travisduncan
Gator Fan
Saturday's overtime loss leaves behind a bad taste without a doubt.
You have to question why Billy Donovan benched Vernon Macklin late when he clearly dominated the Butler bigs early?
Macklin was benched for the final 1:34 of regulation and the last 3:33 of overtime.
"I would have liked to have utilized Vernon a lot more in the second half but it was hard because he was in foul trouble," Donovan explained after the game.
"And then really once we got into overtime at the end of regulation, because of his free throw situation we had to play Patric."
Donovan continued, "We went to Vernon to start overtime the first two times and he was one for two from the free-throw line. He got the ball inside a couple times and got fouled. But here he is at the free-throw line and we're in a double bonus and he made two, I think, when he got the ball."
"Certainly we were trying to go inside. But when Vernon comes off the floor, I don't know if we have necessarily a low post offensive presence when he's off the floor. And he probably came off the floor -- when he got fouled twice in overtime, he went one for two from the free-throw line. And I knew at that point in time they were just not going to allow him to do what he did in the first half. If he was going to get an angle, they were going to foul him. So I kind of made a decision to at least pull him out and go with Patric, and Patric probably as a freshman is not as seasoned or as polished as Vernon is as a senior, so he's a hard guy to go to, and Alex is not that kind of physical presence."
Macklin explained it this way, "It's frustrating. I mean, I wanted to be on the floor. It was two different reasons. I'm not that great of a free-throw shooter, so I didn't want to jeopardize my teammates anyway. I think Coach Donovan made a great decision, and I picked up some early fouls and some dumb fouls that I shouldn't have got."
I think you have to go for broke in the Elite 8 even with foul trouble, even with Macklin's poor three-throw shooting and try to win the game.
Donovan made a mistake, he's allowed, but it makes the loss all that more disappointing because this team could easily be in the Final Four right and could have won a National Title.
Chandler Parsons didn't get any touches late in the game either.
You want the ball in your seniors hands late. The final 5 shots were all three-pointers each shot by either Boynton or Erving.
Chandler Parson, Alex Tyus, and Vernon Macklin will be missed, greatly, and that will become more apparent perhaps next November than it is now.
Pro Futures
As for Macklin, Tyus and Parsons, their focus will turn towards beginning professional careers.
Parsons has good length which will help him in the NBA, but may lack the athleticism teams are looking for. That being said, teams may like the fact he could do a little bit of everything at the collegiate level. NBADraft.net currently has him as a very early second-rounder.
Macklin is projected as undrafted at this point by most of the major analysts, but is definitely a guy who will get a chance because of his size.
Tyus is undersized and likely will not be drafted but should find himself in an NBA summer camp with a chance to show teams his aggressive rebounding ability.
Incoming Freshmen
Heading into next season the attention turns to Brad Beal a 6"4 shooting guard from Chaminade High School in St. Louis, Mo, a five-star recruit with Rivals and ranked as the 7th best player in the class of 2011 by ESPNU. Beal is also a McDonald's All-American and will play in Wednesday night's game on ESPN.
De'Ante Saunders, a 6"0 guard from Deland, Florida will also join the Gators next fall.
Walter Ptichford a 6"9 freshman transfer should get a chance to play right away inside.
Forward Cody Larson will be active after redshirting this season.
Incoming quarterback Jacoby Brisett could also play on the team next year.
Will Muschamp said Friday, "That door is open for Jacoby. We’re going to let him make that decision."
Muschamp added they would sit down with Donovan to make the decision final.
Mann commits to Gators
Defensive Tackle JaFar Mann of Stone Mountain High School in Stephenson,Ga committed to the Gators on Friday.
He joins RB Mike Davis as the second commit from Stephenson High School.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTQRWfALkHg"]YouTube - Jafar Mann Stephenson HS[/ame]
The 2012 Commitment list looks like this:
JaFar Mann DT, Mike Davis RB, Jessamen Dunker OL, Matt Jones RB, Dante Phillips DT, Latroy Pittman WR, Jeremi Powell
LB Largo, FL.
Two injuries
Junior running back Mike Gillislee has a stress fracture and likely won't get much more practice in this spring. Sophomore defensive lineman Kendric Johnson has a knee sprain and is out for the rest of the spring.
Coach praises Rainey
Rainey may feel altogether different in the Weis offensive set and in general under Muschamp for his final season.
The coach had high-praise for Rainey on Friday.
"Here’s a guy who is a senior who has played a lot of good football for the Gators, and he’s really worked his tail off as far as day-to-day going in and doing things you have to do to be successful."
