1 » Less than two weeks after freshman guard Chandler Cooper announced she would be leaving the Florida Gators women’s basketball team and transferring to Lipscomb, two more members of the 2012-13 squad have decided to join her in exiting the program. According to The Alligator’s Phil Heilman, freshman guard/forward Sydney Moss will also transfer and junior center Vicky McIntyre, who transferred in last year but did not play the final eight games of the season, plans to leave the program. Moss, a star recruit for the Gators and member of the 2013 All-SEC Freshman Team, started 24 of 37 games, averaging 11.8 points and 6.8 rebounds. She was also dominant for Florida in the 2013 WNIT, leading the Gators in scoring (19.6 points), rebounding (9.0), assists (4.0) and field goal percentage (.571) during the event. Moss is an exceptionally big loss for head coach Amanda Butler, who was hoping to assemble for next season one of Florida’s most talented teams in years. The Gators signed their first-ever women’s McDonald’s All-American in 2013 five-star F Ronni Williams (Daytona Beach, FL) back in November.

2 » While transfer guard Eli Carter waits to learn if new Rutgers athletic director Julie Hermann will sign off on his waiver to play immediately at Florida, he and head coach Billy Donovan have a decision to make. According to his father Dale Carter, who spoke with The Gainesville Sun’s Kevin Brockway, Eli has been provided with the opportunity to play for the Jamaican National Team over the summer, a decision the player will let Donovan make. Donovan allowed – and even encouraged – G Mike Rosario to play with the Puerto Rican National Team last summer, a move that helped Rosario improve and mature both on and off the court. Chances are, if Carter desires to spend part of the summer in Jamaica playing basketball, Donovan will approve.

Continue Reading » FOUR BITS: Moss, Carter, Miller, Bonner

Tags: All-SEC, Amanda Butler, Billy Donovan, Chandler Cooper, Eli Carter, Jamaica, Matt Bonner, McDonald's All-Ameircan, Miami Heat, Mike Miller, NBA, NBA Finals, Ronni Williams, San Antonio Spurs, Sydney Moss, Vicky McIntyre, WNIT, women's basketball

1 » Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer sat down for a question-and-answer session with CBSSports.com’s Jeremy Fowler (believe it or not) that was published on Friday. In the piece, he mentions the Florida Gators on a few occasions, the highlights of which are below. Check out the other topics by clicking here.

On why ‘no question’ he would still be at Florida if health issues never surfaced
“I realized not too long after [around February 2011]. I called Jeremy [Foley] and said, ‘I made a mistake.’ Once I felt like everything was under control, it was like, ‘Oh my gosh, what did I do?’ I just told Jeremy as a friend in conversation. The talk was more about one day getting back into it. He was very supportive. Then I started at ESPN and had a ball with that, but is that enough? Is that what I was called to do? I planned to take more than a year [off] though.”

On regrets for the way his Florida tenure ended
“I didn’t at first. I thought we did a good job. We did our best. I look back now, the way it ended was certainly a regret. Does that mean it haunts me? Not at all. I’ve always felt our job is to do a good job and do it the right way, do it ethically and for the best interest of the student-athlete — check, check, check. I’ll always be associated with the school, and my great friends are there and all that. Absolutely none with that. It just wasn’t a normal way to move on. There would have been if I would have stayed out. I was worried about survival for a little bit.”

2 » Florida brought back a huge name in Gators tennis on Friday when the school announced that Mark Merklein has returned to the program as an assistant coach with the men’s team. Merklein, a two-time national champion (doubles in 1993, singles in 1994) and the 1994 SEC Player of the Year, earned four All-American nominations and three All-SEC nods while at Florida and was inducted into the UF Athletic Hall of Fame in 2005. Considered by many to be the best men’s tennis player in school history, Merklein wound up competing as a professional for 12 years and even serving as a volunteer assistant for the Gators from 1998-2002 while he was on the tour. He was the head coach of the USTA Player Development Center for six seasons (2006-11) before being hired by Michigan as an assistant coach for the past two years (2012-13). “When I left I even said to everyone, including Mr. [Jeremy] Foley, that it was a goal of mine to one day come back and coach and win national championships,” Merklein said in a school release. “I’ve said it so much now, it’s time to actually do it and put the work in. I’m excited to do that alongside [head coach Bryan Shelton].”

CLICK TO EXPAND and read two more BITS in this post.

Tags: All-American, All-SEC, Bryan Shelton, Jeremy Foley, Mark Merklein, Miami Hurricanes, National Championship, NFL, Ohio State Buckeyes, Percy Harvin, Player of the Year, Seattle Seahawks, SEC, Sun Life Stadium, tennis, Urban Meyer

Former Florida Gators striker Abby Wambach will be the subject of ESPNU‘s eighth SEC Storied documentary, OGGOA has learned.

