1 » While sophomore guard/forward DeVon Walker changed his mind about his decision to transfer and returned to the Florida Gators basketball program, sophomore point guard Braxton Ogbueze remained steadfast in his desire to leave and officially transferred this week. Ogbeuze, who committed to Florida out of Charlotte, NC, decided to return to his local community and play for the Charlotte 49ers. He will sit out the 2013-14 season due to NCAA transfer rules but will have three years of eligibility remaining beginning in 2014-15.

2 » Gators head basketball coach Billy Donovan sat down for a wide-ranging interview with former long-time NBA coach Brendan Suhr on his Coaching U LIVE podcast. The interview, which is reminiscent of a conversation with Inside the Actors Studio’s James Lipton, covers a variety of topics including why Donovan is a coach, how he describes himself as a coach, if he would play for a coach like himself and how college basketball players have changed over the years.

3 » Baltimore Ravens rookie safety Matt Elam met and spoke with Dwyer High School’s current football players recently, telling the members of his former team that using life’s difficulties to propel them on the football field can benefit their lives in the long run. “I feel like with me going [in the draft], it was a big motivation for the kids because they come from the same neighborhoods, the same program,” Elam told the Palm Beach Post. “I got the chance, and I took advantage of the chance. That makes the kids feel like they’ve got the chance. That’s what it’s all about.”

CLICK TO EXPAND and check out three more BITS of Florida Gators news.

Tags: Baltimore Ravens, Billy Donovan, Bradley Beal, Braxton Ogbueze, Cleveland Browns, DeVon Walker, Draft, Eric Banks, golf, Matt Elam, NBA, NFL, Washington Wizards

Four-star point guard Chris Chiozza (Memphis, TN), a highly sought after and fast-rising prospect who is a member of the Rivals100, made his college choice official on Tuesday night when he committed to the Florida Gators and became the first member of the team’s 2014 recruiting class.

Chiozza (5’10”, 160 lbs.), who chose Florida primarily over Memphis and Ohio State, reportedly had his mind made up last week but was on the receiving end of late pushes from some of his other finalists. His mind was not changed.

In fact, he may be the first of two dominoes to fall out of Memphis.

“Florida’s always been one of my top three schools since I was a little kid,” Chiozza recently told SNY.tv. “I’ve always loved watching them. I’d also love to play with Kasey Hill and Chris Walker, if they’re still there. They’re also recruiting my teammate Leron [Black] so that’s a school where we could play together.”

Black, a five-star power forward, is the No. 16 overall recruit in the nation per Rivals. His final five also includes Illinois, N.C. State, Ohio State and UConn, though a commitment date has not been set and a decision is not imminent.

Chiozza is currently ranked No. 90 overall on the Rivals100, but network recruiting analyst Eric Bossi conservatively guesses that he will “push for at least the national top 50 when the rankings are next updated.”

Bossi believes Chiozza has “become one of the most sought-after floor generals in his class” because “he plays with sizeable heart, plenty of skill and a natural feel for leading his teammates and making good decisions.”

Tags: Chris Chiozza, Chris Walker, Kasey Hill, Leron Black

1 » Florida Gators head coach Will Muschamp told the media on Monday that four-star safety Marcell Harris (Orlando, FL) and JUCO transfer offensive tackle Trenton Brown (Milledgeville, GA) have both enrolled in Summer A classes and therefore officially joined the football program. Both players were originally planning to enroll early in January but were not able to amass the necessary credits in time. Harris, the No. 67 overall 2013 prospect according to Rivals and the son of former Florida S Mike Harris (1994-97), will compete for playing time right away as the Gators look to replace two starters in the defensive backfield. Brown will have some work to do to prove he is deserving of immediate playing time but is expected to play as a reserve this season.

2 » If he wants to, quarterback Tim Tebow will be able to play football in 2013. Whether that is in the NFL is another topic altogether. Tebow, who has already received offers from the CFL’s Montreal Alouettes (to compete for a back-up job) and the AFL’s Orlando Predators (to compete for a starting job), has also been reached out to by the AFL’s Philadelphia Soul. Team co-owner Ron Jaworski, a former NFL quarterback who now works primarily as an NFL analyst for ESPN, told the Philadelphia Daily News that he has offered Tebow a roster spot. “I still haven’t heard back from him and I’m not going to push it,” he said. “If he decides he wants to play Arena Football, we’ll make a spot for him.” Jaworski added that the role would not be as a starting quarterback; rather, he and the Soul’s coach sent Tebow a list of plays he would run for the team should he accept the contract offer.