-We are now less than two weeks away from the Spring Game April 9.
You have to question why Billy Donovan benched Vernon Macklin late when he clearly dominated the Butler bigs early?
Macklin was benched for the final 1:34 of regulation and the last 3:33 of overtime.
"I would have liked to have utilized Vernon a lot more in the second half but it was hard because he was in foul trouble," Donovan explained after the game.
"And then really once we got into overtime at the end of regulation, because of his free throw situation we had to play Patric."
Donovan continued, "We went to Vernon to start overtime the first two times and he was one for two from the free-throw line. He got the ball inside a couple times and got fouled. But here he is at the free-throw line and we're in a double bonus and he made two, I think, when he got the ball."
"Certainly we were trying to go inside. But when Vernon comes off the floor, I don't know if we have necessarily a low post offensive presence when he's off the floor. And he probably came off the floor -- when he got fouled twice in overtime, he went one for two from the free-throw line. And I knew at that point in time they were just not going to allow him to do what he did in the first half. If he was going to get an angle, they were going to foul him. So I kind of made a decision to at least pull him out and go with Patric, and Patric probably as a freshman is not as seasoned or as polished as Vernon is as a senior, so he's a hard guy to go to, and Alex is not that kind of physical presence."
Macklin explained it this way, "It's frustrating. I mean, I wanted to be on the floor. It was two different reasons. I'm not that great of a free-throw shooter, so I didn't want to jeopardize my teammates anyway. I think Coach Donovan made a great decision, and I picked up some early fouls and some dumb fouls that I shouldn't have got."
I think you have to go for broke in the Elite 8 even with foul trouble, even with Macklin's poor three-throw shooting and try to win the game.
Donovan made a mistake, he's allowed, but it makes the loss all that more disappointing because this team could easily be in the Final Four right and could have won a National Title.
Chandler Parsons didn't get any touches late in the game either.
You want the ball in your seniors hands late. The final 5 shots were all three-pointers each shot by either Boynton or Erving.
Chandler Parson, Alex Tyus, and Vernon Macklin will be missed, greatly, and that will become more apparent perhaps next November than it is now.
Pro Futures
As for Macklin, Tyus and Parsons, their focus will turn towards beginning professional careers.
Parsons has good length which will help him in the NBA, but may lack the athleticism teams are looking for. That being said, teams may like the fact he could do a little bit of everything at the collegiate level. NBADraft.net currently has him as a very early second-rounder.
Macklin is projected as undrafted at this point by most of the major analysts, but is definitely a guy who will get a chance because of his size.
Tyus is undersized and likely will not be drafted but should find himself in an NBA summer camp with a chance to show teams his aggressive rebounding ability.
Incoming Freshmen
Heading into next season the attention turns to Brad Beal a 6"4 shooting guard from Chaminade High School in St. Louis, Mo, a five-star recruit with Rivals and ranked as the 7th best player in the class of 2011 by ESPNU. Beal is also a McDonald's All-American and will play in Wednesday night's game on ESPN.
De'Ante Saunders, a 6"0 guard from Deland, Florida will also join the Gators next fall.
Walter Ptichford a 6"9 freshman transfer should get a chance to play right away inside.
Forward Cody Larson will be active after redshirting this season.
Incoming quarterback Jacoby Brisett could also play on the team next year.
Will Muschamp said Friday, "That door is open for Jacoby. We’re going to let him make that decision."
Muschamp added they would sit down with Donovan to make the decision final.
Mann commits to Gators
Defensive Tackle JaFar Mann of Stone Mountain High School in Stephenson,Ga committed to the Gators on Friday.
He joins RB Mike Davis as the second commit from Stephenson High School.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTQRWfALkHg"]YouTube - Jafar Mann Stephenson HS[/ame]
The 2012 Commitment list looks like this:
JaFar Mann DT, Mike Davis RB, Jessamen Dunker OL, Matt Jones RB, Dante Phillips DT, Latroy Pittman WR, Jeremi Powell
LB Largo, FL.
Two injuries
Junior running back Mike Gillislee has a stress fracture and likely won't get much more practice in this spring. Sophomore defensive lineman Kendric Johnson has a knee sprain and is out for the rest of the spring.
Coach praises Rainey
Rainey may feel altogether different in the Weis offensive set and in general under Muschamp for his final season.
The coach had high-praise for Rainey on Friday.
"Here’s a guy who is a senior who has played a lot of good football for the Gators, and he’s really worked his tail off as far as day-to-day going in and doing things you have to do to be successful."
-We are now less than two weeks away from the Spring Game April 9.
