Florida is currently No. 1 nationally in three-point shooting, but Donovan said he is even more pleased with the way the team has been finding sophomore center Patric Young ever since the Arizona game a few weeks ago. He feels that the Gators’ realization that they need to play inside-out has opened up even more shots from downtown and helped the team be more consistent form that distance.

“It’s not about how many threes we get up, it’s about the shooting percentage,” he said. “If we’re shooting 40 percent from the three-point line, that’s a good thing. Where you get hurt a little bit is when you take a lot of three-point shots and you start shooting a percentage below 30 percent. Then it’s not good.”

Rosario is not surprised how well Florida is shooting from beyond the arc. In fact, he thinks the Gators should and will be hitting a higher percentage of its attempts from downtown as the season wears on.

“We work on shooting every day and coach loves when we run-and-gun, when we run up and down and shoot threes and just being a run-and-gun team. That’s something that we’ve been trying to take advantage of,” he said. “I think we should be shooting better from three, but time will tell. We’re in the gym every day taking a lot of shots and putting a lot of shots up. It feels good to be leading the nation behind the arc.”

Because he feels Florida will shoot even better and improve its defense and consistency from the line (see note and quotes section), Rosario believes the Gators are not close to the team they will be in March. “I really think you haven’t seen close to what this team will look like,” he said. “This team hasn’t reached our peak yet, and we’re still trying to find the little things that we need to win a championship. That’s what we’re trying to do.”

NOTES AND QUOTES

» Donovan said some members of the team are suffering though illnesses. Redshirt freshman forward Cody Larson missed some time recently with a sore throat but returned to action against Florida State, and sophomore G/F Casey Prather is expected to be out of action Thursday due to being sick.

» Donovan on Florida’s competition up to this point in the season: “We’ve had a pretty good measuring stick going into the league [schedule]. We’ve played clearly two of the best teams in the country on the road. We learned a lot from both of those games. We played a Florida State team who is obviously long and athletic and big, and we played well in that game. The Arizona game there was some adversity. We didn’t play well, we frustrated ourselves, [but] we found a way to win that game. Texas A&M – going down [to Sunrise, FL] against a top-20 team, playing them.” He is pleased that the team has been exposed to various styles of play and competitive teams in great environments while participating in close games and having some of their weaknesses exposed.

» Rosario on what the team needs to improve: “Free throw shooting is the most important thing, but I think that we can be a very good defensive team. That’ something that we’ve been working on every day trying to get better at that. The opportunity is here. The season is here and it’s a great opportunity for us to go out and prove the nation wrong.”

3 » When Florida basketball’s 2011-12 schedule was released, there was no doubt that redshirt junior guard Mike Rosario was eyeing the team’s road game at the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, the team he transferred from two seasons ago. However, due to a back injury that began acting up on him over a week ago, it appears as if Rosario will be out for the game even if he will once again grab a seat in the Louis Brown Athletic Center. Head coach Billy Donovan said last week that Rosario was “doubtful” for the game, especially because he would be going home for Christmas and not available to do rehabilitation with the Gators’ training staff. SNY.tv’s Adam Zagoria spoke with a “family source” who said that Rosario is not expected to suit up. “He’s still questionable,” the person said. “He wants to play, but I don’t think he’s going to play.”

4 » One of the last football moments fans will remember from the 2011 is a scary incident involving Gators sophomore linebacker Darrin Kitchens laying motionless on Florida Field after being hit hard while on special teams during a kickoff against Florida State. Speaking with UF senior writer Scott Carter recently, Kitchens said the entire moment is a blur. “I don’t really remember anything,” he said. “I remember running down the field and my chin strap came loose, so I was trying to buckle it up. That’s the last thing I remember. The next thing I know I was talking to my trainer.” Kitchens, who was placed on a spinal board and taken to the hospital for evaluation, was cleared that evening with “just” a concussion, a relief to his family, friends, teammates and the coaching and training staffs. He returned to practice prior to the short break for Christmas and should be active for the Gator Bowl. Carter spoke extensively with Kitchens, teammates, staff members and trainers about the incident in a feature story you can read by clicking here.

Sophomore center Patric Young’s insanely athletic block in the second half undoubtedly provided a great deal of push for the Gators. It was a play that turned a back-and-forth battle into a big-time victory, and Donovan felt the impact of Young’s block immediately. “It was a great play and it fueled our team and it gave us momentum, it gave us energy. And Pat athletically has the ability to make plays like that,” he said.

Donovan also praised Young’s entire performance on Thursday and how he really took lessons he learned in practice this week to heart. “I was really impressed with him because we watched a lot of film on how he was going to be guarded. I told him he can’t get frustrated because it was going to be hard to get the ball,” he said. “I said, ‘You got to keep posting up the whole entire game. You may only get it three times, four times, five times. But when you get it – you may have to work 50 times just to get it [once].’ And he did. He kept great composure. He was 7-for-7 from the field and you want to get it to him more and you try to get it to him more.”

