1 » The attendees for the 2013 NFL Draft were officially announced on Wednesday and right at the top of the list was Florida Gators defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd. A guaranteed first-round pick who is expected to go somewhere in the top five overall, Floyd will be sitting at a table at Radio City Music Hall in New York, NY waiting for league commissioner Roger Goodell to call his name on Thursday, April 25. Now all that is left to wonder is which team selects Floyd and whether or not he will give Goodell a bear hug after joining him on stage.

2 » Former Gators quarterback Tim Tebow is set to be recognized by Florida Governor Rick Scott with the Great Floridian Award, the state announced on Wednesday. The ceremony, which will be held on Friday at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Verda Beach, FL, recognizes “outstanding achievements of men and women who have made significant contributions to the progress and welfare of Florida.” Previous honorees include politicians, business leaders, veterans, Supreme Court Justices and philanthropists, among others. Tebow will join the 66 current “Great Floridians” and be honored alongside names like head coach Bobby Bowden, Governor Jeb Bush, inventor Thomas Edison, Stephen C. O’Connell and businessman Ben Hill Griffin, Jr.

3 » Competing in the first day of the 2013 Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, former Gators guard Kenny Boynton finished his opening round game 2-for-6 (1-for-4 from three) with seven points, seven rebounds, six assists, a steal and just one turnover in 20 minutes. Boynton came off the bench for Mike Duman Auto Sales, which fell 90-89 to Portsmouth Partnership. His team plays again on Thursday at 3:15 p.m. Former Florida G Mike Rosario, playing for the Portsmouth Sports Club, takes the court for the first time on Thursday at 7 p.m.

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Continue Reading » SIX BITS: NFL Draft, Tebow, PIT, Murphy, Brewer

Tags: Aaron Hernandez, Corey Brewer, Denver Nuggets, Draft, Great Floridian Award, Kenny Boynton, Louis Murphy, Mike Rosario, NBA, New England Patriots, New York Giants, NFL, Portsmouth Invitational, Sharrif Floyd, Tim Tebow, TPC Sawgrass

1 » A pair of Florida Gators will be competing at the 2013 Masters this week at Augusta National Golf Club, one of whom is a current University of Florida student and a member of the school’s golf team. Senior T.J. Vogel, a 22-year old amateur, will be playing in his first ever major and has decided to properly take in the moment. Over the weekend, he and his caddie arranged his schedule so he could “bump” into Tiger Woods during an early-morning tee time. “I basically ran into him and we talked for a few minutes,” he said according to the Orlando Sentinel. Vogel has been playing at Augusta as much as possible in preparation for the Masters and will get his big opportunity starting on Thursday. He will be joined in Augusta by former Gators golfer Brian Gay, who has played as a professional since 1994 and has four PGA Tour wins but has never finished better than 20th in a major (2008 PGA Championship).

2 » Former Florida catcher Mike Zunino, the highest-drafted baseball player in school history (No. 3 in the 2012 MLB Draft), is breaking out in a major way while playing minor league baseball for the Seattle Mariners. Currently assigned to the Tacoma Rainiers of the Pacific Coast League (Triple-A), Zunino is simply crushing the ball. On Tuesday night, Zunino smacked a grand slam and has now hit a homer in three-straight games. He has hit four home runs in five games and boasts a MiLB-high 16 RBI while batting .429 and slugging an absurd 1.238 with an on-base percentage of 1.696.

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Continue Reading » SIX BITS: Masters, Zunino, baseball, Elam, Horford

Tags: Al Horford, Atlanta Hawks, baseball, Brian Gay, Daniel Gibson, Draft, Eurocup, Florida State Seminoles, golf, Harrison Bader, Josh Tobias, Masters, Mike Zunino, MiLB, MLB, NBA, Nick Calathes, PGA, Seattle Mariners, T.J. Vogel, Tacoma Rainiers, Walter Hodge

1 » Despite ending their 2013 NCAA Tournament run in the Elite Eight for the third-straight year, Florida Gators basketball was placed at No. 9 in the final USA Today Coaches’ Top 25 poll of the 2012-13 season. Florida was not the only Elite Eight team to fall outside the top eight of the poll, however, as Marquette checked in at No. 11 in the final rankings. Indiana (Sweet 16 loss to Syracuse) and Kansas (Sweet 16 loss to Michigan) took the two other spots in the top eight. The Gators also checked in at No. 9 and No. 10 in 2011-12 and 2010-11, respectively, after losing in the Elite Eight. Florida will likely enter the 2013-14 campaign ranked in the preseason top-10.

