into the game was how many minutes [autotag]Kowacie Reeves[/autotag] would get after playing minimal time in Portland. Injuries to Florida’s starting guards, [autotag]Kyle Lofton[/autotag] and [autotag]Will Richard[/autotag], forced Reeves back in the starting lineup, and the sophomore shined… at least in the first half.

[autotag]Trey Bonham[/autotag], who started at point guard, was lights out from three-point range, setting a school record on 7-of-7 shooting from deep, and he led all scorers with 23 points. [autotag]Colin Castleton[/autotag] wasn’t the dominant big man he was earlier in the season, but [autotag]Alex Fudge[/autotag] made up for it off the bench with a double-double.

Even [autotag]Jack May[/autotag] and [autotag]Alex Klatsky[/autotag] got some playing time against FAMU, which is the hallmark of a blowout Gators win. Florida needed this one badly, but it won’t mean much in the long run.

Stetson is up next on Sunday, and then it’s time for another test as Connecticut comes to town on Wednesday.

PHOTOS: Florida basketball’s season opening win over Stony Brook

Take a look at a few prime shots from Monday night’s action.

Florida basketball opened up the [autotag]Todd Golden[/autotag] era in Gainesville with a blowout win over the Stony Brook Seawolves, 81-45. In a game that was clearly a mismatch on paper, the Gators took advantage of their talent gradient and ran all over their America East Conference opponents.

Recent transfer [autotag]Alex Fudge[/autotag] led the way on the scoreboard in his first game wearing the Orange and Blue, notching 16 points along with three rebounds. Another recent addition in [autotag]Will Richard[/autotag] added 14 points and three boards while veteran [autotag]Colin Castleton[/autotag] posted 13 points to round out the Gators in double digits.

Out of 15 players to earn minutes in this game, 13 managed to put points on the board, including [autotag]Alex Klatsky[/autotag] who drained his lone three-point attempt. Take a look below at some highlights from Monday night’s season-opening affair.

Two Gators to sit out against Rebels for health and safety reasons

Florida’s men’s basketball team will be without a pair of players on Tuesday evening in accordance with health and safety protocols.

The Florida Gators will be short two players in the Tuesday evening contest against the Ole Miss Rebels. Forward Scottie Lewis, who was slated for the starting lineup, and backup guard Alex Klatsky are the players who will be absent for the game. The news was broken roughly an hour before tipoff in a tweet by Chris Harry, who the senior writer at the Gators’ official website.

Lewis, who has started every game during this season, will be the bigger loss to the team’s on-court production. Averaging just over 30 minutes and 11 points per game, he’s known best for his reputation as an athletic defender. He was a vocal presence on the floor in the midst of a Gators loss to Kentucky on Saturday and will be missed for his drive and athleticism.

True, he’s fallen a little short of expectations as a scorer this season and could stand to see a bump in certain areas of his game. However, the Gators are already dipping into their reserves to make up for Keyontae Johnson being out for the foreseeable future and will be forced to paper over Lewis’ absence with suboptimal replacements.

The most likely outcome is that Noah Locke sees a return to the starting lineup and gets plenty of minutes in this game. Locke could help invigorate this team’s offense if used correctly, but he’s often a detriment in situations that call for something more than a catch-and-shoot bucket. There’s also a chance that Samson Ruzhentsev gets minutes in this game after some garbage time success on Saturday.

Klatsky, a combo guard who earned a bench role as a walk-on, made brief cameos in the win over Stetson and the loss to Alabama. The New Jersey native earned a bit of praise and frank criticism rolled together in an unusual comment made by Lewis in a 2019 interview.

He still has a lot to prove. I think his confidence thing is the biggest part of Alex’s game that hinders him. Alex has done the same training as me, he’s been doing it for a longer period of time, so he has the skill-set. His mindset is the only thing that kind of holds Alex back. Dominant ball-handler, he’s a great shooter, confident on the perimeter, and I feel like some of his skill sets he doesn’t show the way he should show. He’s a lot better than people think he is.

Most important, though, is the information we don’t have yet. What contact did these players have that required them to be withheld from the game? What contact did they have with teammates before being removed from a social setting? Were they among the “many” Gators who reportedly tested positive for COVID-19 over the summer?

In an ideal situation, this becomes a non-issue and the pair were scratched from this game in an abundance of caution. We may not get the answers to those questions posed above. However, after experiencing the trauma of watching Johnson collapse on the court floor, the players and coaches will certainly be taking every necessary measure to keep as many people safe as possible.

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