Though the score may not suggest it, the Florida Gators men’s basketball team (2-0) grinded out a 69-49 victory over the Georgia Southern Eagles (1-2) Wednesday night in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. Junior forward and sixth man Chandler Parsons led the Gators with great energy off the bench, scoring 15 points and 12 rebounds to record the team’s second double-double of the season.

Freshman guard Kenny Boynton and redshirt junior transfer center Vernon Macklin were the other Florida players who shined offensively, scoring 22 and 15 points, respectively. Boynton shot 50% from the field while Macklin was 7-9 adding seven rebounds to his performance. Through two games, Boynton, Macklin and Parsons have accounted for 63.6% of the Gators’ offense (91 of 143 points). Sophomore point guard Erving Walker led the team with six assists and, though he was 0-10 from the field, added nine points on free throws.

The Eagles kept the Gators in check for much of the contest, going into the half with Florida only holding a 26-25 lead. Up 55-47 with 4:17 remaining, the Gators slowly pulled away to their eventual 20-point margin of victory. For the second straight game, Florida was on the verge of breaking a 579-game record of scoring at least one three-pointer. Parsons nailed one with around six minutes to go, and Boynton followed with the first make of his career from beyond the arc. The Gators are only 3-29 from three-point range on the season, an absurdly low number for a Billy Donovan-coached team.

Florida basketball returns to action Friday when they face the Troy Trojans at home in Gainesville, FL, at 7 p.m. The game is being carried by FOX Sports Florida, so be sure to check your local listings for availability.

Note: Louisville Cardinals head basketball coach Rick Pitino, father of new Gators assistant Richard Pitino, was in the house watching the game with Bill Donovan, Sr.

Michael David Barrett, 47, the Illinois insurance executive accused of filming former Florida Gators dazzler turned ESPN sideline reporter Erin Andrews nude in her hotel room on numerous occasions, has officially been charged with one count of interstate stalking. In federal charging documents obtained by TMZ, Barrett allegedly followed Andrews around the country over at least a period of nine months, calling numerous hotels in each of her stops to determine where she was staying. Federal agents say Barrett would check into a room next to her, alter the peephole device of her room and secretly shoot video of her before e-mailing it to an account. TMZ received a statement from Barrett’s lawyer on Wednesday, which said:

Mr. Barrett would like to express his deep regret for the circumstances that have caused the issuance of charges against him today. It is his sincere hope that this matter can be resolved as soon as possible.

An interstate stalking conviction carries a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. Considering Andrews’ celebrity and the fact that Barrett tried to sell these videos, one would not expect the courts to go light on his sentencing.

1 » Both the Florida Gators and Alabama Crimson Tide have two games to play before their inevitable showdown in the Southeastern Conference Championship game in December. While head coaches Urban Meyer and Nick Saban both emphatically claim that they are worried about their upcoming opponents (FIU and Chattanooga this week, respectively) and are not looking ahead, Chris Low of ESPN.com thinks otherwise. “Who genuinely believes that Alabama and Florida are doing any extensive planning for their opponents this week?” he ponders.

2 » Senior quarterback Tim Tebow continues to pile up the award nominations. On Wednesday, he was named one of five finalists for the 2009 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award. Given to the top senior college quarterback in the nation, the Golden Arm Award has never been able to be awarded to Tebow, who has won a Heisman Trophy and two Maxwell Awards while Sam Bradford (Oklahoma) took home the other Heisman in the same time span. Tebow also remains in contention as one of 15 finalists for the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award.

3 » OGGOA has been singing the praises of juniors defensive end Carlos Dunlap and cornerback Joe Haden as well as senior middle linebacker Brandon Spikes in regard to their 2010 NFL Draft status. Jeremy Fowler of the Orlando Sentinel points out that the Gators could lose a plethora juniors in addition to their senior class, should some of them choose to declare. Prominent names on that list (aside from Dunlap and Haden) are tight end Aaron Hernandez, offensive linemen Maurkice and Mike Pouncey, Marcus Gilbert and Carl Johnson, safety Major Wright, defensive lineman Justin Trattou and running backs Chris Rainey and Emmanuel Moody. The majority of the aforementioned players will most likely not declare, in our opinion.

4 » Florida basketball (1-0) returns to the court Wednesday night at 7 p.m. against the Georgia Southern Eagles (1-1) at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. The game will air live on FOX Sports Florida – check your local listings for availability. All game and broadcast information is always available on OGGOA‘s Basketball page.

There are a lot of factors that determine the success of a college quarterback. The most prominent of all is whether or not he wins games – and Florida Gators senior Tim Tebow wins games. So tossing that fact, his 2007 Heisman Trophy and back-to-back Maxwell Awards aside, I wanted to take an look at what has been going on with Tebow this season. Especially one day after discussing offensive coordinator Steve Addazio.

If you don’t think Tebow is struggling, think again. While his completion percentage is consistent with career numbers, his passer rating is down almost 19 points from 2007 and 2008. He has as many interceptions in 10 games (4) as he did through the entire 2008 season and is on pace to be sacked more times in 2009 than he has been in his first three seasons – combined. After throwing for 2,746 yards in 2008, he is projected to finish with 500 less in 2009. And finally, after passing for 30 or more touchdowns in each of the last two years, he only has 10 right now.

