Gators, fans salute Chiozza
Guard plays last game as Texas Tech eliminates UF
DALLAS — Chris Chiozza left the post-game interview room at American Airlines Center on Saturday night for the last time as a Florida Gator, but he wasn’t quite done wearing the uniform that had become such a part of him during the past four years.
On his way to the locker room to change, he made a quick detour back to the arena floor. He was greeted by cheering fans and family members, giving him one last moment to bask in the love of the Gators faithful.
They had just witnessed the end of Chiozza’s UF career after a 66-63 loss to Texas Tech in the second round of the NCAA Tournament and they wanted to show their appreciation.
The little guard from Memphis has been a huge part of UF basketball, especially in the past two seasons, and Coach Mike White will miss his energetic leader.
“I had one of the greatest luxuries in college basketball this year as a head coach,” White said of having Chiozza as his floor leader. “When the ball was in my point guard’s hands, it was going to get to the right spot 99 percent of the time. Not only did he have a million assists, he had about three turnovers.
“He was so good with the ball in his hands and he was, in my opinion – and I’m biased – arguably the best defensive point guard in our league, as well.”
Chiozza ended his Florida career as the program’s all-time assists leader but will be remembered most for his shot that sent the Gators into last year’s NCAA Tournament Elite Eight, a buzzer beater 3-pointer that shot down Wisconsin in New York’s Madison Square Garden.
Saturday night he was saddled with foul trouble and played just 27 minutes during his career finale.
“It didn't end the way I wanted it,” Chiozza said. “I played as hard as I could, and we just came up a little short today.”
UF loses one other senior who played an instrumental role for this year’s 21-13 squad. Egor Koulechov, in just one season at Florida after transferring from Rice, was the Gators’ second-leading scorer at 13.8 points per game this season and White talked about how much he will miss both players.
“I’m really, really proud of the two seniors who played [Saturday,] Egor Koulechov and Chris Chiozza, who, in my opinion, are two of the toughest kids I’ve ever coached and two of the toughest kids in college basketball. … They’re warriors and I love those guys.”
Now White will look to the future and try to figure out how to replace Chiozza and Koulechov, if at all possible.
The Gators do return leading scorer Jalen Hudson (15.5 points per game), assuming he doesn’t test the NBA waters, and KeVaughn Allen. They also return some other integral parts in center Kevarrius Hayes, forward Keith Stone and two freshmen who got valuable experience this year in guard Mike Okauru and forward Dontay Bassett. UF will also await a medical hardship ruling on injured center John Egbunu, who has been plagued by a knee injury since transferring from USF two seasons ago.
“Oh my goodness, I just haven’t put any thought into [next year]. I was hoping we’d have a nice flight home and be planning on the next [game,]” White said. “Just top of my head … I like some of the young pieces we have. I like some of the older guys we’ll bring back.
“Replacing Egor will be tough, of course, but everything we did, we ran through Chris offensively and defensively, so replacing him is crucial for us. I like our signees, but we’ll be very, very different. We’ll re-examine everything we’re doing … We’ll try to taylor-make it to our new roster. … Two, three, four weeks into practices next fall, we’ll start figuring out what our strengths and weaknesses are and what puts us in a position to have success.”