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Aleks Szymczyk stepping up for UF in Castleton's absence

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Florida Gators forward Aleks Szymczyk (Courtesy of Florida Gators UAA).

Aleks Szymczyk got his first extended minutes of his college career on Saturday afternoon in Florida’s loss to Arkansas.

It certainly wasn’t a game that had too many bright spots, and Szymczyk’s performance wasn’t top notch. However, he gave the UF staff a lot to be excited about as he continues to develop his game.

The true freshman forward posted a career high in points (8), rebounds (6), steals (4) and minutes (20) against the Hogs.

“I thought he was really good,” UF head coach Todd Golden said of Szymczyk. “Obviously had some mistakes and wasn’t perfect, but the guy’s first real rip was in Bud Walton, one of the hardest places to play in America….

“[He had a] great block on Jordan Walsh in the middle of the paint. Most impressive thing was he wasn’t scared. He had a great mentality. Stepping on the court with older guys, good players, stepping up and hitting two big shots. Was really pleased and I’m happy for him that he was able to perform so well.”

Playing the rest of the way

Six of his eight points came from two three-pointers. Something Florida has missed in recent seasons is a big man who can consistently shoot from range.

Without Colin Castleton, the Gators will have to continue to lean on Aleks Szymczyk in the frontcourt alongside Jason Jitoboh and others.

“We’re gonna ride with him down the stretch without Colin,” Golden said. “But it gives you more confidence as a coach knowing that, and that’s one of the things that we value so much about him is just his competitive spirit and his approach on a day-to-day basis and his consistency. I mean eight (points) and six (rebounds) in 17 minutes is hard to do for anybody, but for a freshman in that environment I thought was really, really good and says a lot about what his potential is for his future here.”

Tough tests ahead for Gators, Szymczyk

This week, the Gators have two tall tasks ahead as they look to split the season series with both Kentucky and Vanderbilt.

In Florida’s bout with Kentucky, Szymczyk will likely have to play valuable minutes going up against forwards Jacob Toppin and Oscar Tshiebwe. Both are playing arguably their best basketball since the Gators and the Wildcats faced off.

In the first matchup, Tshiebwe was held to just 4 points before fouling out. This time, it’s up to Szymczyk and Jitoboh to slow the 2021-22 Wooden Award winner.

“We did a great job on Oscar the first time, and Colin was a big part of that,” Golden said. “We got to do a better job collectively of helping each other out, knowing that it’s probably going to be hard for one guy to just load up and stop them for 40 minutes. But we’ll have some different things that we can do and that we can look at that I think will help us take on that challenge tomorrow night.”

After Kentucky, it’s onto Nashville as the Gators will face off with Liam Robbins and Vanderbilt yet again.

Stay tuned to Gators Online.

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