There have been issues this year. Play calling, especially in the red zone, has been a problem as head coach Urban Meyer has admitted. The offense as a whole lacks an explosive playmaker like now-Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Percy Harvin. (Freshman Andre Debose was supposed to fill some of that role.) Perhaps the bigger issue at hand is the tinkering done to Tebow by new quarterbacks coach Scot Loeffler.

Loeffler was hired to improve Tebow’s skills, but has he? After the jump…
Continue Reading » Is Loeffler to blame for Tebow’s struggles?

Florida Gators women’s basketball (1-1) hosted the No. 13/10 Florida State Seminoles (2-0) at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center Tuesday evening, dropping a heartbreaker 66-62. The Gators, who were attempting to upset the ranked Seminoles, took the lead 62-60 with 2:04 remaining but would not score another point as FSU would regain control with 37.4 second left on the clock. Florida senior forward Sharielle Smith recorded 18 points and 13 rebounds for her fourth career double-double in the contest.

Up next for the Gators is a trip to Pittsburgh, PA, on Friday to face the No. 25 Pittsburgh Panthers at 7 p.m. It is the team’s first road game of the season.

OGGOA first reported on Nov. 9 that the Florida Gators will be wearing special uniforms against the Florida State Seminoles in their regular season finale on Nov. 28. Just one day later, we followed up on that story with exclusive information about *almost* every detail we could uncover including a picture of the uniform and other specifications.

Now a week later, OGGOA has once again been provided with exclusive information about the design of the uniform. The Gators’ Nike Pro Combat helmets will be white (see left) with a blue “F” instead of the standard cursive “Gators” design on the sides. The “F” is in the same font featured on Florida’s baseball hats as well as in the end zones at The Swamp. (See elementary mock-up created by yours truly. Probably a darker shade of blue.) We have also learned that the Gators’ Nike Zoom Air cleats will be covered in alligator skin (similar to OGGOA‘s background) with traces of orange and blue.

As the tag line implies, Florida will be wearing these unis as they attempt to “Finish the Mission” of a 12-0 regular season – the first in team history. The University of Florida‘s Sports Information Department is expected to release all of these details and more at some point within the next week. OGGOA will be sure to post anything else we hear definitively about the uniform in the meantime.

Nike’s Pro Combat uniforms are said to be 37% lighter than current designs and utilize a four-way stretch twill that does not hold sweat or water. Additional features include Nike’s Dri-FIT technology, evaporation and cooling zones, more padding zones and improved ventilation and breathability. Players will also wear Nike Vapor Trail 2.0 gloves (above) and Nike Zoom Air cleats that are light weight and feature better cushioning in the heel.

Permanently dismissing freshmen wide receiver Nu’Keese Richardson and cornerback Mike Edwards while awaiting word on safety Janzen Jackson – all of whom were arrested and charged with three counts of armed robbery last week – the Tennessee Volunteers had more legal issues come to light Tuesday. According to a report from WBIR in Knoxville, TN, freshman S Nyshier Oliver was arrested on Nov. 7 and charged with shoplifting from Dillard’s department store.

Oliver was spotted stealing a brown shirt worth approximately $110 from the the store located in West Town Mall. He was arrested and cited “just over five hours before the Vols were to play Memphis [Tigers] in the homecoming game at Neyland Stadium.”

Richardson, Edwards, Jackson and Oliver are all part of head coach Lane Kiffin‘s first recruiting class. Prior to his arrest, Jackson was suspended from a game earlier in the season for an infamous “violation of team rules.” Oliver will be arraigned on Nov. 23.

From time to time, OGGOA will come across tidbits and small news items we want to share with our readers. In those instances, we present a special post: Gator Bites. Enjoy.

- Florida Gators basketball has officially announced the commitments of four-star recruits power forward Patric Young (Jacksonville, FL) and small forward Casey Prather (Jackson, TN). This was merely a formality as both had committed previously but sent in their National Letters of Intent on Tuesday.

- Senior quarterback Tim Tebow has been named to the “Players to Watch” list for the 2009 Walter Camp Player of the Year award.

- Junior tight end Aaron Hernandez was announced as one of eight semifinalists for the 2009 John Mackey Award. Hernandez is first on the team is receptions and second in receiving yards and average yards per game. He is first among Southeastern Conference TEs in receiving yards, average yards per game and receptions.

- The father of former Florida quarterback Rex Grossman denounced the Chicago Bears coaching staff Tuesday, saying that the offense is “a self-perpetuating problem that is not Jay Cutler’s fault.” Grossman was selected by the Bears in the first round of the 2003 NFL Draft and started for Chicago in their most recent Super Bowl appearance.

- Four-star wide receiver recruit Kenny Stills (Carlsbad, CA) has made plans to visit the Gators in two weeks. Florida safeties coach Chuck Heater has an in with Stills as he coached his father while both were with the Wisconsin Badgers.