Abby Head On, which is set to premiere on May 15 at 8 p.m. on ESPNU, will be officially announced by the network later Monday. The film chronicles Wambach’s collegiate career with the Gators, international accomplishments with the U.S. Women’s National Team and quest to break Mia Hamm’s international scoring record.

After surprising the soccer community by choosing to attend Florida over powerhouse North Carolina, Wambach led the Gators to four-straight SEC Championships (1998-2001), two Final Fours (1998, 2001) and an NCAA Championship (1998), which remains the soccer program’s only national title to this day.

Individually while playing for UF, she was a two-time SEC Player of the Year (2000-01) and SEC Freshman of the Year (1998) who was also a four-time All-SEC First Team selection and three-time first-team All-American.

Wambach left Florida upon graduation as the school record holder in goals (96), game-winning goals (24), points (242), assists (49) and hat tricks (10); she maintains the No. 1 spot in each of those categories to this day.

Continue Reading » SEC Storied film to feature UF’s Abby Wambach

Tags: Abby Wambach, All-SEC, Ballon d'Or, FIFA, Freshman of the Year, Jack Youngblood, NCAA, NCAA Championship, Olympics, Player of the Year, SEC, SEC Championship, soccer, World Cup

It took 15 seasons with the Florida Gators for head coach Billy Donovan to earn his first conference coaching honor despite winning two national championships, coaching in three title games and leading his team to three-straight SEC Tournament victories.

Coming off his fifth league regular season title (third outright) and a tough loss in the finals of the 2013 SEC Tournament, Donovan learned Tuesday that he has won his second unanimous conference coaching award in the last three seasons as he was chosen as the 2013 SEC Coach of the Year by Associated Press voters.

Donovan’s peers chose him to represent them as SEC Coach of the Year last Tuesday.

The Gators (26-7) are ranked No. 12/14 in the latest top 25 polls and have earned a No. 3 seed in the 2013 NCAA Tournament. Florida did not capture the SEC Tournament title but is hoping to advantage to at least its third-straight Elite Eight.

Continue Reading » Billy Donovan named 2013 AP SEC Coach of the Year; Erik Murphy on AP First Team All-SEC

Tags: All-SEC, Billy Donovan, Coach of the Year, Erik Murphy, Kenny Boynton, Mike Rosario, Patric Young, Scottie Wilbekin, SEC

It took 15 seasons with the Florida Gators for head coach Billy Donovan to earn his first conference coaching honor despite winning two national championships, coaching in three title games and leading his team to three-straight SEC Tournament victories. Coming off his fifth league regular season title (third outright), Donovan learned Tuesday that he has won his second conference coaching award in the last three seasons as he was chosen as the 2013 SEC Coach of the Year by his peers.

Donovan’s Gators (24-6, 14-4 SEC) opened the SEC slate with eight-straight victories and a 27.75-point margin of victory in those games. Though Florida slid a bit and lost four of its final 10 games in-conference, the Gators still won the league title outright and were the only team in the SEC to remain in the top 25 polls all season long.

UF finished 15-0 at home in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center on the season, the second-best home record in school history (18-0 – 2006-07) and fifth time Donovan has led his team to an undefeated record in the O’Dome.

Florida also helped Donovan achieve his 15th-straight 20-win season dating back to 1999. He has the third-longest active streak of 20-win seasons behind Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski (17) and Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim (16) and fifth-longest all-time.

Donovan is now known as the dean of SEC coaches despite being younger than five of his other 13 peers. In his 17th season with the Gators, he is the longest tenured active head coach in the league and has seen 28 coaches come and go through the SEC while he has remained at Florida.

He also this season became the third coach in SEC history to win 400 games and heads into the 2013 SEC Tournament with 410 wins, just 38 behind LSU’s Dale Brown (448) and many more back of Kentucky’s Adolph Rupp (875).

Florida also had a number of its players honored Tuesday by the league’s coaches:

Senior forward Erik Murphy was chosen for the First Team All-SEC with senior guard Kenny Boynton, redshirt senior G Mike Rosario and junior center Patric Young each earning Second Team nods. (Rosario and Young tied in voting; ties are not broken.)

Young, who was named the SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year on Monday, and junior point guard Scottie Wilbekin were named to the SEC All-Defensive Team, and freshman G Michael Frazier II won a spot on the SEC All-Freshman Team.

Other league awards went to Georgia’s Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (SEC Player of the Year), Kentucky’s Nerlens Noel (SEC Freshman of the Year, SEC Defensive Player of the Year) and UK’s Kyle Wiltjer (SEC Sixth Man of the Year).

