TWO BITS: Horford growing NBA, Ronald Powell

1 » Leading the Florida Gators to back-to-back NCAA Championships in 2006 and 2007, forward/center Al Horford has made great strides in his short time in the NBA with the Atlanta Hawks. Molding his game after that of his father, Tito Horford, Al has the talent and ability to be a “double-double guy in this league for a long, long time,” according to Hawks head coach Mike Woodson. Averaging a double-double through the first eight games of the 2009 season, Horford is also doing his part to help the game of basketball grow abroad.

2 » On Monday, OGGOA reported that five-star defensive end recruit Ronald Powell (Moreno Valley, CA) is still deciding between the Gators and USC Trojans. ESPN’s Greg Biggins said that Florida has been a “heavy leader for some time now for Powell and that remains the case,” going on to say “it will be a pretty big surprise if the talented lineman ends up anywhere other than Gainesville next fall.” Now, Biggins reports Powell may commit to the Gators or Trojans without even making his official visits. “I could commit tomorrow or next month, just whenever it feels right,” Powell said. “I’ve been to Florida three times already and have been to USC a ton of times as well. I’ll probably end up taking the visits, but I don’t know if I really need to.”

Extra BIT » ESPN’s SEC blogger Chris Low posted a solid in-depth interview on Friday with Gators star junior cornerback Joe Haden. Among the topics covered are whether or not Haden misses playing offense, how long it took him to adapt to cornerback and if he and the team are keeping track of the Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday.