1 » The Southeastern Conference announced its coaches’ preseason All-SEC first and second team selections on Wednesday, and three Florida Gators were honored on the lists. Senior point guard Erving Walker and junior guard Kenny Boynton both earned first team nominations, while sophomore center Patric Young was the only UF representative placed on the second team. Walker and Boynton were both on the media’s All-SEC second team, and Young was left off.

2 » Former Florida safety Louis Oliver was one of six people inducted into the Broward County Sports Hall of Fame on Tuesday evening. Fellow former Gators student-athlete Dara Torres was inducted previously. “It is very flattering,” Oliver said, according to the Sun-Sentinel. “I am very excited to be in a group that includes a group like [Dan] Marino, Coach [Don] Shula, H. Wayne Huizenga, Michael Irvin and those types of people. Just to be recognized with those people puts me in a category that most people aren’t in. It’s not Canton, Ohio, but it is a really big deal for me.”

Click to expand and read the final two BITS in this post.

Tags: All-SEC, Central Florida Knights, Donnie Jones, Erving Walker, Joe Paterno, Kenny Boynton, Louis Oliver, Patric Young, Penn State Nittany Lions, SEC, Urban Meyer

1 » Those who follow us on Twitter saw a retweet from CBS Sports’ Jeff Goodman Monday morning noting that the Florida Gators basketball team held a “secret” scrimmage against the Central Florida Knights over the weekend. OGGOA inquired about the scrimmage and learned that Florida head coach Billy Donovan was pleased with his team’s effort following the game. The Gators’ starting five consisted of senior point guard Erving Walker, guards junior Kenny Boynton and freshman Brad Beal, junior forward Erik Murphy and sophomore center Patric Young.

Beal, as noted by Goodman, was the standout performer in the scrimmage, but redshirt junior transfer G Mike Rosario also played quite well. Florida earned a double-digit “victory” at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center, a nice prelude to their exhibition game against Catholic University on Thursday.

2 » Eight full weeks into the 2011 NFL season, former Gators cornerback Lito Sheppard was finally signed by a team. The Oakland Raiders picked up Sheppard, who they cut just before the season after signing him as a free agent, on Monday and hope to have him ready to play as soon as this upcoming weekend. Sheppard was one of three notable ex-Florida veterans available on the free agent market. Defensive ends Alex Brown and Bobby McCray remain unsigned.

3 » Every year, the Gators women’s soccer team holds a special practice on Halloween with all of the players going through the motions in full costume. The annual tradition gives the team a boost each year before they begin playing in the Southeastern Conference Tournament. Florida had an opportunity this past weekend to earn a share of the 2011 SEC regular season title but failed to do so dropping a 2-1 decision to the SEC champion South Carolina Gamecocks. SEC Tournament action begins Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. when UF faces Georgia in Orange Beach, AL.

4 » The Gators soccer team received good news Monday when the SEC announced its women’s soccer awards. Junior midfielder/forward Erika Tymrak and redshirt junior defender Kathryn Williamson were named to the All-SEC first team, while senior D Jazmyne Avant and junior MF Holly King garnered second-team honors. Florida also had two picked as All-Freshman – MFs Havana Solaun and Annie Speese.

Extra BIT » Below is the Thriller video put together by a number of UF student-athletes for Gator Growl in 2009. Happy Halloween!

Tags: Alex Brown, All-Freshman, All-SEC, Annie Speese, Bobby McCray, Brad Beal, Central Florida Knights, Erik Murphy, Erika Tymrak, Erving Walker, Havana Solaun, Holly King, Jazmyne Avant, Kathryn Williamson, Kenny Boynton, Lito Sheppard, Mike Rosario, NFL, O'Connell Center, Oakland Raiders, Patric Young, SEC, SEC Tournament, soccer

The Florida Gators baseball and softball squads split a pair of Wednesday evening match-ups against the Central Florida Knights, with the former falling 8-6 in Orlando, FL as the latter won 8-1 at home in Gainesville, FL.

