Four-star point guard Chris Chiozza (Memphis, TN), a highly sought after and fast-rising prospect who is a member of the Rivals100, made his college choice official on Tuesday night when he committed to the Florida Gators and became the first member of the team’s 2014 recruiting class.

Chiozza (5’10”, 160 lbs.), who chose Florida primarily over Memphis and Ohio State, reportedly had his mind made up last week but was on the receiving end of late pushes from some of his other finalists. His mind was not changed.

In fact, he may be the first of two dominoes to fall out of Memphis.

“Florida’s always been one of my top three schools since I was a little kid,” Chiozza recently told SNY.tv. “I’ve always loved watching them. I’d also love to play with Kasey Hill and Chris Walker, if they’re still there. They’re also recruiting my teammate Leron [Black] so that’s a school where we could play together.”

Black, a five-star power forward, is the No. 16 overall recruit in the nation per Rivals. His final five also includes Illinois, N.C. State, Ohio State and UConn, though a commitment date has not been set and a decision is not imminent.

Chiozza is currently ranked No. 90 overall on the Rivals100, but network recruiting analyst Eric Bossi conservatively guesses that he will “push for at least the national top 50 when the rankings are next updated.”

Bossi believes Chiozza has “become one of the most sought-after floor generals in his class” because “he plays with sizeable heart, plenty of skill and a natural feel for leading his teammates and making good decisions.”

Tags: Chris Chiozza, Chris Walker, Kasey Hill, Leron Black

Four-star 2014 point guard Chris Chiozza (Memphis, TN), a highly sought after prospect and a member of the Rivals100, will officially announce his commitment on Tuesday and choose the Florida Gators, according to CBSSports.com’s Gary Parrish.

Chris Chiozza, barring a change of plans, will announce next week that he’s committing to Florida, a source told CBSSports.com on Friday.

Chiozza’s other finalists include Auburn, Memphis, Ohio State, Richmond, Tennessee and UMass, but he apparently sees an opportunity at UF that he simply cannot pass up.

“Florida’s always been one of my top three schools since I was a little kid,” Chiozza told SNY.tv last week. “I’ve always loved watching them. I’d also love to play with Kasey Hill and Chris Walker, if they’re still there. They’re also recruiting my teammate Leron [Black] so that’s a school where we could play together.”

A source close to the Gators confirmed to OGGOA on Friday that Florida’s coaching staff is extremely confident that Chiozza will choose the Gators on Tuesday. The source also believes that Black, a five-star power forward and the No. 16 ranked 2014 recruit in the country per Rivals, will ultimately join Chiozza in Gainesville, FL.

Continue Reading » Report: Florida to add 2014 PG Chris Chiozza

Tags: Chris Chiozza, Chris Walker, Kasey Hill, Leron Black

Florida Gators forward DeVon Walker informed the team late last week that he had decided to transfer, and the program officially announced his decision on Monday.

Gators head coach Billy Donovan wished Walker well in a school release.

“DeVon has a bright future, and we hope for the best for him wherever he chooses to go,” Donovan said.

Walker played in 24 games as a true freshman but averaged just 4.0 minutes per contest. He scored 20 points in 99 total minutes during the 2012-13 campaign, making just 4-of-22 shots (1-of-7 threes) while grabbing 17 rebounds.

The second Florida freshman to transfer this month, Walker joins guard Braxton Ogbueze as 2012 commitments hoping the pastures are greener elsewhere.

“I’ve grown a lot this year, and I’m grateful to Coach Donovan, the staff and my teammates at Florida for everything,” Walker said in the same release.

Over the last two offseasons, the Gators have added three transfers including forward Dorian Finney-Smith and center Damontre Harris in 2012 and guard Eli Carter on April 30. Finney-Smith and Harris will both be active for the 2013-14 season, while Carter is hoping the NCAA approves a waiver that would allow him to play immediately without sitting out a year.

