travisduncan
Gator Fan
Winning consecutive games against Vanderbilt and Kentucky should be enough evidence to answer one burning question about Billy Donovan's squad.
Can they rise to the occasion?
After all that's what is needed when playing in the NCAA tournament, regardless of talent, which of the Gators have plenty of.
A 70-68 win over Kentucky puts them atop the SEC East (7-2 league record) and at 18-5 they have the best record in the league.
Donovan himself still wonders if the Gators can maintain momentum.
"They've always been resilient. Do we have the maturity as a team to handle this and go forward from here?”
"That's been the No. 1 problem. We haven't handled them well.”
Maturity in college hoops is usually referring to a team with talent which underachieves. If the Gators win, they'll be mature, if they struggle against South Carolina on Wednesday night they'll be labeled immature.
"We are 7-2 and our league record could look totally different because we could of lost to Georgia; we could have lost to Tennessee; we could have lost Kentucky and we could have lost Vanderbilt. We could have lost all four of those games, but we didn’t," Donovan added.
"I do not think we didn’t lose those games because we’re better or have anything else figured out, but in those situations, for whatever reason, we were able to make some plays. I do feel that the character of the team is found in adversity."
If you are one who believed free-throws were a major issue, they cleared that up in Saturday's victory over the Wildcats. The Gators made 18 for 22 free-throws, and Chandler Parsons whose struggles from the line have been mostly magnified hit a key free-throw with 12.7 seconds to go.
For their efforts Florida is now No. 17 in the AP Top 25 and No. 19 in the Coaches poll.
The remaining schedule looks like this: 2/9 at South Carolina, 2/12 vs Tennessee, 2/20 at LSU 2/24 vs Georgia, 2/26 at Kentucky, 3/1 vs Alabama 3/5 at Vanderbilt. The SEC tournament begins on Thursday March 10, and Florida is hoping to begin play on Friday March 11 as the SEC East Champ.
Other Men's Basketball Notes:
-12,633 fans attended Saturday's win over Kentucky at the O-Dome, setting a new school record.
-Kenny Boynton vs. Brandon Knight
The former AAU teammates also played against each other in High School, as Anthony Chiang of the Orlando Sentinel points out, it was Boynton's D on Knight on a final three-pointer attempt which sealed the win over Kentucky Saturday night.
-ESPN's Joe Lunardi has the Gators as a 5th seed, despite having them as a 4th seed last week, go figure. Prognosticators aside, the Gators should have a solid chance of moving into the 3-4 range if they finish the SEC schedule out without any major blunders.
-Despite just a one rebound edge of UK, (29-28) The Gators continue to be one of the best rebounding teams in the country. Averaging 38.9 is 29th overall in Division-1. Chandler Parsons is the league's 4th leading rebounder averaging 7.7 rpg.
"I think the biggest thing is, for any rebounder, is that [Parsons] is active; he makes the effort to go to the glass," Donovan said of Parsons on Monday.
"I think when you are a small forward, as he is, there is an advantage there for his size because he is on the perimeter a lot. It is a lot more difficult for Vernon Macklin or (Alex) Tyus to rebound the ball when you are in a smaller space, but for a person like Chandler who is playing on the perimeter, it’s a lot easier to see flights of balls and run in."
-Parsons-Tyus-Macklin-Boynton-Walker...You could put that starting 5 up against any in the country, but the bench still has some questions. In Saturday's win Scottie Wilbekin scored 9 points in 16 minutes but beyond that, the Gators got four points from their bench.
Here is what Donovan said about his bench on Monday:
"I trust their effort. I trust they are going to give a great effort. I do not trust necessarily their experience."
-One more stat: Florida is tied for the Division-1 lead with Ohio State for fewest personal fouls committed per game, at 14.3.
Muschamp adds a second All-American Quarterback
On Monday 6-foot-5 dual-threat quarterback Jacoby Brissett, who is ranked as the No. 3 quarterback in the entire country by the recruiting services.
He joins the top ranked QB in the class Jeff Driskell as All-American quarterbacks who on now on the roster. Brissett had to choose between Miami and UF, and you wonder if the presence of Driskell was the deterring factor.
Only time will tell how Will Muschamp and Charlie Weis will use the two quarterbacks. Brissett has the ability to run out of the pocket, while Driskel has the pro-style label at this point. No matter how it turns out, Florida should have a bright future at the quarterback position.
For the immidiate future the question is whether John Brantley will be challenged by either of the two in Spring or in Fall practice.
Three Offered Scholarships Monday Night
-Three high school high school juniors out of Stephenson High School in Stone Mountain, Georgia have been offered scholarships.
Jarontay Jones, one of the top defensive ends in the 2012 class, who also has offers from Miami, Tennessee, South Carolina and Auburn.
JaFar Mann, a defensive tackle who has offers from Tennessee, South Carolina, Auburn and Miami among others.
Raphael Kirby, a 6-foot-1 linebacker whose only other offer is from Southern Florida. He also takes snaps at running back.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWPAvSstqJ4"]YouTube - Jarontay Jones Stephenson High School[/ame]
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTQRWfALkHg"]YouTube - Jafar Mann Stephenson HS[/ame]
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsqxHLl7NuQ"]YouTube - Raphael Kirby[/ame]
Can they rise to the occasion?
