Now two months into the 2012-13 NBA regular season, there are 10 former Florida Gators basketball players spread over nine teams.

A total of 10 players participated in the second month action, many of whom had an impact on their respective team’s performances.

For the first time, OGGOA will be checking and re-checking the box scores month-by-month to bring you a summary of what all of these Gators accomplish throughout the entire 2012-13 regular season.

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
F/C DAVID LEE, Golden State Warriors: GP/GS (16/16), MIN (37.9), PPG (22.6), RPG (11.3), APG (3.4), SPG (0.8), BPG (0.3), TPG (2.6), FPG (3.0), A/TO (1.3)
» Shooting: FG% (.575), 3P% (.000), FT% (.859)
» Highlights: Third career triple-double (23 points, 11 rebounds, [career-high] 11 assists) vs. Charlotte on Dec. 21; 11 double-doubles (seven-straight, ten 20-10 games); 30 points, 15 rebounds vs. Brooklyn on Dec. 7
» Awards: Western Conference Player of the Week (Dec. 10-16); nominee for Western Conference Player of the Month

Check out how the rest of the Florida Gators in the NBA played this month…
Continue Reading » Former Florida Gators in the NBA: Dec. 2012

Tags: Al Horford, Bradley Beal, Chandler Parsons, Corey Brewer, David Lee, Joakim Noah, Marreese Speights, Matt Bonner, Mike Miller, NBA, Udonis Haslem

Five of the six former Florida Gators basketball players that participated in NBA games on Friday put together incredibly strong performances with Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah’s historic evening undoubtedly leading the way.

Noah, playing a team-high 43 minutes, went 12-for-19 from the field and 6-for-7 from the charity stripe to lead the Bulls with career-highs of 30 points and 23 rebounds for his fourth double-double in the last five games. He became just the sixth player since 1985 to hit those scoring and rebounding marks while dishing six assists in a single game.

Noah also added two blocks and two steals to his total as he put together the single best all-around game of his career.

By the time the night was over, he was one of three former Gators to post double-doubles and one of five to score double digits on the evening.

CLICK TO EXPAND and read the rest of this post.

Tags: Al Horford, Atlanta Hawks, Bradley Beal, Chandler Parsons, Chicago Bulls, Corey Brewer, David Lee, Denver Nuggets, Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, Joakim Noah, NBA, Washington Wizards

Now one month into the 2012-13 NBA regular season, there are 10 former Florida Gators basketball players spread over nine teams.

A total of 10 players participated in the first month action, many of whom had an impact on their respective team’s performances.

For the first time, OGGOA will be checking and re-checking the box scores month-by-month to bring you a summary of what all of these Gators accomplish throughout the entire 2012-13 regular season.

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
F/C DAVID LEE, Golden State Warriors: GP/GS (14/14), MIN (37.2), PPG (18.2), RPG (10.9), APG (3.9), SPG (1.1), BPG (0.1), TPG (2.7), FPG (3.5), A/TO (1.1)
» Shooting: FG% (.522), 3P% (.000), FT% (.750)
» Highlights: Eight double-doubles (three 20-10) in 14 games; 31 points, nine rebounds, six assists vs. Denver on Nov. 29; 17 points, 19 rebounds at Dallas on Nov. 19

Check out how the rest of the Florida Gators in the NBA played this month…
Continue Reading » Former Florida Gators in the NBA: Nov. 2012

Tags: Al Horford, Bradley Beal, Chandler Parsons, Corey Brewer, David Lee, Joakim Noah, Marreese Speights, Matt Bonner, Mike Miller, NBA, Udonis Haslem

1 » Former Florida Gators wide receiver Jabar Gaffney, an 11-year NFL veteran who was cut by the New England Patriots during the preseason, signed with the Miami Dolphins on Tuesday and officially joined his fifth professional franchise. Gaffney has only missed five regular season games while employed (all in 2006) and is the type of durable, veteran presence that Miami has desperately needed. He is also coming off the best two years production-wise. Gaffney set career-highs with 65 receptions for 875 yards with Denver in 2010 and eclipsed those numbers with 68 receptions for 947 yards (and a career-high-tying five touchdowns) with Washington last season.

2 » Pittsburgh Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey (and some of his teammates) made their acting debuts this year by making cameos as football players during the acclaimed film “The Dark Knight Rises.” As it turns out, Denver Nuggets guard/forward Corey Brewer will also be featured in a movie though his is set to be released on Jan. 25, 2013. In a new trailer for the ensemble comedy “Movie 43” released by Comedy Central, Brewer is shown as a basketball player being coached up by Terrence Howard. The film – which features a start-studded cast including names like Hugh Jackman, Gerard Butler, Richard Gere, Uma Thurman and Kate Winslet (along with some well-known comedy stars) – will undoubtedly receive at least an R rating for language, nudity, sexual situations, etc. The “red band” trailer below, which features a line from Brewer, contains adult content and explicit language. (Hat tip to John B.)