Photo Credit: Unknown

Tags: All-Defensive, All-Freshman, All-SEC, Billy Donovan, Coach of the Year, Erik Murphy, Kenny Boynton, Michael Frazier, Mike Rosario, Patric Young, Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Scottie Wilbekin, SEC, Stephen C. O'Connell Center

A third player has chosen to forgo his senior season of collegiate eligibility with the Florida Gators as redshirt junior tight end Jordan Reed announced Friday that he has decided to enter the 2013 NFL Draft.

“I’ve enjoyed four good years at Florida, but I feel that now is the right time to pursue my dream of playing in the NFL,” said Reed in a release from the school. “I appreciate the support from all the coaches and staff here, and I’ll always be a Gator.”

Reed, Florida’s leading receiver this past season with team-highs of 45 receptions and 559 yards, joins juniors safety Matt Elam and defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd as players that have decided to leave early.

Formerly a quarterback, Reed has played tight end the last two years, showing promise as a redshirt junior when he caught three touchdowns and was the team’s leading receiver in most games. For his efforts, Reed was chosen as an All-SEC selection by the Associated Press (first team) and league coaches (second team).

“It’s been a dream for all three of these players to pursue a career in the NFL and now they are all getting a chance to realize that dream,” said head coach Will Muschamp. “We are very thankful for their contributions to the Florida football program over the years and we wish them the very best of luck in the pursuit of their dreams.

“We will support them 100 percent and I look forward to them continuing to be a part of our program. I have encouraged each of them to return to Gainesville to complete their degree – as I’ve told all of our players – there will be a day when their football careers are over. Matt, Sharrif and Jordan all received high marks in the draft evaluation process.”

Junior defensive end Dominique Easley and redshirt junior Will linebacker Jelani Jenkins have yet to announce their intentions though it is believed both will remain with the team for the 2013 campaign.

Tags: All-SEC, Dominique Easley, Draft, Jelani Jenkins, Jordan Reed, Matt Elam, NFL, Sharrif Floyd, Will Muschamp

Florida Gators junior safety Matt Elam, voted the team’s most valuable defender at its annual award banquet on Saturday, was named a First Team All-American by the Associated Press on Tuesday.

Elam, a unanimous First Team All-SEC selection earlier this month, is the first member of Florida’s secondary to receive the honor since 2009 (Joe Haden) and the first Gators player to be named to the first team since 2010 (Chas Henry).

Florida junior defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd, redshirt senior kicker Caleb Sturgis and sophomore punter Kyle Christy earned Third Team All-American honors on Tuesday. Like Elam, all three were also unanimous First Team All-SEC selections.

Photo Credit: USA Today

Tags: All-American, All-SEC, Caleb Sturgis, Kyle Christy, Matt Elam, Sharrif Floyd

The Florida Gators’ special teams unit was arguably the nation’s best in 2012, which makes it no surprise that its two primary specialists were up for big honors on Thursday evening at the 2012 Home Depot College Football Awards held in Orlando, FL.

Despite redshirt senior kicker Caleb Sturgis and sophomore punter Kyle Christy being named as finalists for the 2012 Lou Groza Award and 2012 Ray Guy Award, respectively, neither brought home the honor this year.

Tulane’s Cairo Santos beat out Sturgis for the Lou Groza Award after becoming just the second player in NCAA history to not miss a field goal over the course of a season (21-of-21). Sturgis finished 23-of-27 (three of his four misses were blocked) with three field goals in the 50-yard range. Florida State’s Dustin Hopkins, the third finalist, was 24-of-28 with five 50+ yarders.

Judd Davis (1993) remains the only Florida player in the 21-year history of the Lou Groza Award to bring it home to Gainesville, FL.

Louisiana Tech’s Ryan Allen won his second-straight Ray Guy Award, becoming the first-ever back-to-back winner, after averaging 48.0 yards per attempt with a long of 85 yards and besting his 2011 numbers by 1.9 yards and 13 yards, respectively. Christy averaged 46.1 yards with a long of 62 yards and fellow finalist Scott Kovanda of Ball State averaged just 40.2 yards with a long of 56 yards.

Chas Henry (2010) is the only Gators punter to win the Ray Guy Award, which has been handed out for the last 13 years.

Sturgis and Christy were both named unanimous first team All-SEC players by league coaches and Associated Press voters this week.

Sturgis added 2012 SEC Co-Special Teams Player of the Year honors on Wednesday and also made team history this year. He set the school record for made field goals in a career with 69, passing Jeff Chandler’s 67, and tied Bobby Raymond for the school’s single-season made field goal record (23).

Tags: All-SEC, Caleb Sturgis, Kyle Christy, Lou Groza Award, Ray Guy Award, Special Teams Player of the Year