Former Florida assistant Lewis Preston brings more hot information to the Gators' scouting report other than when a back screen is coming or whether they're pressing full court.
"He told us where the good wing place was," Penn State coach Ed DeChellis said.
Preston, DeChellis' assistant who is one year removed from Florida coach Billy Donovan's bench, returns to his old stomping grounds tonight for the first time since he decided to leave the two-time NCAA champion Gators for a program riddled in mediocrity.
"It's just another game," Preston said. "I just have a little inside track on the personnel and the plays. No doubt [Donovan] will change some of those.
"I didn't think I'd go back down this soon. I thought I'd go back down in a couple months just in case my house didn't sell."
But Preston's knowledge of the team standing in Penn State's path to New York for the National Invitational Tournament semifinals is even more serviceable because he knows the personnel deeper than just Xs and Os.
Florida has 165 more assists than turnovers for the season, and Preston said five of the eight players in Donovan's rotation can shoot the 3, meaning there's going to be four shooters on the floor at any given time.
But with good note taking, any coach can see the Gators take care of the basketball and shoot well from the outside.
"They play with a lot of pride and passion," Preston said. "That's what Billy Donovan's instilled in those guys. One of things that's different about this team as opposed to last year is they're a year older, they're a year wiser. They're more competitive than they were when they were freshmen."
Florida returns eight players from last season's NIT semifinal team. Five are sophomores.
DeChellis said the biggest advantage Preston brings tonight is knowing the personality aspect of the opponent -- how to guard certain players and their capabilities on the floor.
"They're gonna be so many different things thrown at them at a quick rate, especially being on the road," Preston said. "We gotta really take our time and break the pressure and keep the ball in the middle and then get it to the outside of the court. We gotta be patient."
Patience suits sophomore point guard Talor Battle just fine.
DeChellis said Florida uses three presses before switching back into a matchup-zone or switching-man defense.
When teams break the press, DeChellis said shot selection is key to staying in the game.
"That's hectic basketball," Battle said about getting into a run-and-gun type game. "It's too wild all over the place. When we're breaking, if there's nothing there, we're gonna try to get it out and play how we wanna play. We can't take bad shots when we break the press."
Preston said the Gators might be the highest basketball IQ team the Nittany Lions face all season, comparing them to Purdue with their court movement and extra passes.
But basketball will be a backdrop when Preston sees the familiar faces he left last year.
He and Donovan exchanged text messages about how much they're looking forward to seeing each other. Still, Preston said tonight would be "interesting."
And should the Lions leave Gainesville a winner, Preston could be coaching against another former employer in Notre Dame.
"We're grown men," DeChellis said. "That's part of the profession. You just deal with it and move on."
