1/18: Donovan on Young’s ankle, Murphy’s head

Posted by Adam Silverstein | Posted in Basketball | January 18, 2012
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The No. 14/17 Florida Gators earned their first true road victory last Saturday by defeating the South Carolina Gamecocks 79-65 in Columbia, SC. With sophomore center Patric Young (ankle) out of the starting lineup and hobbled with an injury, head coach Billy Donovan updated his player’s status on Wednesday and spoke about a number of other topics concerning the team.

YOUNG WILL PLAY, STATUS AS STARTER REMAINS DAY-TO-DAY

Donovan’s suspicions were confirmed Wednesday when he said that Young is not dealing with any structural or ligament damage to his ankle but is rather experiencing inflammation as a result of tendinitis. The positives are that he will not miss games nor has to wear a boot or walk around on crutches. However, the negative is that even with a week “off” Young will play but may not be able to start on Saturday against LSU.

“He’s just got some pretty significant inflammation in the area that’s causing the problem with it,” he said. “The best thing for him right now is rest. There’s nothing there for him that is going to keep him out of games or prevent him from playing or anything that we’ve got to do in terms of holding him for a period of time.”

As for starting, how much Young is able to do in practice during the week will determine his status on Saturday. He will continue to get rehab and take medication to reduce the inflammation in the meantime.

“That’s going to be the big thing – what he’s going to be able to do and can do and what he can tolerate and handle,” Donovan said. “If it’s a situation where he’s in the same position he was against South Carolina, it would probably be a decision I would make closer to the game. Certainly want to give him every opportunity to come back.”

MURPHY’S ISSUE “A BLESSING IN DISGUISE”

Faced with a legal issue in the offseason, junior forward Erik Murphy had a lot of decisions to make about his life and career as a basketball player. Donovan helped him face those questions head-on and said he believes Murphy is better for doing so not only as a player but as a person, too.

“It really forced him to look at the fact that, at this point in time, he’s only got two years left in his career. What kind of career does he want to have? What kind of commitment does he want to make not only to the basketball piece of it but to the academic part of his life? What does he want to do?” Donovan said. “It probably really forced him to do some soul searching in terms of what was important to him.

“Erik, in a lot of ways, was kind of just floating though life. I was able to post him up and pin him up a little bit and kind of get his back against the wall to make a decision on who you want to be as a person, who you want to be as a player, who you want to be as a student.”

Murphy is thankful for Donovan putting him in that position and now understands that the adversity and issues he put on himself over the summer has put him in a better position to succeed in life.

“The offseason issue made me grow up really quick. It definitely helped me. It was a blessing in disguise, I think, to make me grow up mentally and mature,” he said.

NOTES AND QUOTES

» Donovan on the improvement of redshirt freshman F/C Cody Larson: “I’m gaining more and more confidence and trust in Cody. I’ve put him in the last several games and I think he’s given us some good minutes although they haven’t been a lot of minutes.”

» Donovan on redshirt junior guard Mike Rosario becoming trustworthy off the bench: “It’s all stemmed from practice. He’s really been pretty consistent, pretty responsible, pretty reliable. He’s built up a lot of trust in myself and in his teammates. Earlier in the year, probably some of his limited minutes had to do with a lot of his defensive focus. As that has started to get better, his back became a problem, his foot became a problem. The last two weeks since he’s been back from his ankle, he’s been pretty locked in, pretty solid and has done a good job for us.”

» Donovan on sophomore F Will Yeguete as a rebounder: “I definitely think his instincts play a long part in it. He’s very long-armed and guys that are really good offensive rebounders have a great ability to see a play developing or recognizing when a shot is going up and at times follow the flight of the ball or be able to guess where it’s coming off. The biggest thing in being a good rebounder is you have to rebound out of your area. Anybody can rebound in a telephone booth but can you spread out and cover the backboard a little bit? Will’s got a pretty good ability to cover a wide spread of the glass with his arm length, and he’s a pretty quick jumper.”

» Rosario on working on improving his defense: “One of the most important things is guarding the ball and guarding off the ball, so that’s what I’ve been trying to conquer these last couple of weeks.”

» Rosario on not focusing on defense at his previous stop: “At Rutgers, I had to basically be an offensive threat the whole game in order for us to stay in the game and in order for us to try and win the game. By me being that type of player I had to be at Rutgers, it took a lot of energy out of me. Plus playing 37-40 minutes a game and plus trying to do both ends of the floor, it was a little bit too much for me.”

