Wednesday, OGGOA reported that two young guards who could very well be available for the Florida Gators to procure in the near future. Each faced a roadblock to being officially courted by Florida, and both appear to be on the verge of clearing those issues.

After falling in the 2010 NCAA Tournament, the Gators inquired about the availability of 2010 three-star point guard recruit Jalen Steele (Knoxville, TN). Steele, who committed to the Auburn Tigers in September, was looking to get out of his letter of intent after the team fired head coach Jeff Lebo following the 2010 SEC Tournament.

The Knoxville News-Sentinel now reports that Auburn has released Steele from his National Letter of Intent, making him free to field other offers. Other teams interested (in addition to Florida) are UCLA, Cincinnati, Alabama, Georgia and Miami. Prior to committing to the Tigers, Steele also held offers from Marshall and Western Kentucky and was garnering interest from Southern California.

The Gators are also looking at potentially receiving a transfer from Rutgers. Sophomore G Mike Rosario, who was “considering” transferring from the Scarlet Knights if head coach Fred Hill was fired, has Florida as one of his top options. ESPN is reporting that Rutgers athletic director Tim Pernetti and Hill are currently negotiating a buyout.

“It sounds like [transferring is] what he wants to do,” Rosario’s family friend and old coach Rex Durso told ZagsBlog. “Florida, USC and Michigan State are places he’s looking at.”

It could very well be sooner than later that the Gators acquire pieces to add depth to a backcourt that just recently lost sophomore G Ray Shipman to transfer.

Tags: Auburn Tigers, Fred Hill, Jalen Steele, Jeff Lebo, Mike Rosario, NCAA Tournament, Ray Shipman, Rutgers Scarlet Knights, SEC Tournament, Tim Pernetti

1 » When mentioning Florida Gators redshirt junior starting quarterback John Brantley, the first thing that comes to the mind of most is simply: “How will he follow Tim Tebow?” Brantley, to his credit, says that is not his goal – even if the comparisons will be there from the get-go. “He knows he’s going to be compared to Timmy and that’s OK, that’s part of the deal,” his father John Brantley, Sr. told USA Today. “But I keep telling him, ‘Be yourself. Don’t be Tim Tebow. Don’t be someone you’re not. You’ve been successful at every level. Don’t change.”

2 » Florida senior center Mike Pouncey has taken his new leadership position seriously. So much, in fact, that he proclaimed boldly to USA Today that no foolishness will get by under his watch. “We had a lot of things going on [last year] that we shouldn’t have had and we got away from being the team,” Pouncey said. “We lost a lot of our star players, guys with big names. We don’t have any prima donnas. Anyone who is going to step on that field is going to have something to prove. […] We’ll take care of [any prima donnas]. We’re not having that this year.”

3 » The Cleveland Browns seemingly hoped to kill two birds with one stone Tuesday as they hosted former Gators quarterback Tim Tebow and cornerback Joe Haden at the team’s complex in Berea, OH. According to The News-Herald, team president Mike Holmgren has “made it clear the Browns will take a quarterback in the draft;” whether or not that will be Tebow remains to be seen. Also in attendance was former Rutgers CB Devin McCourty, considered the fourth-best at his position. The team could choose him in a later round should they pass on Haden at No. 7 overall.

4 » The Gainesville Sun’s Kevin Brockway, citing a story published by the Knoxville News-Sentinel earlier this week, reports that Florida basketball has inquired about 2010 three-star point guard recruit Jalen Steele (Knoxville, TN). Steele, who committed to the Auburn Tigers in September, is looking to get out of his letter of intent after the team fired head coach Jeff Lebo.

Tags: Auburn Tigers, Cleveland Browns, Devin McCourty, Jalen Steele, Jeff Lebo, Joe Haden, John Brantley, Mike Holmgren, Mike Pouncey, NFL, Rutgers Scarlet Knights, Tim Tebow

1 » The Gainesville Sun’s Pat Dooley explained the Florida Gators‘ status as a 2010 NCAA Tournament team as succinctly as possible: “They’re in. I think.” The Gators appear to have clinched an at-large berth in March Madness for the first time in three seasons with their victory Thursday in the first round of the 2010 Southeastern Conference Tournament against the Auburn Tigers. Then again, anything can happen with the Selection Committee. Florida has a chance to remove any doubts tonight against a team they already beat this season, the Mississippi State Bulldogs.

