1 » Florida Gators five-star guard signee Brad Beal (St. Louis, MO) withdrew from the training camp for the 2011 USA Men’s U19 World Championship Team, the organization announced on Monday. Beal, along with sophomore center Patric Young, was previously planning on trying out for the team that will represent the USA at the 2011 FIBA U19 World Championship in Latvia. Instead he has decided to get acclimated with college life in Gainesville, FL. “I just wanted to go to school so I could get used to campus, get used to being in college,” he told the Orlando Sentinel. Beal’s departure from the camp comes at the same time that sophomore point guard Scottie Wilbekin was given an invitation to join it; he will do so on June 17 alongside Young.

2 » Jacksonville Jaguars general manager Gene Smith told his team’s website over the weekend that he is very discouraged with the progress of their first-round selection from the 2008 NFL Draft, No. 8 overall pick defensive end Derrick Harvey. “He’s still young,” Smith said. “He was a high draft choice and he has had a lot of starts for us. He’s still young. You hope at some point he’s going to be able to make a move. He did not make that last year during the season. We had some guys earn the opportunity to play over him.” Harvey has been properly labeled a “bust” up until this point and only notched 2.5 sacks in 2010 as a backup.

3 » Gators sophomore catcher Mike Zunino has been named one of three finalists for the 2011 Johnny Bench Award, given annually to college baseball’s top catcher. It is voted on by a panel consisting of media members, coaches and professional scouts and announced during the College World Series. Zunino is hitting .371 on the season with 16 home runs, 62 RBI, 86 hits, 68 runs scored, 28 walks and 155 total bases. He is also slugging .668, gets on base at a .442 rate and is fielding his position at a .996 clip.

4 » Trying to make some money on Florida football’s off-the-field problems, BetUS has placed odds on whether or not legal issues will arise for the Gators this year. The two lines available to wager on – total team arrests in 2011 (10/13 odds for Over 2, 10/11 odds for Under 2) and the severity of the next arrest (5/9 misdemeanor, 7/5 felony) – are just some of the interesting prop bets available on the site. As pointed out by the Sentinel’s Rachel George, you can also wager on which school will be the next to commit a NCAA violation and which sport that violation will be attributed to (among others).

Tags: baseball, Brad Beal, Derrick Harvy, Draft, FIBA, FIBA World Championship, Jacksonville Jaguars, Johnny Bench Award, Mike Zunino, NFL, Patric Young, Scottie Wilbekin, USA Basketball

1 » No. 3 Florida Gators softball (47-9, 21-7 SEC) was shocked Thursday as they were upset 6-2 by the Auburn Tigers (39-16, 15-13 SEC) in the first round of the 2011 Southeastern Conference Tournament. The No. 2 seed going into the event, Florida fell behind 3-0 in the first inning before cutting the lead to 3-1 on a RBI single by senior catcher Tiffany DeFelice (1-2, RBI) in the bottom of the fourth. No. 7-seed Auburn responded immediately, scoring three runs in the next frame to jump ahead 6-1 and hold on for the victory. Senior right-handed pitcher Stephanie Brombacher (17-2) got the start but was pulled after giving up three runs (one earned) in the first inning. Freshman RHP Hannah Rogers came on for the final six innings and struck out three while similarly giving up three runs (one earned). UF committed three errors on the day.

2 » Atlanta Hawks center Al Horford, currently fighting to stay alive against the Chicago Bulls in the 2011 NBA Playoffs, was named to the All-NBA Third Team on Thursday. It is Horford’s first career All-NBA selection and the first ever for a former Gators basketball player.

3 » Former Florida cornerback Janoris Jenkins has had a not guilty plea submitted by his attorney on his behalf for his most recent charge of misdemeanor possession of marijuana. Attorney Huntley Johnson, who spoke with The Gainesville Sun about the plea, also said that Jenkins will likely transfer to either North Alabama or Valdosta State to play football next season. A report Wednesday stated that Jenkins to North Alabama was a done deal; however, it appears that Jenkins is at least still considering his options.

4 » Seventeen of the top young basketball players in the nation were invited to attend the 2011 USA Basketball Men’s U19 World Championship training camp held June 17-24 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, CO. Two of those 17 players selected Thursday are Gators freshman center Patric Young and 2011 signee guard Brad Beal; each accepted his respective invitation. Twelve of the 17 invitees will be picked for the team. Young and Beal each have a great chance of being selected at the end of the camp. “I know Patric and Brad are both excited about this invitation,” Florida head coach Billy Donovan said in a team-released statement. “It’s a unique opportunity for a player, so it’s an honor for them to be a part of this group.” The 2011 FIBA U19 World Championship will be held June 30 to July 10 in Latvia. The United States is in Group D with China, Egypt and Serbia.