Central Florida (24-14) jumped on No. 5/5 Florida (28-10) early and often, scoring eight unanswered runs over seven innings. Junior starting right-handed pitcher Tommy Toledo (2-3) was saddled with the loss after giving up an earned run in the second inning, but three of his seven relief pitchers allowed the Knights to score the majority of their runs. Junior left-handed pitcher Alex Panteliodis (2.0 IP, 2 ER, 2 K), freshman LHP Daniel Gibson (0.2 IP, 2 ER, K) and junior RHP Anthony DeSclafani (1.0 IP, 3 ER, 1 K) all struggled with UCF’s batters as their own offense stalled.

Looking to make a last-ditch effort, the Gators scored six runs in the top of the eighth inning but were unable to fight back all the way. Junior left fielder Tyler Thompson (1-4, 2 RBI, R) hit a two-RBI homer to left field after sophomore third baseman Austin Maddox (1-4, R) singled to get on base. With the bases loaded and one out, junior first baseman Preston Tucker (1-4, GS, 4 RBI, R) stepped up to the plate and hit a grand slam to right. Sophomore catcher Mike Zunino (2-4) got on base with a double, but the following two batters – sophomore designated hitter Brian Johnson (0-4) and Maddox – struck out swinging to end the rally and end the come-from-behind bid.

No. 8/9 Florida softball (38-7) fared better against their in-state rival, defeating UCF (18-25) 8-1 in another masterful performance. Freshman RHP Hannah Rogers (23-5) picked up yet another win though she split duties with returning senior ace RHP Stephanie Brombacher, who pitched 2.1 innings and struck out three batters in relief.

The Gators piled on the runs early, scoring two in the first inning and six more through the fourth. Senior LF Kelsey Bruder (2-3, HR, 3 RBI, 3 R, BB) continued her hot streak, as did sophomore right fielder/catcher Brittany Schutte (1-2, HR, 4 RBI, R). Freshman 3B Kasey Fagan (1-2, HR, RBI, R, BB) joined the party with a solo shot of her own.

Baseball and softball will also face a common opponent, each beginning their own three-game series with Alabama on Friday evening.

Tags: Alex Panteliodis, Anthony DeSclafani, Austin Maddox, baseball, Brian Johnson, Brittany Schutte, Central Florida Knights, Daniel Gibson, Hannah Rogers, Kasey Fagan, Kelsey Bruder, Mike Zunino, Preston Tucker, softball, Stephanie Brombacher, Tommy Toledo, Tyler Thompson

1 » Florida Gators redshirt senior center Vernon Macklin, currently participating in the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament with forward Alex Tyus, scored 19 points on 50 percent shooting and notched 12 rebounds in his first game at the event on Thursday. NBA.com wrote a profile piece about him on Friday, looking about his entire career as well as strengths and weaknesses that may – or may not – find him a spot on a NBA roster this upcoming season. The feature also has a blurb about Tyus, who has scored a combined 25 points and grabbed 21 total rebounds in two PIT games, at the end.

2 » Left-handed pitcher and dynamic hitter Bobby Poyner, a Florida baseball commitment, tore the labrum in his throwing shoulder and will miss the remainderof his high school career. According to the Palm Beach Post, Poyner went 6-1 as a senior with a 1.91 ERA and 51 strikeouts in 40.1 innings to go along with a .404 batting average. In his last full season, he finished 9-3 with a 1.86 ERA and 72 strikeouts in 64 innings.

Click to expand and read the remainder of this post.

Tags: Alex Tyus, baseball, Bobby Poyner, Central Florida Knights, Draft, Josh Portis, NBA, NFL, PIT, Ray Shipman, Tim Tebow, Vernon Macklin

1 » Don’t bother asking them to, because it does not look like No. 1 Florida Gators gymnastics (6-0, 3-0 SEC) plans to slow down anytime soon. Drawing nearly 7,000 fans to the Stephen C. O’Connell Center on Friday, Florida took down the previously undefeated No. 6 Alabama Crimson Tide (6-1, 1-1 SEC) 197.55-195.45. Gators freshman Mackenzie Caquatto led the team with two event wins (uneven bars, balance beam) and took the all-around title with a score of 39.575, while senior Maranda Smith captured the vault event and sophomore Marissa King won the floor exercise. Florida will be tested once again on Saturday as they face No. 4 Georgia on the road.

2 » Gators sophomore sprinter Jeff Demps and junior jumper Christian Taylor became the fourth and fifth members of the team, respectively, to automatically qualify for the NCAA Championships after posting strong individual showings over the weekend at the Virginia Tech Elite Meet. Demps recorded a 6.57 in the men’s 60-meter dash, the second-fastest time in the NCAA this season, during his first race of the year. Taylor won the triple jump with a mark of 16.61m/54-6 for the sixth-straight time in his last six competitions. The duo join jumpers junior Will Claye and sophomore Omar Craddock and junior heptathlete Gray Horn as Florida’s current NCAA automatic-qualifiers off the No. 1 men’s track & field team.

Read the rest of this post…after the break!
Continue Reading » SIX BITS: gymnastics, track, tennis, softball

Tags: Alabama Crimson Tide, Alexandre Lacroix, Allie Will, Bob Van Overbeek, Central Florida Knights, Christian Taylor, Clint Bowles, College World Series, DeMarini Tournament, Demps, field, Florida International Panthers, Florida State Seminoles, Gray Horn, gymnastics, Jennifer George, Lauren Embree, Linder Stadium, MacKenzie Caquatto, Maranda Smith, Marissa King, Nassim Slilam, NCAA, NCAA Championships, O'Connell Center, Ole Miss Rebels, Omar Craddock, Ring Tennis Complex, Sekou Bangoura, Sofie Oyen, softball, Stephanie Brombacher, tennis, track, Vahid Mirzadeh, Vanderbilt Commodores, Virginia Tech Elite Meet, Will Claye, women's basketball

1 » Capturing five events while taking home two NCAA automatic-qualifying marks, No. 2 Florida Gators track and field had a great weekend at the Texas A&M Challenge. Junior heptathlete Gray Horn and junior transfer jumper Will Claye each registered the qualifiers, with Horn registering a personal best 5,747 and Claye posting a season-leading 16.86m/55-3.25 in the triple jump. The duo joins sophomore jumper Omar Craddock, who has already registered his own automatic qualifying time.

2 » No. 5/8 Florida men’s/women’s swimming and diving swept the No. 7/10 Tennessee Volunteers on Senior Day at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center on Saturday. The men won 198-101, while the women were victorious 180-120. According to the University of Florida, “The 97-point victory for the UF men is the most lopsided win over UT in school history, while being the most points scored by the Gator men and the largest margin of victory in a one-day dual meet since a 208-88 conquest over Florida Atlantic on Jan. 26, 2001. The 198 points were the most in a one-day SEC dual meet since outscoring South Carolina 248-68 on Oct. 27, 2000, which was also the last time the men…had a 90-plus point margin of victory in SEC competition.”

Both teams also faced the Indian River State College Pioneers on Sunday and were victorious 165-120 and 157-106, respectively.

3 » Facing the No. 13 N.C. State Wolfpack (1-2) and No. 23 Penn State Nittany Lions (1-4, 0-2 Big Ten), No. 1 Florida gymnastics (5-0, 2-0 SEC) won the fifth annual Gators Link to Pink meet on Friday. The Gators posted 197.50 points compared to 195.3 for the Nittany Lions and 194.075 for the Wolfpack. Florida won all five events with freshman Alaina Johnson capturing four (vault, uneven bars, floor exercise, all-around) and sophomore Ashanée Dickerson bringing home one (balance beam).

4 » No. 2 Florida women’s tennis (2-0) swept a pair of matches over the weekend, defeating the Central Florida Knights (1-1) 7-0 and the College of Charleston Cougars (0-1) 6-0 at Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex in Gainesville, FL. The No. 1 duo of sophomore Allie Will and freshman Sofie Oyen won its doubles match during both contests. Also victorious in both of their singles matches were No. 7 Will, No. 22 freshman Olivia Janowicz and No. 96 Oyen. No. 28 freshman Alex Cercone won on Friday, and No. 30 junior Joanna Mather did not finish her contest on Saturday.

5 » No. 7 Gators men’s tennis (4-0) was equally successful with back-to-back wins over the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos 4-0 and N.C. State 6-1 in Gainesville. The No. 11 duo of senior Alexandre Lacroix and junior Nassim Slilam won its doubles match in both events. No. 4 Lacroix and Slilam each captured singles wins on Friday and Saturday. No. 52 sophomore Bob Van Overbeek also won singles matches both days, while No. 28 sophomore Sekou Bangoura, Jr. won his opportunity on Saturday.

6 » After starting the season strong, Florida women’s basketball (13-9, 3-5 SEC) dropped three-straight contests in mid-January but ended that losing streak with a 70-64 home victory over the Alabama Crimson Tide (11-10, 0-8 SEC) on Thursday. Freshman guard Jaterra Bonds and sophomore forward Jennifer George each scored a team-high 12 points in the victory.

Tags: Alabama Crimson Tide, Alaina Johnson, Alex Cercone, Alexandre Lacroix, Allie Will, Ashanée Dickerson, Bob Van Overbeek, Central Florida Knights, College of Charleston Cougars, diving, field, Gators Link to Pink, Gray Horn, gymnastics, Indian River State College Pioneers, Jaterra Bonds, Jennifer George, Joanna Mather, Linder Stadium, N.C. State Wolfpack, Nassim Slilam, NCAA, O'Connell Center, Olivia Janowicz, Omar Craddock, Penn State Nittany Lions, Ring Tennis Complex, SEC, Sekou Bangoura, swimming, Tennessee Volunteers, tennis, Texas A&M Challenge, track, University of Florida, Will Claye, women's basketball

Despite trouncing the American Eagles 67-48 on Sunday, the Florida Gators (6-2) fell in the latest USA Today/ESPN poll and were dropped from the Associated Press Top 25 poll this week after being upset by the Central Florida Knights 57-54 on Wednesday.

ESPN/USA TODAY
Last Week 1-25: Duke (31), Ohio State, Pittsburgh, Kansas, Kansas State, Michigan State, Syracuse, Missouri, Connecticut, Baylor, Kentucky, Villanova, Minnesota, Georgetown, Memphis, Florida, Tennessee, Purdue, San Diego State, Texas, Illinois, Washington, UNLV, Gonzaga, Brigham Young

This Week 1-25: Duke (31), Ohio State, Pittsburgh, Kansas, Kansas State, Connecticut, Syracuse, Michigan State, Baylor, Georgetown, Missouri, Villanova, Tennessee, Memphis, San Diego State, Kentucky, Illinois, Purdue, UNLV, Minnesota, Brigham Young, Washington, Notre Dame, Florida, Texas

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Last Week 1-25: Duke (65), Ohio State, Pittsburgh, Kansas, Kansas State, Michigan State, Connecticut, Syracuse, Missouri, Kentucky, Baylor, Villanova, Tennessee, Memphis, Minnesota, Georgetown, San Diego State, Florida, Texas, Illinois, Brigham Young, Purdue, Washington, UNLV, Notre Dame

This Week 1-25: Duke (65), Ohio State, Pittsburgh, Kansas, Kansas State, Connecticut, Michigan State, Syracuse, Georgetown, Baylor, Tennessee, Villanova, Memphis, San Diego State, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Brigham Young, Purdue, UNLV, Washington, Minnesota, Notre Dame, Louisville, Texas

*Numbers in parenthesis represent first-place votes.

Tags: American Eagles, Central Florida Knights, Top 25

The No. 16/18 (for now) Florida Gators (5-2) suffered a tough loss Wednesday night, falling 57-54 to the Central Florida Knights (6-0) in Orlando, FL. Though the upset loss is certainly tough for the Gators to stomach, the way they played appeared to make head coach Billy Donovan queasy. He spoke to the media after the game and had plenty to say about his team’s performance at the Amway Center.