Florida also has a pair of five-star prospects – point guard Kasey Hill (Clermont, FL) and F/C Chris Walker (Bonifay, FL) – joining the program next season.

Minutes would have been hard to come by for both DeVon Walker and Ogbueze. The Gators will have just 11 scholarship players on the roster for the upcoming season should Hill and Chris Walker both be cleared academically.

Tags: Billy Donovan, Braxton Ogbueze, Chris Walker, Damontre Harris, DeVon Walker, Dorian Finney-Smith, Eli Carter, Kasey Hill, NCAA

1 » Rutgers Scarlet Knights sophomore guard Eli Carter, who received his release from the school last week and plans to transfer, met with Florida Gators head coach Billy Donovan in his home on Monday, reports Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. Carter has a number of teams interested in receiving him as a transfer including Duke, Maryland and Texas, but Florida has a lot going for it in this particular situation. Like former Gators guard Mike Rosario and current assistant coach Rashon Burno, Carter spent his youth playing at St. Anthony’s High School in New Jersey under head coach Bob Hurley. The relationship between Donovan and Hurley goes back a ways and having Burno in the fold certainly does not hurt. “I think with Rashon Burno there and two guards leaving, one guard signed, [Kasey] Hill is the only guard coming in, they can I think talk to him about playing time,” Hurley told Zagoria. “When you transfer you have to go someplace where you’re gonna play. You can’t go someplace and play less than you did where you were before.”

Carter averaged 14.9 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists as a true sophomore but shot just 38.4 percent from the field and 32 percent from downtown. As a freshman against Florida in 2011, he scored 31 points on 12-of-24 shooting with seven rebounds and seven dimes (in double overtime). The Gators have one open scholarship for the 2013-14 season, which Carter would take if he transferred to Florida, even though he would have to sit out the season due to NCAA rules.

2 » It took a while for criticisms about Florida defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd to pop up, but it did not take the potential top-five overall pick much time to respond to them. “In my eyes there is no road-block that is going to stop me,” Floyd said on NFL AM on Tuesday. “A lot of people ask me, ‘Do you feel as though your arms are short?” and I say, ‘I don’t play like my arms are short.’ So my tape speaks for itself and the type of person I am speaks for itself.” Check out this three-minute interview with Floyd, which was aired Monday on ESPN.

Tags: Bob Hurley, Eli Carter, Kasey Hill, Mike Rosario, NCAA, Rashon Burno, Rutgers Scarlet Knights, Sharrif Floyd

Florida Gators head basketball coach Billy Donovan met with the media on Wednesday to wrap up the 2012-13 season and look ahead to next year.

A MESSAGE TO THE TEAM: “WE GOT TO GET NASTIER.”

Donovan has not yet met with the Gators as an entire team for a postseason send-off into the summer (that will happen soon enough) but does have plenty on his agenda as it pertains to helping Florida improve in the offseason.

“We need to get better as a team in every area. I thought we did make some really good strides this year on the defensive end of the floor. … We didn’t score the ball as much or as well as I think we’re capable of for whatever reason. We’ve got to continue to try and get better there in that area,” he said. “[I’m] trying to figure out what we can do better in practice, what we can do better coaching staff-wise, what we can do better coaching these guys all the way around.”

One other area in which Donovan stressed that the Gators need to improve is overall team mentality. Basically, he wants Florida as a team to be tougher and more resilient. In other words, he envisions the Gators playing like one of the program’s greatest players did on a consistent, night-in, night-out basis.

“I didn’t create Joakim Noah’s passion, energy, intensity, heart, toughness. I didn’t create that. That was in there. I think as a coaching staff we fostered it. That’s an area our guys need to get better,” he explained.

“We need to be more relentless. We need to be tougher. We need a mental will. We have to be better there. When adversity hits and those things hit, we got to get tougher, we got to get more competitive, we got to get nastier, we got to have more of that internal drive and will in those moments. I think we displayed some of that [this year]. I think there were games where we really displayed that. … I think we got the capability, but we got to be more consistent doing that.”