Tags: Al Horford, All-NBA, Atlanta Hawks, Auburn Tigers, Billy Donovan, Brad Beal, Chicago Bulls, FIBA, FIBA World Championship, Hannah Rogers, Janoris Jenkins, NBA, Patric Young, Playoffs, SEC, SEC Tournament, softball, Stephanie Brombacher, Tiffany DeFelice, USA Basketball

1 » Held out of action with the Oakland Raiders over the weekend, former Florida Gators wide receiver Louis Murphy continues to struggle to recover from a concussion he suffered during camp on Friday when he got kneed in the helmet by Pro Bowl cornerback Nnamdi Asomugah. He complained of a bad headache Sunday and showcased some other symptoms, leading the training staff to decide that it was best to hold him out of workouts. Murphy remains out of action and is now having trouble with sunlight, according to the San Francisco Chronicle‘s Vittorio Tafur. Head coach Tom Cable told the Associated Press that Murphy will be sitting until he passes a series of tests…something that looks to be at least a few days away.

2 » After tweaking his ankle earlier in the day, former Gators WR Percy Harvin returned to Minnesota Vikings practice on Saturday without a noticeable limp. Unfortunately, Harvin missed practice Sunday and will be absent Monday as well after learning of a death in his family. OGGOA‘s thoughts go out to Harvin during this difficult time.

3 » Florida juniors cornerback Janoris Jenkins and safety Will Hill were named to the 2010 Jim Thorpe Award preseason watch list on Monday – two of only 35 of the nation’s best defensive backs to be selected. Conspicuous by his absence once again is senior safety Ahmad Black. There is a long way to go and plenty of players will be added and removed to this list as the season progresses.

Three more BITS on Reggie Nelson, Brad Beal and Joe Haden…after the break!
Continue Reading » SIX BITS: Murphy, Harvin, Jenkins, Hill, Nelson

Tags: Ahmad Black, Billy Donovan, Brad Beal, Cleveland Browns, FIBA, Jack Del Rio, Jacksonville Jaguars, Janoris Jenkins, Jim Thorpe Award, Joe Haden, Louis Murphy, Minnesota Vikings, NFL, Nnamdi Asomugah, Oakland Raiders, Percy Harvin, Pro Bowl, Reggie Nelson, Rob Lanier, Tom Cable, Will Hill

Before he started his senior year of high school or prepared to join the Florida Gators in Gainesville, FL, as the team’s highest rated commitment since guard Nick Calathes, five-star 2011 recruit Brad Beal (St. Louis, MO) decided to represent his country by accepting a nomination to USA Basketball’s U-17 Men’s National Team in order to compete in the 2010 FIBA U17 World Championship for Men in Germany.

With his team taking home the Gold Medal on Sunday by easily defeating Poland 111-80, Beal completed a stellar stretch in which he was his country’s most consistent player. For that, he was named Most Valuable Player of the tournament with 18.3 points per game and 47.7 percent shooting from downtown (31-of-65). Here are his individual statistics from the event:

Friday, July 2 – 82-70 win vs. Argentina
Beal: 11 points, 4-11 FG, 2-5 3-PT, 4 REB, 3 AST, 4 BLK, 3 STL [35 minutes]
Saturday, July 3 – 102-66 win vs. Lithuania
Beal: 16 points (team-high), 6-10 FG, 2-6 3-PT, 3 AST, 3 STL [24 minutes]
Monday, July 5 – 113-73 win vs. China
Beal: 20 points, 5-12 FG, 5-11 3-PT, 4 REB, 5 AST, 2 STL [22 minutes]
Tuesday, July 6 – 132-64 win vs. Egypt
Beal: 18 points (team-high), 6-10 FG, 4-7 3-PT, 3 REB, 2 AST, 2 BLK [17 minutes]
Wednesday, July 7 – 112-75 win vs. Serbia
Beal: 20 points (team-high), 8-14 FG, 2-7 3-PT, 3 REB, 2 STL [25 minutes]
Friday, July 9 – 105-70 win vs. Australia
Beal: 25 points (team-high), 8-13 FG, 7-9 3-PT, 3 REB [22 minutes]
Saturday, July 10 – 103-80 win vs. Canada
Beal: 17 points, 6-14 FG, 4-11 3-PT, 4 REB, 2 AST, 2 BLK, 5 STL [32 minutes]
Sunday, July 11 – 111-80 win vs. Poland
Beal: 19 points, 7-13 FG, 5-9 3-PT, 5 REB [31 minutes]

Joining Beal on the FIBA All-Tournament Five was five-star power forward James McAdoo, a heralded recruit and North Carolina commit.