» Rosario on joining a winning tradition at Florida: “It’s good to be here because there are a lot of teams here that won in a lot of categories – tennis, soccer. When you have a program like that with a lot of athletes and a lot of talent and a lot of pros in one program, it says a lot about the program and the school as well. I wanted to surround myself around that because I wanted to compete around a lot of people that are trying to make it to the next level as well as me.”

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Donovan’s USC post-game, Monday SEC teleconference: Young’s ankle, Beal’s maturity

Posted by Adam Silverstein | Posted in Basketball | January 16, 2012
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The No. 19 Florida Gators earned their first true road victory on Saturday by defeating the South Carolina Gamecocks 79-65 in Columbia, SC. With sophomore center Patric Young pulled from the starting lineup and hobbled with an ankle injury, head coach Billy Donovan had plenty to talk about after the game and when he spoke to the media on Monday during the weekly SEC teleconference.

YOUNG’S STATUS REMAINS DAY-TO-DAY

Following the game Saturday, in which Young played just 13 minutes (mostly in the second half) after being pulled from the starting lineup because he was not 100 percent due to an ankle injury, Donovan revealed that his player has actually been dealing with discomfort for about two weeks.

“He’s got some tendinitis in his ankle, and he’s got a blister under a callous. He really has not been himself in practice really for the last 10 days,” Donovan said. “He’s tried to go and then [Saturday] at shoot around, trying to watch him move and him trying to work through it, I just told him we’re going to need his effort and his energy and if he can’t bring that then we can’t start him. He agreed and understood.”

On Monday, Donovan noted that he did not have any update about Young’s condition, saying that he has been laboring in practice recently and the team’s medical staff is doing whatever it can to figure out what is wrong with him and how to move forward to get him healthy as quick as possible.

“I don’t think it’s anything severe or significant or anything that cannot be cleared up,” he said. “Our medical people here are probably going to go to the next step and maybe X-ray him and [perform a] MRI, something along those lines more for precautionary [reasons]. Where he’s sore it’s not over any bone issue, it’s more over soft tissue. I have a feeling it’s some sort of ankle tendinitis.

“What I’ve tried to do with him is to utilize him in practice as he can tolerate right now. How long it’s going to be, I don’t know. We’ll probably find out a little bit more here Tuesday and Wednesday once we get back to practice.”

Donovan made sure to point out that, while Young is very important to the Gators for a number of reasons, one thing he will make sure to do is not rush him back to a full workload, especially if his condoning suffers as much as he expects it will due to him having a nagging ankle injury.

“My concern right now is his conditioning, him maintaining a high level of conditioning. I don’t think the last couple of weeks he’s been able to practice with the intensity that he’s needed to,” he said. “I’ve seen this before with frontcourt guys – the first thing that starts to go is their conditioning. We’ve got to make sure in terms of helping him keep up a high level of conditioning, but it’s hard. When you got a foot injury like that, it’s hard to condition. That’s more my concern right now with him conditioning-wise, how much he’s lost over the last few weeks.”

OTHERS STEPPING UP FOR THE GATORS

As junior guard Kenny Boynton continues to lead the way offensively and senior point guard Erving Walker is charged with keeping the engine running each game, three other players have really begun to find their respective grooves, Donovan said over the last three days.

He was especially pleased with the way sophomore forward Will Yeguete, thrust into the stating lineup in a moment’s notice, performed on both sides of the ball. “He responded really well. He had a terrific game, made some great plays, rebounded the ball for us, defended very well,” Donovan said. “We really needed him. We were pretty much in the first half rotating he, [Erik] Murphy and [Cody] Larson when Patric picked up his fouls. To go on the road and win and not have someone like Patric, a real instrumental part of it, on the floor, some other players had to step up and some other guys did for us.”

Freshman G Bradley Beal, who has been an efficient scorer and significantly cut down his turnovers over the last two games (one total last week), has received praise from Donovan all season but got even more from him on Monday.

“The one thing that’s been great with him is I think he’s very eager to get better,” he said. “He’s very eager to improve. He’s a pretty accountable kid when things are not going his way or he’s struggling. He’s pretty self-reflective in figuring out what he’s got to do to get better. For him, the more and more experience he has playing, the better and better he gets. He works at it. He’s a hard-working kid. He’s a good teammate. He’s a good chemistry guy. He has a lot of intangible things that you probably can’t see by watching him play but you would notice by being around him. He’s played very well, and I think he’ll continue to get better and improve as time goes on.”

Donovan also took some time out to praise redshirt junior G Mike Rosario, who through defensive struggles early in the season and a pair of nagging injuries (back, ankle) over the last few weeks, has had trouble finding consistency. His coach believes those issues are now behind him.

