This game will be a major opportunity for the Gators to start to see which lineups work together and see who their best 5, 6, 7, or 8 players in the rotation might be. When defenses are forced to react to take away the pressure put on the rim by these cuts, shooters are left open and that’s where the Eagles can really do damage. The Eagles run an offense with a lot of off-ball action and they rely on unselfish basketball to move the rock and find these open cutters. Exhibitions are all about getting better and putting yourself in a position where you can see where you’re at with certain things and where you need to get better and Embry-Riddle’s fantastic offense and lethal three-point barrage could be just what Florida needs.Įmbry-Riddle was also one of the best passing teams in the country with multiple distributors that frustrate defenses with their court vision. Florida has always made running shooters off the three-point line a priority under Mike White, so it will be a great test for them to take on the Eagles. The Gators are going to have a lot of shooters to contend with, something that will be a great challenge for their defense. Elijah Jenkins (42%), Nick Heard (46%), Chris Murray (46%), and David Park (39%) rounded out what was one of the most incredible shooting teams in the country, and guess what, all five of these lethal marksmen are back this season. Embry-Riddle hit an unbelievable 39% of their threes in 2019-20, and it wasn’t all Romeo Crouch. If there is one thing that Coach Ridder’s teams have been able to do, it’s score the basketball. It’s always impressive for a coach to stay at one program for that long, and his 30-year tenure shows his dedication to the program, one that has had a lot of sustained success. Head coach Steve Ridder is a respected man in the business, and he has been at Embry-Riddle since the 1989-90 season. One of the great stories of the Embry-Riddle basketball program is the continuity of their coaching staff. The Eagles don’t have a huge frontcourt so it’s likely Alessandro will get minutes at the five, and he’s got some perimeter skill that could challenge a few of Florida’s bigs. Alessandro is 6’7” and 210 pounds, someone that brings some skill and length to Embry-Riddle’s frontcourt. That level of efficiency on that high of volume is nothing short of spectacular, and the Gators will have to be aware of his ability to bomb from deep.Īnother player to note is Jon Alessandro, a transfer from West Liberty, a D2 powerhouse. Offensively, he put together one of the craziest shooting seasons you will see at any level of basketball, hitting 43% on just a hair under 9 attempts per game. The 6’3” guard also had a reputation as one of the best defensive players in the country at the D2 level, averaging a whopping 3 steals per game. There, in 2019-20, he had one of the greatest seasons in program history averaging 19 points, 6 assists, and 4 rebounds per game.
Crouch started his collegiate season at the division-1 level playing for Presbyterian where he was a capable rotation player before transferring to Rembry-Riddle. The most important player to be aware of is Romeo Crouch, a Titusville, Florida native. Though a few key pieces from their 2019-20 season are gone, they still have a talented roster this year and should provide the Gators a good test. They were on their way to the D2 NCAA Tournament when it was cancelled due to the pandemic. In that season the Eagles had a 20-10 record, just coming short of winning the Sunshine State Conference Tournament.
Unfortunately, their entire 2020-21 season was cancelled due to COVID, particularly sad due to the fact they were set to return a talented team after a successful 2019-20. For Embry-Riddle (the Eagles), the exhibition against Florida will be a tremendous return to basketball.
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