Florida head coach Billy Donovan was in attendance for the final few games of the international competition, hoping to seal the deal on Beal’s commitment while scouting five-star small forward Adonis Thomas (Memphis, TN) and four-star PF Johnny O’Bryant (Cleveland, MS).

Photo Credits: FIBA

Tags: Adonis Thomas, All-Tournament Five, Billy Donovan, Brad Beal, FIBA, FIBA World Championship, James McAdoo, Johnny O'Bryant, Nick Calathes, USA, USA Basketball

Florida Gators head coach Billy Donovan, who is on his way to Germany to watch five-star 2011 guard commitment Brad Beal (St. Louis, MO) and other top recruits compete with the USA Basketball Men’s U-17 National Team in the 2010 FIBA U17 World Championship for Men, spoke with ESPN’s Andy Katz about the team’s return to respectability and his excitement over the latest batch of incoming recruits.

“If [senior forward] Chandler Parsons‘ 75-foot shot at NC State doesn’t go in or we’re one of the four teams that misses the NCAA tournament and we’ve been out for three years in a row, then maybe we’re having a different conversation,” Donovan told Katz earlier in the week. “If we didn’t get into the tournament, there would be a different feeling right now. But we did, and I told our team that we’ve got to maximize that.

“But our goals have to be bigger than that. It’s easy for everyone to feel good with five starters back since no one else does in the SEC, but we can’t fall into the trap about the outside perception. We’re not as good as people think or not as bad.”

Donovan also raved about four-star power forward Patric Young (Jacksonville, FL).

“We’ve got a chance to be really good going forward,” he added. “What we’re getting with Patric is a player with an excellent motor. He’s got a high energy level and plenty of humility. He wants to earn everyone’s respect. This is a different challenge, and he’s setting the right mentality.”

Other notes from Katz’s story:

- The Gators are also taking a strong look at other 2011 recruits participating in the international competition including five-star small forward Adonis Thomas (Memphis, TN) and four-star power forward Johnny O’Bryant (Cleveland, MS).
- Donovan’s itinerary included stops at the adidas camp in Indianapolis, IN, and the King City Classic on Thursday in Cleveland, OH, before he heads to Germany.
- Young realizes that his experience with USA Basketball, while fun, does not equal the challenge of playing against top NCAA competition.
- Joining Donovan in Germany – among others – are Kentucky’s John Calipari and Tennessee’s Bruce Pearl. “You can see how your guys stack up against international competition, [and] you can watch a much wider range of players at events like that, more so than going from one AAU event to another.”

OGGOA will be reporting on Beal’s journey after competition concludes.

Photo Credit: Wiley Price/The St. Louis American

Tags: Adonis Thomas, Billy Donovan, Brad Beal, Bruce Pearl, FIBA, FIBA World Championship, John Calipari, Johnny O’Bryant, Patric Young, USA, USA Basketball

1 » Competing with the USA Basketball Men’s U-18 National Team in the 2010 FIBA Americas U18 Championship for Men, Florida Gators four-star power forward commitment Patric Young (Jacksonville, FL) already wow’ed his coaches and is now impressing his opponents, too. Below are his stat lines thus far:

- June 26 vs. Virgin Islands – 5/7 for 11 points, nine rebounds in 10 minutes
- June 27 vs. Mexico – 2/4 for four points, eight rebounds, two blocks in 20 minutes
- June 28 vs. Argentina – 4/5 for 11 points, five rebounds in 16 minutes
- June 29 vs. Canada – 1/2 for two points, one rebound, one block in 10 minutes

Young will join his team in the tournament gold medal game on Wednesday at Bill Greehey Arena in San Antoinio, TX, against Brazil. Also of note is former Gators five-star guard commit Austin Rivers (Winter Park, FL), who set a FIBA record with nine consecutive three-pointers in the USA’s defeat of Canada. Rivers went 3/6 from the field and 9/12 from beyond the arc while posting a tournament-high 35 points.