On freshman guard Bradley Beal and his improved shooting: “When he’s open, he shoots it. He got some more shots up tonight. I thought our guys found him. He had a couple good drives to the basket. He rebounded the ball. He had some good looks from the three-point line. He’s got freedom to do that. Like anything else, he’s just the kind of kid that never wants to come across as being selfish. And he’s not selfish. He’s probably feeling more and more comfortable. It’s not so much that we’re asking him to do more or he feels like he needs to do more, he’s just understanding where shots need to come from.”

On senior point guard Erving Walker’s shooting struggles: “He took one that he knew was bad. He came down on the break and he kind of let it really go. We were on a run, and I think we were up 13, and I could tell he looked down to see if I was upset. And I was. He had some decent looks but the one thing that he did do is he constantly puts pressure on team’s defenses because he’s coming down the lane for a layup and you do have to account for him. The biggest thing for him is him making the next decision which sometimes has been hard because of his size, but he did a better job tonight. [...] But 1-for-7 beats 3-for-15. He’s got to understand, and I think he did make one three and he took a couple tough shots, but overall he really played a pretty good floor game in my opinion.”

NOTES AND QUOTES

» On shooting well from the line in the second half after starting 0-for-7: “Our guys have such a high opinion of how well they think they should shoot the ball. When it doesn’t go in, they lose a little bit of focus or they get down, they get disappointed. In the first half, our focus was not where it needed to be from the free throw line. In the second half we did a much better job. We rebounded pretty well in the second half and – thank God – made some free throws.”

» On when Florida will go from great spurts to playing a complete game: “It’s hard to play a complete game that you want to play because you’re playing other good teams. You’re up by 25 against A&M, you know they’re going to come out and compete and fight and battle. You know Florida State is going to compete and battle and fight for 40 minutes. [Playing against] good players, you’re going to have some moments you don’t look great and you need to get better.”

» On the health of redshirt junior G Mike Rosario (back): “I’m concerned from the standpoint that he’s going home and he’s not going to have any rehab for Christmas. Right now I would say he’s probably doubtful for Rutgers – that would be my guess. Just because he’s not going to be around the medical staff and be able to do treatment and rehab and the things he needs to do. We’re going to come back and practice on the 26th. We’ll see how he is, but I would be shocked if he plays right now with the way it is against Rutgers.”

Florida and Florida State last squared off a year ago with the Gators earning a four-point victory over the Seminoles even though they were outscored 30-25 in the second half. Kenny Boynton led the way for UF with 14 points, but Erik Murphy’s putback of a missed shot with 16 seconds left in the contest helped seal the victory for Florida. FSU only shot 33.3 percent on the evening with Chris Singleton making just 2-of-12 shots. Though the Seminoles cut the Gators’ lead to one point with less than three minutes to play, they never managed to negate Florida’s lead and fell at home to the No. 16-ranked Gators.

PLAYERS TO KEEP AN EYE ON

FLORIDA
» Senior point guard Erving Walker (#11)…who is the longest tenured player on the team having appeared in 118 consecutive games with 57-straight starts. A shoot-first player much of his career, Walker has been tasked with distributing the ball and managing the game this year. He is the SEC’s active leader in minutes (3,527) and treys (240) but also ranks second in points (1,490), assists (432) and steals (136) as well as third in free throws (374). Walker is No. 12 on the school’s all-time scoring list, No. 4 in assists, No. 8 in free throws, No. 5 in threes made, No. 4 in treys attempted (628) and No. 7 in minutes. He is the only player on the team making more than three quarters of his free throws (82.1 percent).
» Junior guard Kenny Boynton (#1)…who is a dynamic scorer and just the second starter returning from a year ago. Boynton is working on his consistency this season and is already shooting better than he has throughout his career (49.6 percent from the field and 46.6 percent from downtown). He is the best defender on the Gators and is often put on the opponent’s best backcourt playmaker. Boynton currently ranks fifth in the SEC among active players in points (1,207) and third in three-pointers (193). He has hit a trey in 26-straight games and is the SEC’s second-leading scorer averaging 18.7 points per game. Boynton is No. 7 on UF’s list for threes made.
» Freshman G Bradley Beal (#23)…who is starting at the three for Florida fresh out of high school. Beal was the 2011 Gatorade National Player of the Year, one of the top five players in the country, and is arguably the most talented player to sign with the Gators since Donovan took over. He is averaging 15.0 points and 6.3 rebounds while shooting 45.8 percent from the field and 69.4 percent from the line (second best on the team) while playing a team-high 33.0 minutes per gam.e
» Sophomore center Patric Young (#4)…who joined the starting lineup this year after being the primary frontcourt reserve as a freshman. Young saw action in all 37 games as a freshman, averaging 3.4 points and 3.8 rebounds in limited action. He has four double-doubles on the season and scored a career-high 25 points against Arizona. Young is posting averages of 11.0 points, 7.5 boards and 1.4 blocks per game.
» Sophomore forward Will Yeguete (#15)…who is Florida’s do-everything player, averaging 5.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.5 steals in 20.8 minutes per game. The Gators’ primary frontcourt reserve, Yeguete has started a few games due to injury.
» Redshirt junior G Mike Rosario (#3)…who is finally playing for Florida after transferring out of Rutgers and sitting out the 2010-11 season. Rosario scored more than 1,000 points in two seasons with his former team and averaged 16.7 points per game during his sophomore year. He is the Gators’ de facto sixth man and is seeing 17.1 minutes of court time each game, averaging 9.4 points while shooting 46.6 percent from the floor and 41.7 percent from beyond the arc.

