Florida basketball is on a solid run right now. They have won five straight games, including big wins over Tennessee, Georgia, and Vanderbilt. Florida is coming off another win, taking down LSU 79-61. In the game, Rueben Chinyelu was dominant, hauling in 21 rebounds and making some Florida history in the process.
With Chinyelu having 15 points and 21 rebounds, he had his fourth straight double-double. The last player to do that for the Gators was David Lee. Lee played for the Gators from 2001-02 through 2004-05.
“Yeah, I think you're seeing a guy that's continued to grow and get better in real time. And he's impacting the game tremendously. I think he's just playing with such good balance, toughness,” head coach Todd Golden said about his junior center.
“He's obviously difficult to officiate, because I think he gets fouled on every play. And there's sometimes where he doesn't get those whistles, but he's just really come into his own. Kind of got really comfortable offensively, but he just impacts the game so well defensively and on the glass that he's become a real stalwart for us in the frontcourt.”
This was the 11th time in 19 games that Chinyelu had a double-double. He is averaging 12 points and 11.2 rebounds per game so far this season. Further, he is fourth in the nation in rebounds per game.
Chinyelu nearly had four straight games with double-doubles earlier this season. He had three in a row at the end of December, but the streak was broken against Missouri on January 3 when he had just eight points and eight rebounds. His recent performance is beyond what Golden could have imagined when he recruited Chinyelu.
“I mean, to an extent, you know, I don't know if the vision was every night crazy double-doubles, and 20 rebounds, and really the offensive lift he's been able to give us. We knew he would impact the game a lot, but, you know, we always knew he impacted a way that not a lot of people understood, because of the physicality in the paint. But now he's starting to stack the numbers, which gets the appreciation from, you know, a lot of fans and people that follow.”
Chinyelu has helped lead Florida to a 14-5 record and 5-1 in SEC play so far. The Gators will look to stay in first place in the SEC on Saturday, as they host Auburn.