2 » Almost immediately after committing to Florida, there were rumors that four-star defensive end Jeoffrey Pagan (Asheville, NC) may change his mind. The Gators’ second-best 2011 recruit overall behind quarterback Jeff Driskel (Oviedo, FL), Pagan committed back in April, telling Rivals that head coach Urban Meyer “stood up, did a little dance and gave me a hug” when he accepted the scholarship offer. “I decided that I definitely wanted to lock in my spot with the Gators and be part of this team,” he said in April. “I think I’m firm [with my decision]. I don’t plan on taking any more visits or seeing anywhere else. I’m sure people say it all the time, but this feels like home. Florida makes me feel like I am at home.” Now Pagan calls himself “about 50 percent on Florida, but the commitment is still there. It’s strong,” adding that he will “announce whether I’m going to Florida or look elsewhere before the season starts” on Aug. 27.

3 » Florida Today caught up with Florida redshirt senior offensive lineman Marcus Gilbert and picked his brain about a few topics including what happened at the end of last season. “We had guys thinking they were better than they were and weren’t playing up to their potential,” Gilbert said. “We’ve got this saying, ‘No primos and no rock stars. Go out and do your job.’ Everybody is going to work the same amount, and there aren’t going to be any superstars on the team. I think everybody – especially after watching that SEC game in Atlanta – everybody has fire and desire to handle things in a different way because my feeling is, I didn’t think we were that ready. We had a good game plan in and we had the players to beat Alabama, but we weren’t ready to go out there and get the job done because I guess we had been there before. That’s what it seemed like to me. We weren’t as focused. That week of practice wasn’t as it usually had been. It was different.” As for this year? “It’s our time. It’s our team,” he said. “That’s what [the seniors] go by. So anything that goes on, they say this is your team; you have to make the decision; you have to be the leaders; you have to step up. It’s our responsibility. I think we have the guys still who can do the same thing — get back there — because we have a talented group coming back. I think we can be better.”

4 » Former Gators defensive end Thaddeus Bullard‘s (ring name Titus O’Neil) mission to become World Wrestling Entertainment’s next breakout star ended on Tuesday as he was eliminated from the WWE NXT television program. O’Neil, whose background as a football player and master’s degree recipient from the University of Florida was played up heavily by the producers/announcers, did a Gator Chomp when at the top of the entrance rap and was quite powerful in the ring. However, as some might agree, he was one of the least dynamic personalities on the show and was scripted to both lose matches and make mistakes throughout his short time on WWE television.

Photo Credit: Asheville Citizen-Times

Tags: Austin Rivers, FIBA, FIBA Americas Championship, Gator Chomp, Greenhey Arena, Jeff Driskel, Jeoffrey Pagan, Marcus Gilbert, NXT, Patric Young, Thaddeus Bullard, Titus O’Neil, Urban Meyer, USA, USA Basketball, WWE

1 » Florida Gators four-star power forward commitment Patric Young (Jacksonville, FL) is drawing rave reviews from coaches and fellow players as he works with the USA Basketball Men’s U-18 National Team in preparation for the 2010 FIBA Americas U18 Championship for Men from June 26-30. “He’s playing really, really well,” team assistant and Georgia Tech head coach Paul Hewitt told ESPN‘s Andy Katz earlier this week. “He’s making plays, rebounding and running the floor well. Offensively, he’s looking good. He gives tremendous effort every time – great effort –and he’ll help Florida even if he doesn’t score a ton of buckets. He’s going to help them. He’ll defend, set screens and do all those things without scoring points.”

2 » After a career including 13 NCAA Tournament berths coming as a player, graduate assistant and coach, Gators women’s basketball assistant Susie Gardner is expected to be named the head coach of the Mercer Bears at a 3 p.m. press conference Thursday. Gardner, who has spent the last three seasons with Florida, has been in the Southeastern Conference for 13 years of her 24-year coaching career including stints as head coach at Arkansas and as an assistant and player at Georgia.

3 » With the statues of former Gators quarterback and Heisman Trophy winners Tim Tebow, Danny Wuerffel and Steve Spurrier going up outside of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium next year, fans have been asking one relatively interesting question: Will Tebow’s statue feature a signature eye black message? The Gainesville Sun attempted to get this question definitively answered but found a non-committal response instead. The statue’s artist, W. Stanley “Sandy” Proctor, has already completed Tebow’s statue – which includes blank eye black. However, his business manager said that he would be happy to add a message if the University of Florida requested it. Associate athletics director Chip Howard was a bit more clear, saying he was “not sure if [a message] will show up well so you can read [it], but we continue to work on the statue […] to make [it] as real as possible.”