“It’s pretty clear for me that he really has been consistent here for about two weeks. Some of his inconsistencies really were out of his control,” Donovan said. “He had the disc issue in his back that forced him to sit a couple games during the holidays. And then the first game back was Rutgers for him and he only practiced one day. [He] played pretty good against Yale and then sprained his ankle towards the end of that game. There’s been no consistently flow-wise for practice.

“Since he’s come back from his ankle after the Yale game, I think he’s really strung together a week or two here where he’s been pretty consistent, pretty reliable, pretty responsible. It’s definitely added a level of trust for me as a coach with the way he’s working and the things that he’s trying to do. When he’s doing that, he needs to be afforded ore of an opportunity to play. The last couple of games – Georgia and here now against South Carolina – he’s been a positive addition coming off the bench, providing some scoring and different things our team needed.”

NOTES AND QUOTES

» On having an early bye week: “Certainly the bye week for us comes pretty early in the conference schedule having played three games. Hopefully we can utilize this time to get better and focus on ourselves early in the week and then get prepared to play LSU here at our place on Saturday.”

» On not turning the ball over as much on Saturday: “Our guys just made better decisions. We had a better awareness of taking care of the ball. For whatever reason why we didn’t do it earlier in the year, I don’t know, but we were certainly much more conscientious of that part on the offensive end of the floor. We were able to get more attempts up at the basket maybe on the road against South Carolina than some other teams because we had turned it over a little bit too much [in the other four road games]. That’s something we can move forward and get better at. Certainly we’ve worked on it in practice; I think it’s been a focus for us not only on the road but at home, making good decisions and taking care of the ball.”

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1/10: Florida-Georgia post-game news and notes

Posted by Adam Silverstein | Posted in Basketball | January 11, 2012
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The No. 19 Florida Gators opened their Southeastern Conference home schedule Tuesday with a rout of Georgia, providing head coach Billy Donovan with plenty of things to talk about when he met with the media following the game. Florida is next set to play South Carolina on the road Saturday at 7 p.m.

INTENSITY BETTER BUT NEEDS TO BE EVEN MORE CONSISTENT

Donovan admonished the Gators following their loss on the road last weekend for the team’s lack of intensity and aggression away from home. Though Florida showed a renewed effort in both of those areas Tuesday, UF’s game was at home and not nearly as difficult of a situation. The Gators held Georgia to a season-low 48 points, which undoubtedly pleased Donovan.

“We did a pretty good job defensively,” he said after the contest. “Our effort was really there for most of the game. This was probably the one game I was disappointed in our rebounding, especially in the second half. We gave up way too many offensive rebounds and loose basketballs. I was much more pleased with our effort on that end of the floor, our level of awareness, being sharp, focused. I thought we defended them very well and obviously we held them to 48 points. You hold any team to 48 points, and I think you’ve done a pretty good job defensively.”

However, Donovan was still upset with one aspect of the game – Florida not putting their foot on UGA’s collective throat when up by 25 points and instead allowing their opponent to reduce their deficit by nearly 50 percent.

“You’re up by 25 points, how do they get back in the game? Well, they get back in the game by making threes, they get back in the game by offensive rebounds, and they get back in the game by [your team] making really poor decisions and taking quick shots on offense,” he explained. “We did all three of those things in the second half. We took quick shots, we gave up offensive rebounds and we gave them threes, so the lead goes from 25 or 22 down to 13 or 14. We’ve just got to have a little bit better awareness of what is going on.”

Sophomore center Patric Young, who grabbed 10 boards and scored just eight points, thinks the Gators could have done even better. “I feel like we should’ve held them to under 30, I’m just saying, because if you take away the offensive rebounds and the open threes and the second-chance points, it’s a completely different game,” he said.

BEAL, ROSARIO GETTING BACK TO NORMAL

Freshman guard Bradley Beal, one of the top high school players in the country last year, has shown major flashes so far with Florida but has also been quite inconsistent, turning the ball over plenty and going on some rough stretches of not being able to find the bottom of the hoop. He broke out of that slump Tuesday, tying for a game-high with 17 points on 4-of-6 shooting from downtown with 10 rebounds.

“The last couple of [weeks] one of the things he has struggled with is a comfort level – what’s open and what’s available. I really felt like the last couple of days in practice he was starting to figure some things out offensively in terms of when he should be looking to shoot, when he should be looking to pass,” Donovan said about Beal’s improvement. “That’s been something that’s bogged him down a little bit because he’s so unselfish, but I think he had a much better feel and flow today offensively than he’s had in a few games.”

Also stepping up was redshirt junior G Mike Rosario, who Donovan said had two great days of practice on Sunday and Monday. Additionally, Rosario is feeling better after suffering through back and ankle injuries and even scored seven-straight points to launch the Gators on a 22-4 run in the first-half that put them ahead 20 points.

After the game, Rosario said it “felt great to go out there and just be able to compete again to my full ability” and knows that there is “a lot that I can bring to the table for the team.” He also praised Donovan for the impact he has had on him both as a player and a person.

“We embrace all of Coach D’s challenges. Every challenge he brings to the table, we embrace it because it’s a step to get better in life and also it’s a step to get more mature as a man,” he explained. “When you got to take on challenges and be responsible for your actions, it says a lot about you as a man. So that’s what Coach D really wants us to focus on – being responsible and being on edge.”

NOTES AND QUOTES

» Donovan on Florida playing better on the this Saturday: “Can we now flip that switch mentally and be able to take that [intensity and effort] to the road? That’s the challenge in trying to help those guys do that. It will be something we’ll focus on going into Columbia.”

» Young on the Gators needing to step it up on the road: “When you’re on the road you have to play twice as hard because any team at home doesn’t want to get beat on their own court. We didn’t come out with that same effort. We came out with that average attitude that we could just come out like it was any other game.”

» Donovan on redshirt freshman forward Cody Larson practicing better recently and getting more playing time: “I’ve been really happy with Cody. He’s really worked hard. His attitude has been great. He’s done a really nice job. He’s come every single day with a great attitude – just works and gets better. Even in the Tennessee game I put him in for a couple minutes to rest Patric. You know what? He’s getting better and I feel more comfortable with him.”

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1/5: Donovan, Boynton talk early start, road woes

Posted by Adam Silverstein | Posted in Basketball | January 5, 2012
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With No. 13/14 Florida Gators basketball days away from beginning their Southeastern Conference schedule with a road contest against the Tennessee Volunteers early Saturday afternoon, head coach Billy Donovan met with the media Thursday to discuss what preparations he is making for the squad’s next game.

TRYING TO GET THE TEAM HEALTHY

Injuries and illnesses have been piling up for Florida recently but Donovan is confident the Gators will be able to put them all in the back window soon. Redshirt freshman forward Cody LarsonCasey Prather (flu) have missed action recently due to being sick, and senior point guard Erving Walker and freshman G Bradley Beal have also caught a bug. However, all four are expected to be in action Saturday especially seeing as how Beal only missed one day of practice and Walker did not miss any.

During practice Thursday, junior F Erik Murphy got hit with an elbow by sophomore center Patric Young while the two were jostling for a rebound. Murphy had 3-4 stitches above his eyebrow, according to Donovan, and should be fine for the game. The only outstanding injury that Florida is keeping an eye on is redshirt junior G Mike Rosario’s ankle, which was recently twisted and caused him to miss the UAB game.

EARLY BIRD CATCHES THE WIN

Florida and Tennessee will meet Saturday with an 11 a.m. tip-off, an unusual time for a southeast college basketball game, but Donovan said he completely understands the scheduling and has no problem with it whatsoever.

“It’s just the price of having our league wanting to play on TV as much as it is. Everybody, whether it’s a 9 [p.m.] game somewhere whether it’s an 11 a.m. game, I think we all realize we’ve got to do things for the league and the exposure that ESPN is giving us,” he said. “I think that’s a part of it but, you know what, we’re playing at 11 a.m. and so are they, so we just have to make sure we are ready to play.”

Junior G Kenny Boynton is excited for the early start because he actually prefers it and thinks that the Gators are prepared for the change of pace. “Our team, we’ve been practicing early to get ready for this game, and we’re going to come out ready,” he said. “Usually one of the teams don’t come out ready since it’s an early game, but I think we need to be an enforcer.”

ROAD WOES NOT GETTING FLORIDA DOWN

Florida has lost all three of its true road games this season, a fact not lost on Donovan or his players. Obviously two of those contests were early in the season against teams ranked No. 3 in the nation at the time, but the Gators also dropped a tough double-overtime contest at Rutgers just last week. The common denominator between those losses? Turnovers – UF averaged 18 per game with a season-high 20 against Syracuse.

“I think that’s something that we got to do a better job at and will need to do a better job in Knoxville,” Donovan said. “I also think our ability to make really good decisions, and I don’t necessarily mean turning the ball over, but making good decision of when to shoot, when not to shoot, when to go inside – all of that stuff with our team being on the same page, I think that’s got to get better, too.”

Boynton is confident in Florida’s ability to win on the road and pointed to how well last year’s team played away from home once it hunkered down and practiced hard, which is what he said the Gators have been doing this week.

“We played some tough teams on the road, and we let Rutgers slip [by us], but we’ve seen the mistakes we did on the road against those three teams, and I think we’re going to do a good job playing against Tennessee,” he said.

NOTES AND QUOTES

» Donovan on Beal’s recent struggles: “There’s a different level of talent he’s dealing with right now. For him to go through what he went through last game and what he went through from Rutgers, he has to go through that in order to take the next step as a player, to understand the speed and pace of the game, to understand that he’s got to play out of his comfort zone a little bit in terms of the speed of the game. Him going through the process of coming from high school to college and how different it is, I just think there’s a real learning curve there for him, and I don’t think he’s different from any really talented freshman.”

» Donovan on Young developing offensively: “Patric’s gotten better. The biggest thing for him is a combination of our guys finding him in good spots on the floor and also him working to get to those spots on the floor. He’s been a lot more efficient offensively because when he has that good deep post position we’ve found him and we’ve gotten him the ball to him in the right areas of the floor. Where Patric is probably not as effective is when he catches it maybe a couple steps off the lane line and now all of a sudden the guys on the perimeter can really sink down and provide help as he works his way to the basket.”

» Boynton on Young’s aggressiveness in practice: “Whether it’s been a pick or a rebound, Pat’s hit everyone on this team.”

» Sophomore point guard Scottie Wilbekin on if he’s been tagged by Young yet: “No, he’s never got me. I stay out of his way.”

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Top 11 for 2011: Off the Field Stories of the Year

Posted by Adam Silverstein | Posted in Basketball, Football, Other | December 30, 2011
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For as much as the Florida Gators accomplished on the field in 2011 (check out Saturday’s post), the Gator Nation was making plenty of news off of it as well. From former players ending their accomplished careers to coaches and current players being part of some of the biggest news stories this year, Florida was spread all over the sports landscape in 2011. Below are OGGOA‘s Top 11 Off the Field Stories of the Year.

11 » LEGAL ISSUES/EMBARRASSMENTS HANG OVER PROGRAM
Like 2009 and 2010, Florida could not escape its share of unfortunate arrests and embarrassing incidents in 2011. It started simply enough early in February when a pair of Gators swimmers – Lily Ramirez and Daniela Victoria – were arrested and indefinitely suspended from the team after being accused of shoplifting from Nordstrom at the Orlando Mall. Next up was Florida senior outfielder Bryson Smith, who was picked up on March 13 for driving under the influence. Oakland Raiders wide receiver Louis Murphy was arrested in Gainesville, FL three weeks later and charged with a trio of misdemeanors for failing to obey a police officer, possession of a drug (Viagra) without a valid prescription and resisting arrest without violence. The month of April was a tough one for the basketball team. Forwards Erik Murphy and Cody Larson were arrested in St. Augustine, FL and charged with third-degree felony burglary charges after allegedly breaking into a car, and team manager Josh Adel was also arrested for principal to burglary for allegedly serving as a lookout. Charges against the players were eventually reduced and each settled their respective case, while Adel had all charges against him dropped. Additionally, former Florida F Dan Wener was charged with a DUI even though he blew below the legal limit (0.08) on the Breathalyzer twice. The State Attorney’s Office eventually dropped his charges due to insufficient evidence to sustain a conviction.

Unfortunately the year of brushes with the law was just getting started for the Gators. It surfaced on April 24 via a news report that both linebacker Chris Martin and defensive end Kendric Johnson were cited with misdemeanors for possessing approximately two grams of marijuana each in their respective vehicles on separate occasions. Former Florida WR Reche Caldwell was arrested one month later for possession of marijuana and driving with a suspended license. Gators runner Andries Dumisane Hlaselo had the darkest arrest of the year, being picked up in June after being accused of rape and sexual assault. He was immediately dismissed from the team. The Florida football team had the remainder of the year’s arrests. Sophomore safety Matt Elam was cited for underage drinking for the second time in as many years in July, and an August report noted that freshman defensive back De’Ante Saunders was cited for misdemeanor possession of marijuana in May. Redshirt sophomore linebacker Dee Finely was arrested on Sept. 13 on a first-degree misdemeanor for driving a scooter with a suspended license as well as a third-degree felony for resisting arrest without violence, and freshman cornerback Marcus Roberson was served with a written arrest for underage drinking just one day later. Sophomore defensive tackle Dominique Easley had the last brush with the law of 2011 as he was accused of attacking a former Alabama player early in October but was cleared of the charges one month later. All-in-all, for every positive thing accomplished by the Gators in 2011, there always seemed to be something negative about the program just around the corner.

10 » SIX BECOME A PART OF THE GATOR NATION IN THE SKY; THREE SUFFER SERIOUS MEDICAL ISSUES DURING THE YEAR
It would be difficult to recount everything that Gator Nation has gone through in 2011 without remembering those close to the University of Florida who left us for a better place or suffered through serious medical issues in the past year. Young and old, these Gators departed too soon or had plenty to deal with as the year went on. Jimmy Carnes (76), a former Gators track and field coach, passed away in March after losing a four-year battle with prostate cancer. Former linebacker/safety and three-time Super Bowl winner Godfrey Myles (42) suffered a massive heart attack in June and, while in the hospital on life support, had a stroke that took his life. Former punter and 12-year NFL veteran Don Chandler (76) also lost a long battle with cancer in August. Mike Heimerdinger (58), who was diagnosed with cancer early in the year, passed away in October. He was a former graduate assistant and wide receivers coach at Florida and won consecutive SEC titles with the team from 1984-85. Ending the year on a sad note, beloved Gainesville, FL businessman and former Gators long snapper Harold Monk III (42) died suddenly in December. OGGOA once again sends our deepest condolences to the families and friends of these men.

Florida freshman linebacker Neiron Ball was the first of three members of the Gators family to suffer serious health issues during the year. He was rushed to the hospital in February after a blood vessel in his brain ruptured as part of a congenital vascular condition. The doctors were able to stop the bleeding and Ball was released from the hospital four days later, but he was forced to miss the entire season for recovery purposes. In the middle of the year, Miami Heat guard/forward Mike Miller was lucky enough to have his wife give birth to a daughter named Jaylen. Unfortunately for the family, she was forced to spend two weeks in a pediatric intensive care unit after doctors found that she had five holes in her heart upon being born. The Millers eventually brought Jaylen home with them in a bit of a coincidence considering they actually donated $1 million to a pediatric intensive care unit at children’s hospital in his home town in 2007. Later that month, former Florida quarterback Danny Wuerffel was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre syndrome, which he is currently still recovering from and will continue to do so over the next few months.

Continue Reading » Top 11 for 2011: Off the Field Stories of the Year

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Florida’s post-game notes; Donovan talks absences, Florida State game

Posted by Adam Silverstein | Posted in Basketball | December 20, 2011
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With No. 11/12 Florida Gators basketball set to host the in-state rival Florida State Seminoles on Thursday, head coach Billy Donovan met with the media Tuesday to discuss what preparations he and the team are making for the squad’s next game.

INJURIES AND ABSENCES

Redshirt junior guard Mike Rosario (back) and redshirt freshman center Cody Larson (strep throat) both sat out Monday’s game against Mississippi Valley State, and Donovan was not too confident that either would return for Florida State calling them both “doubtful” in his post-game press conference. He expanded on that thought Tuesday:

“Right now he’s out today,” Donovan said of Rosario, whose preseason back injury flared up on him after the Texas A&M game. “He’s not going to practice today. If he can’t do anything tomorrow in practice, then I’m probably not going to play him. He’d have to at least show me some things that he can at least get back [into the flow].”

He also said that Larson will probably miss the game mostly due to his need to gain strength back after an illness. “Cody’s doing better. We’ll have to see what he does in practice,” Donovan said. “He’s lost a lot of weight. He’s going to be drained. I imagine conditioning is going to be a problem. Whether or not he can really provide anything for us, I think I’ll have a better feel tomorrow after practice.”

PLAYING ON THANKSGIVING WEEKEND

For the first time years the basketball game between Florida and Florida State is not being played on Thanksgiving weekend. This is something the Seminoles have recently changed their minds about, and Donovan gave some insight into why head coach Leonard Hamilton might feel like moving the game to another weekend is a better option.

“Leonard’s view is he wants that game to kind of stand on its own two legs by itself,” he said Tuesday. “I get that, and I understand it and certainly respect it, but I’ve also been in this state long enough [to know] that you get a lot of people traveling in for that game football and basketball wise. I always thought it was a great weekend.”

Donovan said that, despite this year’s game being scheduled in December, the Gators plan to play the game on Thanksgiving weekend when they host FSU in 2013 and 2015. However, he has no problem if Florida State does not do the same in 2012 and 2014.

“I’m just looking at the best environment for both teams,” he said. “There’s a great environment in Tallahassee when it’s the Friday before the football game; there’s a great environment here. I just think it’s a great time to play. Right now during these times you got students missing and things like that.”

Donovan added that his preference for that date is his own opinion and pointed to Lon Kruger and Pat Kennedy choosing to play the annual contest in Orlando, FL when they coached UF and FSU, respectively.