Check out two more Florida Gators news BITS…after the break!
Continue Reading » FOUR BITS: Harris, Brown, Tebow, Bostic, Noah

Tags: AFL, CFL, Chicago Bears, Chicago Bulls, Joakim Noah, Jon Bostic, Marcell Harris, Montreal Alouettes, NBA, Orlando Predators, Philadelphia Soul, Playoffs, Tim Tebow, Trenton Brown, Will Muschamp

Former Florida Gators coaches Jim McCachren (men’s basketball) and M.B. Chafin (men’s tennis) passed away this month.

He passed way on May 1 at the age of 79 after losing a battle with pulmonary fibrosis.

Tags: Jim McCachren, M.B. Chafin, tennis

Just one week after coming to the conclusion that transferring would be the best thing for his career, forward DeVon Walker has reversed course and instead decided to remain a member of the Florida Gators basketball program.

“Florida is such a great place, and the more I thought about it, I just realized this is where I want to be,” Walker said in a school release. “The coaching staff has helped me get better on and off the court over the past year and I really enjoy being around my teammates, so I’m excited to refocus on my future here in Gainesville.”

Walker played in 24 games as a true freshman but averaged just 4.0 minutes per contest. He scored 20 points in 99 total minutes during the 2012-13 campaign, making just 4-of-22 shots (1-of-7 threes) while grabbing 17 rebounds.

He was the second Florida freshman to transfer this month – point guard Braxton Ogbueze announced his intent to leave the program on May 1 – but made his feelings about the program, the coaches and his teammates known at the time.

“I’ve grown a lot this year, and I’m grateful to Coach [Billy] Donovan, the staff and my teammates at Florida for everything,” Walker said in a school release on May 6. “One of the best years of my life. New friends, new experiences, & new knowledge. Thankful for the opportunity at UF. Goodbye,” he subsequently tweeted.

When Walker decided to transfer, Donovan said the player had “a bright future” and wished him the best going forward. He shared similar sentiments on Monday.

“We always encourage guys to do what they feel is best for their future, and we’re glad that DeVon will be continuing with us here at Florida,” Donovan said.

Minutes may once again be hard to come by for Walker during the 2013-14 season as Florida’s roster is stacked, especially in the frontcourt. Nevertheless, the Gators’ coaching staff is bullish on Walker’s future and see him as an athletic player who can be a contributor off the bench ala Casey Prather.

Tags: Billy Donovan, Braxton Ogbueze, Casey Prather, DeVon Walker

Four-star 2014 point guard Chris Chiozza (Memphis, TN), a highly sought after prospect and a member of the Rivals100, will officially announce his commitment on Tuesday and choose the Florida Gators, according to CBSSports.com’s Gary Parrish.

Chris Chiozza, barring a change of plans, will announce next week that he’s committing to Florida, a source told CBSSports.com on Friday.

Chiozza’s other finalists include Auburn, Memphis, Ohio State, Richmond, Tennessee and UMass, but he apparently sees an opportunity at UF that he simply cannot pass up.

“Florida’s always been one of my top three schools since I was a little kid,” Chiozza told SNY.tv last week. “I’ve always loved watching them. I’d also love to play with Kasey Hill and Chris Walker, if they’re still there. They’re also recruiting my teammate Leron [Black] so that’s a school where we could play together.”

A source close to the Gators confirmed to OGGOA on Friday that Florida’s coaching staff is extremely confident that Chiozza will choose the Gators on Tuesday. The source also believes that Black, a five-star power forward and the No. 16 ranked 2014 recruit in the country per Rivals, will ultimately join Chiozza in Gainesville, FL.