3 » It appears as if Florida has added a second competitor from the 2012 London Olympics to its coaching staffs as former Gators steeplechaser Genevieve LaCaze announced on Twitter that she has signed up to be a volunteer coach with the track & field program. LaCaze, who raced for Australia but did not medal in the Olympics, joins British swimmer and world record holder Gemma Spofforth, who was announced as a volunteer assistant by Florida last week. Spofforth, who graduated in 2010, competed in two Olympics and is now retired from the sport. LaCaze graduated this past spring and is planning to make a go of it for the 2016 Rio Olympics.

4 » ESPNU on Tuesday aired a special All Access program that took a look at the Gators football team as it worked through its bye last week. If you missed the show, ESPN informed OGGOA that it will re-air twice more this week on Oct. 5 at 4:30 p.m. and Oct. 7 at 6:30 a.m. Though the program did not provide much in the way of new information (similar clips have been featured in previous ESPN specials), it was an interesting look behind the scenes this season.

Tags: Corey Brewer, Denver Nuggets, field, Gemma Spofforth, Genevieve LaCaze, Jabar Gaffney, Miami Dolphins, NBA, New England Patriots, NFL, Olympics, Pittsburgh Steelers, swimming, track

Three of the seven former Florida Gators players participating in the 2012 NBA Playoffs made national news on Thursday night for completely different reasons.

Denver Nuggets forward Corey Brewer got to experience major success while Atlanta Hawks forward/center Al Horford felt the agony of defeat and Chicago Bulls C Joakim Noah was forced to sit idly by while dealing with an ankle injury.

Coming off the bench for Denver, Brewer was extremely efficient, starting 8-of-9 (and finishing 8-of-12) from the field (2-of-3 from downtown) for 18 points with three rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block in 19 minutes.

He scored 11-straight points to begin the fourth quarter and extended his team’s lead to a game-high 18 points, helping lead the Nuggets to an important 113-96 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers that forced a seventh game in their first-round series.

Horford played in his third (and started his second-straight) game since coming back from rehabbing a torn pectoral, continuing to be an effective player for Atlanta. Though he did not see much action offensively in the first three quarers, Horford went 6-of-9 from the floor for 15 points with nine rebounds, four assists, a steal and a block. Unfortunately his performance not without some negatives for the Hawks. He turned the ball over a game- and career-high seven times and had an opportunity to tie the game from the free throw line with two seconds left but only made one-of-two attempts.

Tough way to lose. But I’m proud of the team and how different guys step up at different times all season long. Just came up short…

— Al Horford (@Al_Horford) May 11, 2012

After seriously spraining his ankle in Game 3, Noah found himself on the bench for Game 4 and 5, helpless as Chicago fell behind 3-2 in their opening-round series against Philadelphia. He hoped to get back on the court for Game 6 and even participated in layup drills prior to the contest but was unable to go once again and watched the Bulls drop yet another game.

Both Horford and Noah’s teams were eliminated from the playoffs in a pair of nail-biters with Atlanta falling 83-80 to Boston and Chicago losing 79-78 to Philadelphia. Florida began the postseason with seven former players in uniform, tied for the most of any school (Kansas); five players remain in action following Thursday’s games.

Tags: Al Horford, Atlanta Hawks, Chicago Bulls, Corey Brewer, Denver Nuggets, Joakim Noah, NBA, Playoffs

1 » Florida Gators lacrosse continues to make history as, in just the third season of the program’s existence, it was announced Sunday that the team received the No. 1 overall seed in the 2012 NCAA Tournament. Florida, which won the ALC regular season title for the second-straight year and captured the first ALC Tournament Championship in team history on Saturday, is on a 13-match winning streak heading into the tournament. The Gators will receive a tremendous homefield advantage in the first two rounds (should they advance) before being forced to travel to Stony Brook, NY for the Final Four. Florida is looking to become the fastest program in the sport’s history to go from inception to national title but has a long road ahead of them beginning on Saturday, May 12 at 1 p.m. against Albany at Donald R. Dizney Stadium in Gainesville, FL.

2 » Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah was knocked out of Game 3 of his team’s first-round series against Philadelphia after severely spraining his ankle midway through the contest. Noah did his best to continue playing but was badly limping and eventually headed back to the locker room where he was told he would be unable to return to the court. He sat on the bench in a suit and air cast during Game 4 on Sunday and is also expected to miss Game 5 (as well as the remainder of the series should it advance past that point). Noah’s injury is a tough blow for a Chicago team already without point guard Derrick Rose. The top seed in the Eastern Conference, the Bulls may wind up eliminated in the first round while playing without their two biggest stars.