2 » No. 2 Gators women’s tennis (17-2, 10-1 SEC) ran through its competition over the weekend, extending their winning streaks to 10 consecutive team matches and 30-straight individual matches. Florida swept the Ole Miss Rebels (10-10, 4-6 SEC) and Mississippi State Bulldogs (7-12, 1-10 SEC) in a pair of home showdowns over the weekend at Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex in Gainesville, FL. The Gators won all 11 matches and had the opportunity to celebrate Senior Day against the Bulldogs on Sunday. Seniors No. 1 Lauren Embree and No. 125 Caroline Hitimana were each unable to finish their singles matches due to Florida registering a quick 4-0 victory but both won their doubles contests. The No. 20 duo of Embree and junior Sofie Oyen picked up an 8-2 win, while Hitimana and junior Alex Cercone won 8-0.

On Monday, head coach Roland Thornqvist praised Embree at his press conference, making note of her incredible career and tremendous work ethic. “You want to know why Lauren Embree is the best college player to ever play the game?” he asked rhetorically. “It was Monday morning at 8:30, and after a weekend full of matches and practices, she runs to the courts, hits serves for 30 minutes, then I show up and we go at it [on the court] for an hour and 15 minutes. By 10:00, she’s done with two workouts already while the rest of tennis America is still sleeping. That’s why we’re good and that’s why she’s good. She sets the tone, the bar is high, and I think everybody feeds off of it. We’ve just been blessed to have that for four years. Frankly, it’s just amazing.” The Gators women’s tennis program is hoping to win its third-straight national title.

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Continue Reading » SIX BITS: top 25, tennis, Muschamp, PIT, Tebow

Tags: Alex Cercone, baseball, Caroline Hitimana, Detroit Pistons, Draft, Elite Eight, Erving Walker, Kenny Boynton, Lauren Embree, Linder Stadium, Mike Rosario, Mississippi State Bulldogs, NBA, NCAA, NCAA Tournament, New England Patriots, New York Jets, NFL, Ole Miss Rebels, Orange & Blue Debut, Portsmouth Invitational, Ring Tennis Complex, Roland Thornqvist, Seattle Seahawks, Senior Day, Sofie Oyen, softball, St. Louis Rams, Tim Tebow, Vernon Macklin, Will Muschamp, women's tennis

A position of relative weakness for men’s basketball over the last two seasons has suddenly become one of immense strength as the Florida Gators officially announced on Monday that center Patric Young will return to school for his senior season.

“I have the chance to finish my degree and play another season for Coach [Billy] Donovan with great teammates and friends at a place I love,” said Young in a school release. “These first three years have gone by in a flash, and I can’t believe it is my senior year already. I have gotten better as a player and better as a man at the University of Florida. I believe God has my future in his hands, so all I am worried about now is getting better this summer and making it the hardest I have trained in my life.”

After spending his first year with the Gators as a reserve, Young has served as Florida’s starting center over the last two seasons, averaging 10.2 points and 6.4 rebounds in 26.5 minutes per game in each campaign. Donovan has chided Young for his consistency on occasion in order to get the absoulte most out of him on a game-to-game basis but the two have a great player-coach relationship.

“We’re excited that Patric will continue with us for his senior season,” said Donovan in the school release. “This was Patric’s decision to make, and he ultimately had to do what he felt was best for himself and his future.”

Young likely would have been a second-round pick in the upcoming 2013 NBA Draft had he declared and left school early.

Though stretch-four Erik Murphy (6’10″, 238 lbs.) had started alongside him, Young (6’9”, 249 lbs.) has been the Gators’ true big man and the only player on the team who could legitimately play center for an entire game.

That will not be the case next season as, with Young returning, Florida will boast arguably the best frontcourt in the nation.

Joining Young, the two-time SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year, will be junior transfer Damontre Harris (6’10”, 228 lbs.) and five-star freshman Chris Walker (6’9”, 220 lbs.). Forwards Will Yeguete (6’7” 240 lbs.) and Casey Prather (6’6”, 208 lbs.) will both return for their senior seasons, and Florida will finally get to see sophomore transfer Dorian Finney-Smith (6’8”, 205 lbs.) in action.

The Gators will be able to rotate at least six players in their three frontcourt positions but will need to develop the backcourt after losing starting guards Kenny Boynton and Mike Rosario to graduation. Point guard Scottie Wilbekin will be the only other returning member of Florida’s starting five aside from Young.