EVEN IF FLORIDA WON, THEY LOST

Some teams steal wins and others – like Florida last year – get lucky with some buzzer beaters, but no matter what happened Wednesday in Orlando, Donovan knew that the Gators were not worthy of any positive recognition should the outcome have gone their way. “We didn’t even deserve to be in that position [to tie or win],” he said. “If we would have won the game, it would have been a complete steal. I would have felt bad for Donnie [Jones]. Nevermind how he would have felt, I would have felt awful for him. I would have gave him the win.”

Though Donovan dismissed the notion that he was “irate” after the upset, he did explain that the team’s “issues are bigger than this loss” though they can be corrected with maximum effort. He continued, “The one thing that’s good with our schedule is, when you play games like this and you play Ohio State, you play on the road at Florida State, your issues flour – they get exposed. Every team’s got issues. How you become a good team is how well you deal with your issues inside your team to get better.”

NOT SELFISH BUT CERTAINLY NOT SELFLESS

Donovan treaded carefully after Wednesday’s game to ensure he did not use world “selfish” when describing his team’s performance. However there is no question that word could certainly be used when discussing how Florida played in the contest.

“We have a group of guys – all of our older guys are way, way too wrapped up in their offense,” Donovan said. Erving Walker, Kenny Boynton – you look at their assist-to-turnover ratio last year to this year [and it’s not good].

“You look at, in this game, with the way we were scoring in around the basket, those guys should know just by playing the game [that] the ball needs to go inside. We get wrapped up when we’re not scoring or we’re not getting touches and looks and things like that. We’re not a cohesive team right now, certainly on the offensive end of the floor. The defensive part is easy because they understand if they’re not doing the things they need to do they’re probably going to come out of the game.

“They’re not playing together. They’re not utilizing each other’s individual talents. And the disappointing part is these guys played together last year.”

TEAM LACKS UNDERSTANDING, ISN’T HELPING EACH OTHER

“That’s the part to me that’s a little bit disturbing as a coach,” Donovan said of the team not recognizing that [Vernon] Macklin was on fire and could not be defended. “He got in foul trouble in the first half so he was out with two fouls, but the recognition by your team… I can’t call a play every single time down the floor because there’s transition. When they’re playing they should be seeing the fact that Vernon Macklin is having a big night offensively. The other four guys should be saying, ‘Let’s get Vern the ball.’ But we’re too wrapped up in, ‘I didn’t get a shot now,’ or ‘I missed my last one.’ They’ve got to see those things. Every time I ran a play, I kept running a play at him.

“We don’t have very good chemistry on offense with this group right now at all. And that’s the disappointing part. These are older guys that are less focused on what they can be doing to help the group get better. You always hear the thing: ‘A great player makes everyone else around them better.’ We have a bunch of guys on the floor that make nobody better. We’re less concerned about how to do that; we’re more concerned about, ‘How am I doing.’”

PARSONS FAILS TO DELIVER IN RETURN TO HOMETOWN

With approximately 70 tickets distributed to family and friends and a lot of eyes on him Wednesday, senior forward Chandler Parsons appeared to crack under pressure. Though he helped distribute and rebound the ball, Parsons simply played awful in his 32 minutes on the court, going 1-for-9 from the field (0-for-3 from downtown) for two points and 0-6 from the charity stripe (including an air ball). He played so bad, in fact, that his lack of production stood out even though fellow senior F Alex Tyus went 0-for-5 and was held scoreless in 21 minutes.

“Chandler and Vernon last year, they were really on edge about really trying to compete and do the things they needed to do. Chandler – with the way he’s shooting free throws right now – that looked like he was his sophomore year,” Donovan said. “[He’s] just not in the right frame of mind. I don’t know if we’ll be a great free throw shooting team or not, but Chandler’s certainly better than 0-6.”

A career 61.5 percent free throw shooter, Parsons was making them at a 66.6 percent clip before Wednesday’s game. Struggling more is Macklin, who shot 58.8 percent from the line in 2009-10; he is currently shooting 23.1 percent from the stripe.

QUOTES (After the break…)
Continue Reading » 12/1: Donovan shares his post-game thoughts

Tags: Amway Center, Billy Donovan, Central Florida Knights, Chandler Parsons, Donnie Jones, Erving Walker, Kenny Boynton, Marcus Jordan, Patric Young, Vernon Macklin