After all that's what is needed when playing in the NCAA tournament, regardless of talent, which of the Gators have plenty of.
A 70-68 win over Kentucky puts them atop the SEC East (7-2 league record) and at 18-5 they have the best record in the league.
Donovan himself still wonders if the Gators can maintain momentum.
"They've always been resilient. Do we have the maturity as a team to handle this and go forward from here?”
"That's been the No. 1 problem. We haven't handled them well.”
Maturity in college hoops is usually referring to a team with talent which underachieves. If the Gators win, they'll be mature, if they struggle against South Carolina on Wednesday night they'll be labeled immature.
"We are 7-2 and our league record could look totally different because we could of lost to Georgia; we could have lost to Tennessee; we could have lost Kentucky and we could have lost Vanderbilt. We could have lost all four of those games, but we didn’t," Donovan added.
"I do not think we didn’t lose those games because we’re better or have anything else figured out, but in those situations, for whatever reason, we were able to make some plays. I do feel that the character of the team is found in adversity."
If you are one who believed free-throws were a major issue, they cleared that up in Saturday's victory over the Wildcats. The Gators made 18 for 22 free-throws, and Chandler Parsons whose struggles from the line have been mostly magnified hit a key free-throw with 12.7 seconds to go.
For their efforts Florida is now No. 17 in the AP Top 25 and No. 19 in the Coaches poll.
The remaining schedule looks like this: 2/9 at South Carolina, 2/12 vs Tennessee, 2/20 at LSU 2/24 vs Georgia, 2/26 at Kentucky, 3/1 vs Alabama 3/5 at Vanderbilt. The SEC tournament begins on Thursday March 10, and Florida is hoping to begin play on Friday March 11 as the SEC East Champ.
Other Men's Basketball Notes:
-12,633 fans attended Saturday's win over Kentucky at the O-Dome, setting a new school record.
-Kenny Boynton vs. Brandon Knight
The former AAU teammates also played against each other in High School, as Anthony Chiang of the Orlando Sentinel points out, it was Boynton's D on Knight on a final three-pointer attempt which sealed the win over Kentucky Saturday night.
-ESPN's Joe Lunardi has the Gators as a 5th seed, despite having them as a 4th seed last week, go figure. Prognosticators aside, the Gators should have a solid chance of moving into the 3-4 range if they finish the SEC schedule out without any major blunders.
-Despite just a one rebound edge of UK, (29-28) The Gators continue to be one of the best rebounding teams in the country. Averaging 38.9 is 29th overall in Division-1. Chandler Parsons is the league's 4th leading rebounder averaging 7.7 rpg.
"I think the biggest thing is, for any rebounder, is that [Parsons] is active; he makes the effort to go to the glass," Donovan said of Parsons on Monday.
"I think when you are a small forward, as he is, there is an advantage there for his size because he is on the perimeter a lot. It is a lot more difficult for Vernon Macklin or (Alex) Tyus to rebound the ball when you are in a smaller space, but for a person like Chandler who is playing on the perimeter, it’s a lot easier to see flights of balls and run in."
-Parsons-Tyus-Macklin-Boynton-Walker...You could put that starting 5 up against any in the country, but the bench still has some questions. In Saturday's win Scottie Wilbekin scored 9 points in 16 minutes but beyond that, the Gators got four points from their bench.
Here is what Donovan said about his bench on Monday:
"I trust their effort. I trust they are going to give a great effort. I do not trust necessarily their experience."
-One more stat: Florida is tied for the Division-1 lead with Ohio State for fewest personal fouls committed per game, at 14.3.
Muschamp adds a second All-American Quarterback
On Monday 6-foot-5 dual-threat quarterback Jacoby Brissett, who is ranked as the No. 3 quarterback in the entire country by the recruiting services.
He joins the top ranked QB in the class Jeff Driskell as All-American quarterbacks who on now on the roster. Brissett had to choose between Miami and UF, and you wonder if the presence of Driskell was the deterring factor.
Only time will tell how Will Muschamp and Charlie Weis will use the two quarterbacks. Brissett has the ability to run out of the pocket, while Driskel has the pro-style label at this point. No matter how it turns out, Florida should have a bright future at the quarterback position.
For the immidiate future the question is whether John Brantley will be challenged by either of the two in Spring or in Fall practice.
Three Offered Scholarships Monday Night
-Three high school high school juniors out of Stephenson High School in Stone Mountain, Georgia have been offered scholarships.
Jarontay Jones, one of the top defensive ends in the 2012 class, who also has offers from Miami, Tennessee, South Carolina and Auburn.
JaFar Mann, a defensive tackle who has offers from Tennessee, South Carolina, Auburn and Miami among others.
Raphael Kirby, a 6-foot-1 linebacker whose only other offer is from Southern Florida. He also takes snaps at running back.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWPAvSstqJ4"]YouTube - Jarontay Jones Stephenson High School[/ame]
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTQRWfALkHg"]YouTube - Jafar Mann Stephenson HS[/ame]
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsqxHLl7NuQ"]YouTube - Raphael Kirby[/ame]