Photo Credit: David J. Phillip/Associated Press

Tags: Billy Donovan, Casey Prather, Chris Walker, Damontre Harris, Dorian Finney-Smith, Draft, NBA, Patric Young, Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Scottie Wilbekin, SEC, Will Yeguete

Now five 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 fifth month of 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 AL HORFORD, Atlanta Hawks: GP/GS (16/16), MIN (38.4), PPG (19.0), RPG (10.9), APG (3.2), SPG (1.6), BPG (0.9), TPG (2.1), FPG (1.9), A/TO (1.6)
» Shooting: FG% (.519), 3P% (.667), FT% (.732)
» Highlights: 11 double-doubles (10 in an 11-game stretch, five 20-10 games); career-high two threes at Phoenix on March 1; 21 points, 12 rebounds, six assists vs. Philadelphia on March 6; 22 points, 13 rebounds, five assists at Boston on March 8; 26 points, 15 rebounds vs. Milwaukee on March 20
» Top 10 ranks (season): Double-doubles (No. 4), total efficiency points (No. 7), efficiency ranking (No. 8), defensive rebounds and defensive rebounds per game (No. 8), field goals made (No. 9), total rebounds (No. 9), rebounds per game (No. 10)

Check out how the rest of the Florida Gators in the NBA played this month…
Continue Reading » Former Florida Gators in the NBA: March 2013

Tags: Al Horford, Atlanta Hawks, Bradley Beal, Chandler Parsons, Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, Corey Brewer, David Lee, Denver Nuggets, Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, Joakim Noah, Marreese Speights, Matt Bonner, Miami Heat, Mike Miller, NBA, San Antonio Spurs, Udonis Haslem, Washington Wizards

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.

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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 » Though nothing at all is finalized, the City of Jacksonville is working towards holding the Navy-Marine Corps Classic for a second-straight season and hopes to reach a deal with the U.S. Navy to do so at some point over the next few months. “The City of Jacksonville would like to continue the game and is working on a proposal to the Navy that includes several options for the 2013 Navy-Marine Corps Classic,” executive director Alan Verlander told OGGOA last Thursday. The proposal set to be delivered to the Navy includes contingencies and/or solutions to avoid the condensation issue that ended the 2012 game at halftime last year. The City of Jacksonville has also had “very preliminary” talks with programs about potentially participating in the game (with the Florida Gators being an obvious preference as the local team) but is waiting until the conclusion of March Madness before continuing to gauge interest from said teams.

2 » Grantland’s Zach Lowe sat down with Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal for a wide-ranging interview about his rookie season. In the question-and-answer session, Beal discusses his ankle injuries, playing with John Wall, watching Florida in the postseason, playing in the NBA and where he feels most comfortable on the court.

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Tags: Billy Donovan, Bradley Beal, Jeremy Foley, Navy-Marine Corps Classic, NBA, NFL, Percy Harvin, Seattle Seahawks, Washington Wizards

1 » It has been a busy last few days in Gainesville, FL for Florida Gators hoping to continue their football careers and be selected in the 2013 NFL Draft. On Friday, defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd, linebacker Lerentee McCray and wide receiver Omarius Hines (who just ran the 40-yard dash in an effort to improve his time) participated in a private Pro Day on campus. Floyd and McCray both sat out Florida’s first Pro Day on March 12. According to NFL.com, 14 teams were in Gainesville to watch Floyd including the Oakland Raiders (No. 3 overall pick) with general manager Reggie McKenzie. NFL Network was there to watch Floyd; this report (which was followed by a lengthy discussion) was aired on Friday. ESPN’s Adam Schefter added that, on Monday, a collection of officials from the Kansas City Chiefs (No. 1 overall pick) – including general manager John Dorsey – held a private workout with Floyd.

New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was also in Gainesville over the weekend first to watch his daughter (an assistant coach for Ohio State’s lacrosse team) on Saturday and then to hold a private workout with five Florida players on Sunday, OGGOA has learned. Participating in Sunday’s private workout were McCray, linebackers Jon Bostic and Jelani Jenkins, safety Josh Evans and defensive lineman Earl Okine. The only other person in attendance to watch the workouts was Belichick’s right-hand man, New England director of player personnel Nick Caserio.

Read three more BITS of Florida Gators news…after the break!
Continue Reading » FOUR BITS: Floyd, NFL, Demps, WWE, Lee

Tags: David Lee, Draft, Earl Okine, Golden State Warriors, Jeff Demps, Jelani Jenkins, Jon Bostic, Josh Evans, Kansas City Chiefs, Lerentee McCray, NBA, NFL, Oakland Raiders, Olympics, Omarius Hines, Pro Day, Sharrif Floyd, Thaddeus Bullard, Titus O'Neil, track, WWE