FLORIDA STATE
» F Bernard James (#5)…who is the Noles’ consummate big man, averaging 10.5 points and 9.2 boards each contest while also adding 2.6 blocks. James, who has netted five double-doubles this year (including two sets of consecutive ones), hits 59.8 percent of his field goals but only shoots 45.0 percent from the line.
» G Michael Snaer (#21)…who leads Florida State in points per game (13.2) and minutes (30.5), also nabbing 4.5 rebounds while shooting team-highs from the line (90.9 percent) and downtown (36.8 percent). All of those numbers are career-highs for Snaer, who hit a clutch three-pointer in the last minute of the game against Florida last year.

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.”

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.

FLORIDA
» Senior point guard Erving Walker (#11)…who is the longest tenured player on the team having appeared in 116 consecutive games with 55-straight starts. A shoot-first player much of his career, Walker has been tasked with distributing the ball and managing the game this year. He is the SEC’s active leader in minutes (3,462) and treys (236) but also ranks second in points (1,455), assists (423) and steals (134) as well as third in free throws (357). Walker is No. 12 on the school’s all-time scoring list, No. 5 in assists, No. 8 in free throws, No. 5 in threes made, No. 4 in treys attempted (619) and No. 10 in minutes. He is the only player on the team making more than three quarters of his free throws (76.3 percent).
» Junior guard Kenny Boynton (#1)…who is a dynamic scorer and just the second starter returning from a year ago. Boynton is working on his consistency this season and is already shooting better than he has throughout his career (50.0 percent from the field and 45.7 percent from downtown). He is the best defender on the Gators and is often put on the opponent’s best backcourt playmaker. Boynton currently ranks fifth in the SEC among active players in points (1,169) and fourth in three-pointers (184). He has hit a trey in 25-straight games.
» Freshman G Bradley Beal (#23)…who is starting at the three for Florida fresh out of high school. Beal was the 2011 Gatorade National Player of the Year, one of the top five players in the country, and is arguably the most talented player to sign with the Gators since Donovan took over. He is averaging 15.1 points and 6.6 rebounds while shooting 45.6 percent from the field and 66.7 percent from the line (second best on the team).
» Sophomore center Patric Young (#4)…who joined the starting lineup this year after being the primary frontcourt reserve as a freshman. Young saw action in all 37 games as a freshman, averaging 3.4 points and 3.8 rebounds in limited action. He has four double-doubles on the season and scored a career-high 25 points against Arizona. Young is posting averages of 11.6 points, 7.9 boards and 1.6 blocks per game.
» Sophomore forward Will Yeguete (#15)…who is Florida’s do-everything player, averaging 6.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.8 steals in 22.6 minutes per game. The Gators’ primary frontcourt reserve, Yeguete has been thrust into the starting lineup recently due to injury.
» Redshirt junior G Mike Rosario (#3)…who is finally playing for Florida after transferring out of Rutgers and sitting out the 2010-11 season. Rosario scored more than 1,000 points in two seasons with his former team and averaged 16.7 points per game during his sophomore year. He is the Gators’ de facto sixth man and is seeing 17.7 minutes of court time each game, averaging 9.8 points while shooting 46.3 percent from the floor and 37.0 percent from beyond the arc.

TEXAS A&M
» F Ray Turner (#35)…who is the Aggies tallest starter at 6’9” and is averaging 13 points and 6.3 rebounds while shooting 63.8 percent from the floor in 24 minutes per game. He will likely be tasked with going up against Young throughout the contest.
» F Khris Middleton (#22)…who returned to the starting lineup a week ago after missing seven games due to suffering a partially torn meniscus in the season opener. Middleton is averaging 15.0 points, 4.5 boards and a pair of assists in the two contests he played this year.
» G Elston Turner (#31)…who sees the court the most for Texas A&M, averaging 29.3 minutes per game. Turner averages 12.1 points, 3.4 boards and 2.2 dimes while shooting 40 percent from downtown and 84.6 percent from the charity stripe.