Continue Reading » Report: Florida to add 2014 PG Chris Chiozza

Tags: Chris Chiozza, Chris Walker, Kasey Hill, Leron Black

Through the 2013 NBA Draft, which is set for June 27, former Florida Gators forward Erik Murphy, the team’s leading three-point shooter last season (.453), will be keeping you up-to-date on his Path to the Draft via a weekly blog entry here on OGGOA.

Between workouts in Las Vegas, NV on Thursday, which he is taking part in as preparation for next week’s 2013 NBA Combine, Murphy got in touch with OGGOA to discuss what he has been doing to get ready for the draft over the last month.

After the tournament, I took a little bit of time off, about a week and a half to just hang out, relax and unwind. I did not even meet with any agents during that time. Eventually I met with a couple people – B.J. Armstrong and Art Tellem (Wasserman Media Group), for example – with my dad, who came down, Coach [Billy] Donovan and others were there to help me. I was talking with Mark Bartelstein (Priority Sports and Entertainment) because he’s [the agent for Chandler Parsons, Bradley Beal and David Lee], but I just decided that Andy Miller (ASM Sports) was the best choice for me.

I just felt really comfortable with him. Going through the process of being with the agents, getting to know them a little more, it’s a partnership hopefully for a long time, so you want to be comfortable with the person. They’re all great and do what they do well; it was just a comfort level and getting along with him really well that made the decision pretty easy at the end.

Part of my conversation with Andy was laying out a plan for the entire process. Most of the guys Andy signs, as long as they find it agreeable, he sends them out to Las Vegas to train at Impact Basketball. I’ve actually been out here before when I was young, training for a couple weeks during the summer, but Impact is a different spot, of course. He basically set me up out here with Impact and [founder/president] Joe Abunassar.

I’ve just been out here for the last three weeks, except when I went back to school for graduation, working out every day, lifting, getting in really good shape and getting a good feel for what I’ll be doing during the combine. It’s a good idea to get comfortable with the process, get acclimated before the combine.

Continue Reading » Erik Murphy – Path to 2013 NBA Draft: Las Vegas

Tags: Billy Donovan, combine, Draft, Erik Murphy, Kenny Boynton, NBA

1 » Now that the undrafted free agents have been scooped up and rookie minicamp is in the books, the newest Florida Gators in the NFL have plenty of work to do to remain on their teams heading into the 2013 season, which starts in exactly four months. As of press time, there are 41 total Gators spread across 19 different NFL rosters. Below is a list of teams corresponding with the number of Florida players currently on their rosters and set to participate in their respective training camps.

(4): Miami, Washington
(3): Baltimore, New England, N.Y. Giants, Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay
(2): Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Denver, Jacksonville, Seattle
(1): Houston, Kansas City, Minnesota, Philadelphia, San Francisco, St. Louis

2 » Gators guard Sydney Moss has accepted an invitation to try out with USA Basketball for a spot on the under-19 team that will compete in the 2013 FIBA U19 World Championships from July 18-28. Team trails are being held May 16-19 in Colorado Springs, CO. Florida head coach Billy Donovan will be coaching the men’s team in the same event from June 17-July 7. He will begin his duties on June 14 in Colorado Springs as he tries to whittle down a 25-player tryout to the 12 that will earn spots on the final roster.

3 » Former Gators shortstop Nolan Fontana is raising eyebrows inside the Houston Astros organization with the way he is currently playing for the Class-A affiliate Lancaster JetHawks in the California League. Fontana (as of Tuesday) is leading the league in batting average (.369), walks (30), runs (29), on-base percentage (.504) and on-base plus slugging (1.071); he is also second in hits (41). As expected, Fontana is also proving to be an excellent defensive shortstop.

4 » Attorney John Morgan (of the law firm Morgan & Morgan) out of Orlando, FL has commissioned the below television commercial (which is also running as a radio spot) to support quarterback Tim Tebow and entice the Jacksonville Jaguars to sign the local product. Considering general manager Dave Caldwell made it perfectly clear months ago that Jacksonville was not interested in Tebow, Morgan is basically just wasting his money and using these advertisements to promote his name and business.

Tags: baseball, Billy Donovan, FIBA, FIBA World Championship, Houston Astros, Lancaster JetHawks, MiLB, MLB, NFL, Nolan Fontana, Sydney Moss, Tim Tebow, USA, USA Basketball