JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Alijah Martin, Florida’s highly touted transfer addition last season (anyone remember him?), opened his UF career by going 0-for-6 from beyond the arc. The Gators as a team shot just 5-for-26 from deep (19.2%) in their 2024-25 season opener, though they still pulled away in the second half for a comfortable win over South Florida.

Across the first three games of that ’24-25 campaign, UF’s collective 3-point production stood at 19 makes in 73 attempts (26%). Walter Clayton Jr. and Will Richard (anyone remember them?) combined to go 10-for-37 (27%).

Small sample sizes, of course.

Now, three games into the ’25-26 season, the Clayton/Richard/Martin-less Gators are shooting just 21.1% from long range (19 of 90). While the numbers are puzzling, there’s no loss of confidence in the players taking those shots. The misses — often on quality looks — from returnees Thomas Haugh (31.3%) and Urban Klavzar (21.4), along with transfer guards Xaivian Lee (20.7) and Boogie Fland (16.7), may be surprising, but they’re not discouraging.

Ask the coaches or players, and they’ll tell you they believe the solution is straightforward.

"The only way to get out of a shooting slump is to shoot the ball," said UF assistant and director of player development Taurean Green after leading players through one of several extra shooting sessions last week. "So, shoot it! Please!"

That will be the mindset Sunday night when the 10th-ranked Gators (2-1) face cross-state rival Miami (3-0) at VyStar Memorial Arena in a nationally televised ESPN matchup — the first meeting between the programs in six years.

[Read senior writer  Chris Harry's "Pregame Stuff" setup here]

UF enters the game following a 78-76 nail-biter over Florida State, a win achieved despite shooting just 6-for-31 from deep. The Gators leaned instead on defense and rebounding dominance. Miami doesn’t rely heavily on 3-pointers, but with threats inside and on the perimeter, Florida’s size and length will again be critical.

Still, raising their current average of 6.33 made threes per game would ease the burden. For perspective, UF averaged 9.75 triples per contest during last season’s national championship run.

"The shooting hasn't been what we want so far; by the team and, obviously, from me," said Lee, the transfer from Princeton who has gone six of 29 to start the season. "But we have to keep shooting. That's what they keep telling me; that's what we keep telling each other. [When] you get open looks, we need to take them. We make shots every day in practice, so it's not something we're really worried about. The fact that we've been so competitive without making shots is a testament to how good we're going to be when they start to fall."

Fair point. Credit to Lee, who despite struggling to see shots drop, has contributed in other ways. Against FSU, he grabbed seven rebounds and dished out a team-high five assists.

At Princeton last season, Lee connected on 36.6% of his 3-point attempts. In UF’s closed preseason scrimmage victory over Illinois, currently ranked No. 14 nationally, he hit five of 11 from deep and finished with 17 points.

Coach Todd Golden signed Lee out of the portal to be a scorer. The plan hasn't changed, but that doesn't mean the current situation hasn't been addressed.

"We're a very transparent program, and I don't think dancing around any sort of shooting slump or trying to band-aid it is the solution," Golden said. "I think when you have some issues or you're not achieving as well as you want, you got to stare it right in the face and attack it. I think our guys are doing that. I think our staff is doing that. We're going back and we're evaluating everything that we do."

Regarding the former (his "guys"), fans lingering around the post-game scene at Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center in recent outings may have noticed UF players — Lee and Fland among them — staying late to put up extra shots. They continued those efforts with additional shooting sessions alongside Green and other staff members at the practice facility. Their commitment to refining their craft is evident.

"It's one of the biggest shooting slumps of my career, but I'm really not that worried about it," Lee said. "When I shoot 'em, I think they're going in. They haven't yet, but I'm confident they will."

At the same time, it’s important to remember the heavy expectations surrounding the program. Every opponent on Florida’s schedule views a matchup with the reigning NCAA champions as a season-defining opportunity.

This year’s team is a much different version than the OGs who lifted the trophy last April.

Charting the Gators: 3-point shooting comparison 

Here’s a look at Florida’s 3-point shooting start from the 2024-25 season — which ended in a national championship — compared to the current ’25-26 squad.

Klavzar, the most seasoned returning UF guard from last year’s squad, delivered some clutch shots during the championship run, particularly in Southeastern Conference play, though his postseason minutes were limited. Fland, meanwhile, was at Arkansas recovering from hand surgery. Lee, coming from the Ivy League, had only two games of experience against power-conference opponents during his last two seasons at Princeton — both against Rutgers. Together, this trio represents a very different backcourt compared to the guards Florida had to replace.

Miami marks Florida’s third power-conference opponent in just four games, making the Gators one of only two teams nationally — Alabama being the other — to take on such a demanding schedule to start the season. Naturally, the shots, and especially the makes, will be harder to come by.

"I think for a lot of us, staff included, we're playing with a little bit of pressure, right? The circumstances have changed for everybody and I think for [the players], it's a mental toughness thing and it's kind of pushing through and pouring into process over result," Golden said. "If we continue to focus on that, we're going to be in really good shape because, fundamentally, when we evaluate these games, I think we're doing a lot of good things and I don't want them to be so caught up or wrapped in the result of a shot where their stressing about it 15 minutes after a game. But I think their head and hearts are in the right place."

Email senior writer Chris Harry at chrish@gators.ufl.edu. Browse his story archives.