4 » Five-star offensive lineman Seantrel Henderson (Minneapolis, MN), the top recruit in the country in 2010 who committed to the USC Trojans on National Signing Day, is apparently mulling his future with the team, according to reports. Henderson, who chose USC over Miami, Ohio State, Florida and Minnesota, was allegedly promised by Kiffin that the Trojans would not suffer any major sanctions from the NCAA. USC coaches (including Kiffin) flew out in a private jet to visit Henderson last week with hopes to keep his commitment, but he recently told the St. Paul Pioneer Press that he didn’t “want to talk about that,” when asked whether or not he was remaining with the program.

Tags: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Danny Wuerffel, FIBA, FIBA Americas Championship, Heisman Trophy, Mercer Bears, National Signing Day, Patric Young, Paul Hewitt, Sandy Proctor, Seantrel Henderson, SEC, Steve Spurrier, Susie Gardner, Tim Tebow, University of Florida, USA, USA Basketball, USC Trojans, women's basketball

1 » USA Basketball has released a profile piece on Florida Gators four-star power forward commitment Patric Young (Jacksonville, FL) completed as he joined the Men’s U-18 National Team for the 2010 FIBA Americas U18 Championship for Men from June 26-40. Among the topics covered, Young says that Oklahoma coach Jeff Capel is working him and the rest of the team hard, the experience will do him well for his freshman year at Florida, he has plans to study sports medicine, his family is huge Gators fans and he wants to do what he can to help end the genocide in Darfur, Sudan. “My parents put [giving back] into my head, I grew up with my own morals that I learned from them,” Young said. “I just applied it to my life and that’s just me.”

2 » Chicago Bears general manager Jerry Angelo discussed how former Florida safety Major Wright has been progressing with his team thus far through mini camp; suffice to say, he is coming away impressed. “He’s billed as advertised. He’s a great kid who’s very competitive,” Angelo said. “He brings a lot of emotion and energy to the [secondary], which is great to see. He’s getting better with each practice. There’s going to be a learning curve at all positions for rookies, probably more so in the secondary because there’s much more going on at the safety position. But he’s doing a fine job. The coaches are very pleased with the way he’s progressing, particularly with his work habits. In terms of whether he’ll start this season, the players and coaches will determine that, but we’re very excited about seeing him in pads.”

3 » While some of the Gators’ more prominent stars over the years were unable to make a career for themselves in the NFL (see: quarterback Leak, Chris of the Montreal Alouettes), others have found slots on practice teams and in the back of rosters. Picked up by the Kansas City Chiefs on Dec. 9, 2009, as an insurance policy against a dwindling backfield, former Florida running back Kestahn Moore caught on and signed a deal with the team on Jan. 5. This offseason, Moore has been getting a lot of work in during practice – he has taken Wildcat formation snaps behind rookie wide receiver Dexter McCluster, run the ball as what many believe is the team’s third or fourth back and impressed coaches with what Chiefs writer Bob Gretz calls “a nice wiggle and burst.” As camp wrapped up on June 14, Gertz had this to say about Moore: “The first-year back out of Florida got a lot of opportunities with Jamaal Charles on the sidelines because of his shoulder surgery/recovery. There is no live action in these practices, so running backs can be hard to judge. But in every practice, Moore ripped off at least one impressive run with a burst of speed or moves. Moore has become a shadow of Thomas Jones and he’s trying to learn how to stay in the NFL from the 11-year veteran.”

4 » Safety Demar Dorsey, a five-star recruit who was previously committed to Florida before being forced to find a fit elsewhere, was released from his letter of intent with the Michigan Wolverines in early June for undisclosed reasons most likely relating to his past legal issues and was hoping to catch on with another program. As previously rumored and projected by OGGOA, he has officially landed with the Louisville Cardinals and two former Florida coaches – head coach Charlie Strong, and defensive coordinator and secondary coach Vance Bedford.

Tags: Charlie Strong, Chicago Bears, Demar Dorsey, Dexter McCluster, FIBA, FIBA Americas Championship, Jamaal Charles, Jeff Capel, Jerry Angelo, Kansas City Chiefs, Kestahn Moore, Louisville Cardinals, Major Wright, Michigan Wolverines, NFL, Patric Young, Thomas Jones, USA Basketball, Vance Bedford, Wildcat