NOTES AND QUOTES

» On how Florida opened the game strong: “They showed a level of maturity. [...] I thought our focus, our energy and how they tried to play the game was really good.”

» On the Gators’ free throw shooting: “The last two games we’ve shot well from the free throw line. Those guys have focused on it; I think they realized they got to get better at it. [...] I certainly don’t think we’re a 59 percent free throw shooting team. We’re probably somewhere in the middle. They’ve focused on it and they’re getting better at it. That’s been encouraging.”

» On why Florida ran sprints before the second half: “These guys are all warmed up and they’re lathered up before the game starts, but the opposite happens in the second half. We’ve got to find a way to get them [going]. Some if it is their responsibility, too, to get themselves ready to go. I was disappointed the way we came back out the second half against [Texas] A&M, and I told the strength coach we need to get these guys moving around better.”

» On the leap that junior G Kenny Boynton has taken this year: “Because of the way we play, there’s a lot of freedom that I give our guys. Obviously I was a guard and there’s nothing worse than looking over your shoulder wanting to know if you’re coming in or out of a game because of a shot. So much of what we’re doing is predicated on concepts and spacing and positioning on the floor and different things are happening that these guys got to make reads. For Kenny, like anything else, when you first come to college you’re going to rely on what you’ve always relied on until you get enough experience under your belt to start to understand those things. For Kenny, he was pretty much just a three-point shooter as a freshman. Now he’s starting to pull up, he’s starting to get drives to the basket, he’s starting to make threes, he’s starting to understand shot selection and understand – more importantly – the length of time of a game.”

» On Florida State’s defense: “They’re disciplined. that’s the biggest thing they know what they’re doing. They got great length, great size. They have shot blocking at the basket, so a lot of times your numbers are going to be predicated on how well you do at the basket.”

» On why practice wasn’t “cancelled” on Tuesday: “I wouldn’t say practice is cancelled. The contact and the banging was probably a little bit cancelled right now. We obviously had a week of practice going into A&M; we had three really hard days going into that game. We had a real hard practice going into this game last night and played last night somewhat shorthanded with Mike and Cody being out. Right now more for us is more of a mental day of things we need to do mentally to get prepared to play on Thursday.”

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No. 11/12 Gators clobber Delta Devils 82-54

Posted by Adam Silverstein | Posted in Basketball | December 19, 2011
Comments » 3

It was clobbering time at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center in Gainesville, FL on Monday evening as the newly minted No. 11/12 Florida Gators (9-2) topped the Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils (1-9) 82-54.

Coming off an unexpectedly easy victory 84-64 against then-No. 22 Texas A&M on Saturday, Florida kept their focus in order to avoid a significant upset. The Gators responded to the challenge with all five starters scoring in double figures and combining to go 10-for-18 from downtown.

Florida opened the contest shooting as well as they have all season, hitting their first eight shots and 10-of-11 to take an early 21-4 lead. The Gators increased their advantage to 20 points minutes later when junior guard Kenny Boynton connected on his second triple and fourth basket of the game in under seven minutes.

After taking a 24-point lead just nine minutes into the game, Florida went on a bit of a scoring drought, allowing Mississippi Valley State to close their gap by five points in just over seven minutes. A trey by Boynton with 2:55 remaining gave the Gators their 24-point advantage back, one they would maintain through the end of the half.

Coming out of the break, Florida found their stroke again and stretched their lead to 34 thanks in part to four made three-pointers during a two-minute stretch early in the second half. Four free throws by senior point guard Erving Walker stretched the Gators’ advantage to a game-high 39 points with 10:25 remaining.

UF rested many of its starters (some of whom were in foul trouble) down the stretch and relented a bit on defense but still held on for the decisive victory. The Delta Devils were outscored 46-22 in the first half but just 36-32 in the final 20 minutes.

Walker led the way for the Gators with 19 points on 4-of-6 shooting (3-for-5 from downtown, 8-for-8 from the line) with three rebounds, three assists, two steals and three turnovers. Boynton scored 16 points to go along with four boards and four dimes.

Freshman G Bradley Beal was an efficient 3-for-4 from beyond the arc for 13 points with six rebounds, while sophomore center Patric Young added 12 points, eight boards and four assists. Junior forward Erik Murphy matched Young with eight rebounds and hit half of his shots for 11 points.

Freshman center Walter Pitchford and walk-on Jacob Kurtz each got a chance to play; Pitchford hit a layup while Kurtz connected on a pair of free throws. Neither redshirt junior G Mike Rosario (strained back) nor redshirt freshman F Cody Larson (strep throat) saw the court.

