by Bob Redman
There are always promises of some sort made on the recruiting trail whether prospects are coming out of high school or from the transfer portal and another program. But it wasn’t really about promises for former St, Bonaventure point guard Kyle Lofton, instead it was about his taking to the staff at Florida as to why the prized player eventually chose the Gators.
Lofton was a wanted man after finishing each of the last three seasons on one or another of the Atlantc-10’s all-conference teams. Last year Lofton averaged 12.8 points and was second in the A-10 at 5.9 assists per game. In three seasons with the Bonnies he scored 1,613 points and dished out 604 assists.
He’s already a prolific point guard with a final season to play collegiate basketball still in front of him.
Lofton likes to play fast and head coach Todd Golden has assured him that the Gators are going to play that way. But instead of wearing himself down playing about 38 minutes per game he’s ready to step up in a better league and with a better team around him so he can go harder in fewer minutes
“That’s one of the reasons I came here – the style of play, up and down and more possessions, more players,” Lofton said this week when talking to the Florida media. “I’ll definitely come out of the game more, so that will be good.”
But it wasn’t just the style of play that convinced Lofton to come to Florida, even more so it was the caching staff.
“When I came on my visit, this really wasn’t one of my top schools… but I liked the staff and the goals they had for me,” he said. “I think this is a great place for me to be.”
He was able to look hard at Rutgers, Ohio State, Purdue and Arizona. In the end, the people at Florida just stood out.
“I fell in love with the staff, their goals and where they could take my game,” he said.
“They understand players coming up now. Less structure, more up and down play. I can showcase my game better.”
“It will have more possessions, being in the pick and roll and having the court open.”
His on-court attributes say a lot about Lofton. Handling the ball and distributing it to the right guy along with scoring while taking good shots make him someone the team can lean on.
“I think I’m a leader,” he said. “First off, I love winning and I think skill-wise I think I can do everything a coach wants me to do whether it’s facilitating one game, score one game, do whatever for my teammates. Whatever my job is, I’m gonna do that.”
“Being an older guy here, I think they all pretty much look up to me, so I got to be that leader, put that work in and hopefully they’ll follow.”
Lofton already knows who he needs to build a quick bond with. Golden was able to convince big man Colin Castleton to return this year and the All-SEC veteran is another with plenty of experience for the rest of the team to lean on.
“I feel like we’re the veterans here, so me and him talk a lot,” Lofton said. “I haven’t got to work with him. I’m excited to do that. But going over to his house, you know, just kicking it with him.”
It’s going to be a different basketball life for Lofton in Gainesville. It’s a step up to Southeastern Conference play. The staff is also really big into situational analytics and all of the other things that go into maximizing potential.
“Coming here is like a next step,” Lofton said when asked about the analytics. “Working with your body, different things in the weight room, nutritionists, so I think that will take my game to the next level.”