Click to expand and read two more BITS in this post.

Tags: Al Horford, ALC, ALC Championship, ALC Tournament, Atlanta Hawks, Chicago Bulls, Corey Brewer, Denver Nuggets, Dizney Stadium, Joakim Noah, lacrosse, NBA, NCAA, NCAA Tournament, Playoffs

With the regular season wrapping up last week and the 2012 NBA Playoffs already in full swing, seven (six healthy) Florida Gators are currently representing their squads as they compete for the opportunity to appear in the NBA Finals.

EASTERN CONFERENCE:

(1) Chicago Bulls
No. 13 C Joakim Noah
Season: 5th
Averages: 30.4 mins., 10.2 pts., 9.8 rebs., 2.5 asst., 1.4 blk., .508 FG%, .748 FT%

(2) Miami Heat
No. 13 SG Mike Miller
Season: 12th
Averages: 19.3 mins., 6.1 pts., 3.3 rebs., 1.1 asst., .435 FG%, .453 3P%, .400 FT%

No. 40 PF Udonis Haslem
Season: 9th
Averages: 24.8 mins., 6.0 pts., 7.3 rebs., 0.7 asst., 0.4 blk., .423 FG%, .814 FT%

* Atlanta’s Al Horford has missed most of the season with a torn pectoral. Though he was expected to be back for the first round of the playoffs, he has been pushed back to at least the second round should his team make it to that point with a first-round victory. He is not currently listed as active for the playoffs.

WESTERN CONFERENCE:

(1) San Antonio Spurs
No. 15 F Matt Bonner
Season: 8th
Averages: 20.4 mins., 6.6 pts., 3.2 rebs., 0.9 asst., .440 FG%, .420 3P%, .762 FT%

(4) Memphis Grizzlies
No. 5 C Marreese Speights
Season: 4th
Averages: 22.4 mins., 8.8 pts., 6.2 rebs., 0.8 asst., 0.5 blk., .453 FG%, .771 FT%

(6) Denver Nuggets
No. 13 SF Corey Brewer
Season: 5th
Averages: 21.8 mins., 8.9 pts., 2.5 rebs., 1.2 stl., 434 FG%, .260 3P%, .692 FT%

Playoff teams without Gators on their rosters: (3) Indiana, (4) Boston, (6) Orlando, (7) New York, (8) Philadelphia, (2) Oklahoma City, (3) Los Angeles Lakers, (5) Los Angeles Clippers, (7) Dallas, (8) Utah

Tags: Al Horford, Atlanta Hawks, Chicago Bulls, Corey Brewer, Joakim Noah, Marreese Speights, Matt Bonner, Miami Heat, Mike Miller, NBA, Playoffs, San Antonio Spurs, Udonis Haslem

1 » Former Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow was named Wednesday to TIME Magazine’s 2012 list of The 100 Most Influential People in the World. Tebow can be found among names like President Barack Obama, Warren Buffett, Louis CK and New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin, who penned a few paragraphs on Tebow.

Watching Tim Tebow play football, you can observe many things about his character. You see his fierce competitiveness, his strong work ethic and how he is a leader that his teammates trust and respect.

But it is the qualities that Tim, 24, embodies in his life off the field that truly set him apart. He is unashamed of his convictions and faith, and he lives a life that consistently reflects his values, day in and day out. Through his foundation, he constantly reaches out to people and communities in need of hope. He realizes what he has been blessed with and seeks to help those who are worse off. As athletes, we pour our hearts into winning games. Tim is a reminder that life is about much more than that.

2 » Denying reports that he continued smoking marijuana after being dismissed by Florida, cornerback Janoris Jenkins is emphatic that he has turned the corner in both his life and career. “I wasn’t smoking marijuana at North Alabama,” he told Scout.com’s Aaron Wilson. “If anybody wants to know, they can give my coaches a call. I wasn’t partying. They’ve been saying a lot of things about me that aren’t true without getting my side of the story. It’s been a humbling experience. You’ve got to be a man; you’ve got to be honest and straightforward. I’ve matured. My past is my past. People can judge me for how far I’ve come. I want to know why all of a sudden this is out there about me. Why didn’t it come out after the combine when I was straightforward with the scouts? The timing is very interesting to me.”

Continue Reading » SIX BITS: Tebow, Jenkins, Brewer, Thomas

Tags: Corey Brewer, Denver Broncos, Denver Nuggets, Draft, Janoris Jenkins, Jeremy Lin, Marcus Thomas, Miami Heat, Mike Miller, NBA, New York Jets, New York Knicks, NFL, Tim Tebow, Udonis Haslem