Florida outrebounded an opponent for the 10th time in 11 games this season, grabbing 13 more boards (41-28) than Mississippi Valley State. The Gators shot just a shade under 50 percent from downtown and connected on 10 treys, their ninth time hitting double-digit three-pointers this season.

The Delta Devils attempted 32 treys but hit just six of them, shooting a paltry 18.8 percent from downtown and 30.8 percent from the field.

UF will remain at home as they next host in-state rival Florida State on Thursday at 7 p.m. The game will air live nationally on ESPNU.

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11/23: Donovan on Young’s eye, Meyer’s decision

Posted by Adam Silverstein | Posted in Basketball | November 23, 2011
Comments » 5

With No. 9/10 Florida Gators basketball set to take on the Jacksonville Dolphins Friday evening in Gainesville, FL, head coach Billy Donovan met with the media Wednesday to discuss what preparations have been made for his team’s next non-conference home game.

YOUNG’s EYE NOT A BIG DEAL

Despite sophomore center Patric Young sporting a bruised eye with plenty of swelling after being poked in it during Monday’s game, Donovan said that his big man is fine, practiced in full all week and will be good to go on Friday. Young has a small tear sclera (white part) of his eye and will wear goggles during the game to prevent irritation and potential further injury. He has not had any blurred vision and did not have anything happen to his pupil or retina.

“You don’t know how important your body parts are until you can’t use them, especially your vision,” Young said Wednesday.

UNDERSTANDING URBAN MEYER’s TOUGH SPOT

As a two-time national championship winning coach, Donovan empathized with the situation that former Gators head coach Urban Meyer finds himself in. Donovan commented at length about Meyer and his potential decision to return to coaching.

“He loves football. He’s really evaluating what he wants to do as a coach. Sometimes people look at things maybe a little bit differently than what reality is sometimes. The biggest thing for him right now, that he’s trying to get his arms around, is when you get a chance to win a couple national championships, every coach wants to experience that. There is a perception created that it brings a level of worth and value to your life, and it really doesn’t. [...]

“You got to really enjoy the process of dealing with these guys each and every day. Sometimes there’s victories that nobody sees that you got to really look at in terms of helping these guys get better. What happened for Urban – and it happened to me too – is you look at it’s happened twice so why am I coaching? What is my purpose for coaching besides just winning? I don’t think your drive or desire diminishes as far as wanting that to happen, but it doesn’t necessarily make your life complete when it does happen. There are so many coaches out there chasing that, thinking that something is going to change, and when they get it I’m not so sure it does.

“For Urban, it’s that balance now for him of chasing championships, his family, his health, those things. ‘Can I balance all that? Can I make it all work? Can I do it in a way that I can feel good about myself, feel good about my family, feel good about myself as a coach?’ I think he’s evaluating those kind of things and then he’s got to figure out how he can go about enjoying the process.

“My guess would be – and this is not about Ohio State. Do I think he’ll go back and coach? Yeah, I think he will, but I think for himself he’s got to get himself to a place where he feels good about the other aspects of his life that he was missing out on or wasn’t as attentive to as he wanted to be or felt comfortable with himself internally that he was handling the right way. That’s what I think it’s all about for him.”

NOTES AND QUOTES

» On the good and bad things coming out of the Wright State game: “The way we have shot the ball has been good. We’re taking a lot of threes and we’re having a little bit of presence at the basket. [...] Rebounding continues to get better. We’ve done a good job on the glass. We’ve got to become more consistent defensively, guarding actions, screens and those kinds of things. We’re not giving up a great percentage statistically, and we look pretty good defensively, but I’m looking at some of the shots that we’re giving up. As we play better and better teams, those are shots that are probably going to be made.”

» On being pleased that the guards are getting plenty of rebounds due to effort and recognition of the importance of giving the team chances to score: “We’ve certainly had a size advantage the last three games we’ve played, but our guards are trying to get in there. That’s something that we can embrace and have to understand. That’s a commitment and mindset each and every game we play. We’ve at least proven that with a good level of focus on that, we should be able to hold our own.”

» On playing redshirt freshman forward Cody Larson more: “The hardest thing for a guy coming off the bench is, ‘When am I going in?’ We’ve got a little bit of that with our bench right now. There’s not a flow of them knowing when they’re coming in. [...] We’ve got to get Cody in the rotation and get him in a position where he’s giving us some more depth across our frontline. I do trust him out there, but I just got to get him in a better rotation right now.”

» On how he statistically evaluates defense: “It’s pretty clear when [Mike] Rosario’s guarding a guy and a guy goes right by him. There is no chart for that.”

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