Read much, much more from Donovan on Florida basketball..after the break!
Continue Reading » 4/10: Donovan wraps up season and speaks about Young, Yeguete, transfers, freshmen & more

Tags: Billy Donovan, Chris Walker, Damontre Harris, Dorian Finney-Smith, Kasey Hill, Patric Young, Scottie Wilbekin, Will Yeguete

1 » The Washington Wizards announced Wednesday that rookie guard Bradley Beal will miss the remainder of the season with what the team described as a “stress injury in his right fibula.” Beal also dealt with ankle, wrist and back problems during the year, missing 18 contests scattered throughout the season (including stretches of five, six and five games) before returning on March 31 and scoring 24 points on 8-of-14 shooting (6-of-9 from downtown). He struggled in his next game on April 2, going just 3-for-11 (1-for-4 from three) and has now been shut down for the final eight games of the season. In all, Beal will miss 26-of-82 games (.317); he played in 56 and made 46 starts. He averaged 13.9 points, 3.8 assists and 2.4 rebounds during his rookie campaign, shooting .410 from the field, .386 from beyond the arc and .786 from three free throw line. Beal, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft, registered a career-high 29 points against New York on March 1 and was named Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for both December and January. The Wizards expect Beal “to resume basketball-related activities in approximately six weeks.”

2 » Florida Gators five-star power forward commitment Chris Walker (Bonifay, FL) participated in the 2013 Powerade Jam Fest on Monday and wound up winning the contest, taking down other five-star recruits like Jabari Parker and Andrew Wiggins in the process. Check out the video below to see a recap of the event including all of Walker’s winning dunks. He and fellow five-star pledge point guard Kasey Hill (Clermont, FL) will be participating in the 2013 McDonald’s All-American Game which airs Wednesday on ESPN at 9:30 p.m.

CLICK TO EXPAND and read an two more BITS after the break!

Tags: Billy Donovan, Bradley Beal, Chris Walker, Draft, Kasey Hill, NBA, NFL, Powerade Jam Fest, Ray McDonald, Rex Grossman, Richard Pitino, Washington Redskins, Washington Wizards

1 » Coincidence led to an impromptu speaking engagement from former Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow , who found himself at the Wichita Mid-Continent Airport on Sunday when his private jet was forced to stop in order to refuel. Also on the runway were the nine-seed Wichita State Shockers, which had just boarded their team bus after a flight home. When Tebow learned of this being the case, one of his representatives asked head coach Gregg Marshall if he would allow Tebow to address the team, which he did. Tebow stepped off his jet, onto the team’s bus and delivered a short address to the players telling them to make the most of this time in their lives and that if they continue working hard, positive results will follow. You can check out a snippet of Tebow’s speech by clicking here.

2 » A large number of Florida fans likely also root for the Orlando Magic, which means they probably are not too fond of Dwight Howard. So Howard sending a veiled threat to a former Gators basketball player – power forward David Lee of the Golden State Warriors – is unlikely to rub more in a positive way.

Speaking with the media on Monday after a 109-103 loss, Howard vowed revenge against Lee and the Warriors for an unintentional shot he took in the mouth during the first half as Lee was going to the rim for a layup. Howard actually got called for a technical on the play. “He got away with a shot,” Howard said per ESPN. “I will remember this game. I will remember that shot. He said he wasn’t trying to do it. You can look at the play and see it for yourself. I will take care of it later.”

3 » The Gainesville Sun’s Kevin Brockway caught up with assistant basketball coach Matt McCall last week and asked him about Florida’s incoming five-star commitments – point guard Kasey Hill and power forward Chris Walker. McCall, who “spearheaded the efforts of recruiting both standouts” according to Brockway, is pleased that Hill can score but is not a “shoot-first point guard” and thought Walker put together a “second-to-none” performance in the recent state championship tournament.