2 » Though the SEC is delaying the announcement of its entire football schedule due to some conflicts, it was announced Friday that the Gators’ away contest against the defending National Champion Alabama Crimson Tide on Oct. 2, 2010, will be CBS’ lone prime time game of the season. Each year, CBS picks one conference game to air at 8 p.m., and for 2010 it has decided to choose a rematch of the last two SEC Championship games – a rubber match if you will – between the Gators and Crimson Tide. Then again, the game could very well be less of a rubber match and more of a precursor to the 2010 SEC Championship in Atlanta, GA. Mark your calendars.

3 » While the win Thursday did wonders for Florida, it has likely done just the opposite for Auburn. Tigers head coach Jeff Lebo, who was on the hot seat before the tournament, is likely to get the boot if you believe many of Auburn’s fans and boosters. Gators head coach Billy Donovan has gone out of his way to praise Lebo at every opportunity he has gotten, but the respect of his peers will probably not be enough to save the embattled coach. UPDATE: Just moments after OGGOA posted this, The Birmingham News reported that Lebo will be fired.

4 » Bubble Watch: Illinois (18-13) vs. No. 18 Wisconsin (2:25 p.m.), Rhode Island (22-8) vs. Saint Louis (2:30 p.m.), Mississippi (21-9) vs. No. 13 Tennessee (3:15 p.m.), Dayton (20-11) vs. Xavier [in] (6:30 p.m.), Georgia Tech (20-11) vs. No. 19 Maryland (7 p.m.), Minnesota (19-12) vs. No. 11 Michigan State (8:55 p.m.), San Diego State (23-8) vs. No. 8 New Mexico (9:00 p.m.), Washington (22-9) vs. Stanford (11:30 p.m.)

Photo Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images

Tags: Alabama Crimson Tide, Auburn Tigers, Billy Donovan, Jeff Lebo, March Madness, Mississippi State Bulldogs, NCAA, NCAA Tournament, SEC, SEC Championship, selection committee

Location: Bridgestone Arena – Nashville, TN [Capacity: 19,395]
Time: 7:30 p.m. (EST)

TV: SEC Network
Online Video: ESPN360.com
Live Updates: OGGOA on Twitter

Odds: Florida -5.5; O/U 143.5

KEEP AN EYE ON…
» Junior forward Chandler Parsons…who has scored in double figures in seven of his last nine games and has two double-doubles in those contests. He has also helped run the point and scored 17 points with six rebounds and four assists in Florida’s first meeting with Auburn.
» Double-digit scoring by Vernon Macklin…the Gators are 13-4 when the redshirt junior transfer center finishes in double figures. Macklin has achieved this mark in five of the last seven games.
» Bench production by freshman F Erik Murphy and sophomore guard Ray Shipman…who combined for 18 points in limited time against No. 3 Kentucky.
» Auburn F Lucas Hargrove…who leads his team with 6.9 rebounds per game while also averaging 12.9 points.
» Tigers’ guards DeWayne Reed and Tay Walker…who combine for 30 of the team’s 75.9 points each game. Walker also shoots 42 percent from downtown.

STREAKS:
» Auburn leads the all-time series against Florida 87-69; however, the Gators have won 11 of the last 12 meetings including a 78-70 victory last month in Gainesville.
» The Tigers’ only win in that stretch was a 61-58 win in the 2009 SEC Tournament quarterfinals, which knocked UF out of contention for the NCAA Tournament.
» Florida went 6-0 against the SEC West this season.
» The Gators have won three prior SEC Tournament titles (2005-2007). They won the 2006 title at the site of this year’s tourney and are 5-2 all-time in Bridgestone Arena.
» Though they lost their last two games to the SEC’s top two teams, Florida out-rebounded both opponents and remain 13-4 when out-rebounding the opposition.
» Parsons needs only six points to reach 1,000 for his career.
» The Gators have made a three-pointer in a school-record 609 consecutive games beginning Jan. 11, 1992.
» Florida is 233-40 when forcing more turnovers than its opponents under Donovan.
» The Gators are 241-34 under Donovan when holding opponents to 70 points or less.
» Opponents are shooting just 32.2 percent from three-point range against Florida.
» Auburn is 2-9 away from home this season.
» The Tigers score 4.4 points more than the Gators on average but also give up 9.0 more points per game than Florida.
» Auburn has faced only three ranked opponents all season and have lost those games by an average of 13.7 points.

Tags: Auburn Tigers, Billy Donovan, Chandler Parsons, DeWayne Reed, Erik Murphy, Jeff Lebo, Lucas Hargrove, Ray Shipman, SEC, SEC Tournament, Tay Walker, Vernon Macklin