4 » The reality show “What would Ryan Lochte Do?” is set to premiere on E! on Sunday, April 21 at 10 p.m. The network released an extended trailer (4:30) for the show this week, and you can check it out below. This show will either be absolutely awful or downright hysterical to make fun of each week. There is likely no in-between.

Tags: Chris Walker, David Lee, Golden State Warriors, Kasey Hill, Matt McCall, Ryan Lochte, swimming, Tim Tebow, Wichita State Shockers

From time to time, OGGOA will come across a plethora of news and notes that we wish to share – too much to fit into one of our truncated BITS segments. When stories like these fall through the cracks, we catch and wrap them all up with Gator Bites.

» Rather than doubling down on disappointment while stuck playing in the state North Carolina, No. 2 Florida Gators women’s tennis (4-1) came from behind on Monday to pick up a huge victory over the No. 1 North Carolina Tar Heels (9-1) in Chapel Hill, NC. UNC, which took over for UF as the No. 1 team in the country last week, held a 2-0 advantage over its visitors after winning the doubles point and a singles match to start the contest. The Gators answered by rallying with four consecutive singles match victories to pick up the 4-2 win. First, junior Olivia Janowicz took down No. 79 Tessa Lyons 6-2, 6-1. Freshman Brianna Morgan then picked up a 6-1, 6-1 win over No. 122 Lauren McHale, leaving the match in the hands of Florida’s two best players. No. 4 senior Lauren Embree came through in the clutch once again with a 6-4, 1-6, 6-2 victory against No. 7 Gina Suarez-Malaguti, and No. 9 junior Sofie Oyen fought hard on court two to defeat No. 30 Zoe De Bruycker 3-6, 6-1, 6-3. UF’s loss on Sunday at No. 4 Duke was its first in over a year’s time. By taking down the Tar Heels on Monday, the Gators avoided falling in consecutive matches for the first time in three years.

» Former Florida guard Matt Walsh, who signed a deal with Spirou Charleroi of Belgium in August 2012, told OGGOA on Monday that his contract has been purchased by Brose Baskets of Bamberg, Germany. The three-time defending German champions play in the Euroleague and are hoping Walsh helps push them to a fourth-straight title.

» Despite multiple reports pointing to the contrary, Minnesota Vikings general manager Rick Spielman on Friday said he has “no intent” of trading wide receiver Percy Harvin, who is entering the final year of his rookie contract. Harvin raised concerns about Minnesota’s offense (and how he was not utilized much) prior to the 2012 season and reportedly got into an explosive verbal argument with head coach Leslie Frazier during the season. While it does look like he and the Vikings will split ways, multiple players have come out in his defense and expressed their desire to see him return to the team. The latest to do so is quarterback Christian Ponder, who said he “obviously” wants Harvin to return because “he’s a tremendous player” and “a heck of a part of this offense and this team in general.” Ponder told KFAN in Minneapolis, MN that he and Harvin have a good relationship and “spent some extra time together” working on their on-field chemistry during the last offseason.

Read 11 more bites of Florida Gators news…after the break!
Continue Reading » 14 Gator Bites for Tuesday, February 19

Tags: Ahmad Black, Al Horford, Atlanta Hawks, Brianna Morgan, Buffalo Bills, Chicago Bulls, Chris Rainey, Chris Walker, David Lee, David Nelson, Detroit Lions, field, Golden State Warriors, Gregg Troy, Ike Hilliard, Jevon Kearse, Joakim Noah, Kasey Hill, Kelvin Taylor, Lauren Embree, Lomas Brown, Matt Elam, Matt Walsh, Maurkice Pouncey, McDonald's All-American, Miami Dolphins, Mike Holloway, Mike Pouncey, Minnesota Vikings, NBA, NFL, North Carolina Tar Heels, Olivia Janowicz, Olympics, Percy Harvin, Ronni Williams, Ryan Lochte, Sofie Oyen, swimming, tennis, Tony McQuay, track, Will Muschamp, women's basketball, World Outdoor Championships