1 » No. 5/5 Florida Gators softball (43-7) was stunned Friday, losing 9-1 to the No. 17/11 LSU Tigers (43-13) in the semifinals of the 2010 Southeastern Conference Tournament. Junior Stephanie Brombacher (29-6) started the game but was pulled after 2.1 innings when she allowed four runs and walked three batters. Freshman Ensley Gammel did not play any better in relief, being lit up for four runs in 1.1 innings. Cody Trahan (13-4) won the game for the Tigers, only allowing a solo home run to Florida junior shortstop Megan Bush. Sophomore outfielder Michelle Moultrie led the Gators’ lineup with two singles in three plate appearances. Knocked out of the SEC Tournament, Florida will now prepare for the 2010 NCAA Tournament, which begins on Thursday, May 20. The Gators will likely host at least the regional round.

2 » No. 3 women’s tennis (25-2), also holding down the No. 3-seed in the 2010 NCAA Tournament, swatted the South Carolina State Huskies (12-6) 4-0 in first round action at Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex in Gainesville, FL. Florida freshmen No. 8 Allie Will and No. 9 Lauren Embree each won their singles matches with the No. 5 doubles team of Will and senior Marrit Boonstra also taking their doubles match. Second-round action continues Saturday.

Tags: Allie Will, Cody Trahan, Ensley Gammel, Lauren Embree, Linder Stadium, LSU Tigers, Marrit Boonstra, Megan Bush, Michelle Moultrie, NCAA, NCAA Tournament, Ring Tennis Complex, SEC, softball, South Carolina State Huskies, Stephanie Brombacher, tennis

All five starters are returning for the first time since the Florida Gators back-to-back National Championship seasons, head coach Billy Donovan has a much-needed deep and talented recruiting class coming in and not a single player declared for the NBA Draft for the first time in years. With all of these factors taken into consideration, three college basketball analysts have already declared Florida basketball to be a top 10 team going into the 2010-11 season.

ESPN‘s Andy Katz and Pat Forde and CBS Sports‘ Gary Parrish have given the Gators this distinction. But the question is: Do they deserve the love?

See what the experts and OGGOA have to say…after the break!
Continue Reading » Florida basketball really a top 10 team in 2010-11?

Tags: Alex Tyus, Billy Donovan, Chandler Parsons, Dan Werner, Draft, Erik Murphy, Erving Walker, Kenny Kadji, National Championship, NBA, NCAA, NCAA Tournament, Patric Young, Ray Shipman, Scottie Wilbekin, SEC, Vernon Macklin

University of Florida men’s basketball head coach Billy Donovan was honored with the John R. Wooden “Legends of Coaching Award” on Friday at a banquet and ceremony at the Los Angeles Athletic Club. This award, which recognizes successful coaches who exemplify Wooden’s high standards of integrity on the court, is presented to recipients who are selected based on character, success, student-athlete graduation rate and coaching philosophy.

Donovan is one of only four active coaches who have both guided teams to multiple NCAA National Championship titles (2006, 2007) and received this honor. The others are the Duke Blue Devils’ Mike Krzyzweski (4), North Carolina Tar Heels’ Roy Williams (2) and Connecticut Huskies’ Jim Calhoun (2). Donovan is 331-139 (.704) in 14 seasons as coach of the Florida Gators with 12 consecutive 20-win seasons, 10 NCAA Tournament appearances and three Southeastern Conference Championships.

“This is a great honor and I was very taken back when I learned I was going to be here tonight,” Donovan said. “To me, coaching is about how your players talk about you when they’re out of your program five or six years down the road. The true sign of a great coach is how your players speak about you and I am certainly proud of some of the comments my players said about me tonight. You want to have a shared vision at your university and we have a great athletic director and administration at the University of Florida. I love the basketball practices, getting the chance to be on court and provide individual instruction to our student-athletes. Florida is a terrific place. I have been very blessed that my family has been in one place for 14 years. For my wife and our four children, it’s been a great ride to be at one place and to build something like we have.”

Photo Credit: H. Darr Beiser/USA TODAY

Tags: Billy Donovan, John Wooden, Legends of Coaching Award, Los Angeles Athletic Club, NCAA, NCAA Championship, NCAA Tournament, SEC, SEC Championship, University of Florida, Wooden Award

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

From falling to the Brigham Young Cougars in the first round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament and losing sophomore guard Ray Shipman to transfer to being a name rumored in two head coaching openings (St. Johns, Oregon) while recruiting players for his 2010 and 2011 classes, Florida Gators head coach Billy Donovan has had plenty on his mind in recent weeks.

Speaking with the media Wednesday, Donovan appeared somewhat distraught at losing Shipman, a “great kid” who he empathizes with and would take back “in a heartbeat.”

Read what Donovan said about Shipman and the team’s future after the break!
Continue Reading » Billy Donovan on Shipman, recruiting, coaching

Tags: Bernie Machen, Billy Donovan, Jeremy Foley, NCAA Tournament, Oregon Ducks, Ray Shipman, St. John's Red Storm, University of Florida

1 » Looking for a new home after being cut outright by the Chicago Bears, former Florida Gators defensive end Alex Brown is making the rounds. Visiting Tuesday with the New Orleans Saints, Brown has also scheduled a meeting with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday. With the Saints, Brown would likely receive a starting job should he be amenable to their contract offer.

2 » From OGGOA on Oct. 14, 2009:

University of Florida men’s basketball head coach Billy Donovan will be honored with the John R. Wooden “Legends of Coaching Award” on April [9,] 2010. This award recognizes successful coaches who exemplify Wooden’s high standards of integrity on the court. Winners are selected based on character, success, student-athlete graduation rate and coaching philosophy. Donovan will be one of only four active coaches who have both guided teams to multiple NCAA National Championship titles (20006, 2007) and received this honor. The others are the Duke Blue Devils’ Mike Krzyzweski (4), North Carolina Tar Heels’ Roy Williams (2) and Connecticut Huskies’ Jim Calhoun (2). Donovan is 333-139 (.706) in 14 seasons as coach of the Gators with 12 consecutive 20-win seasons, 10 NCAA Tournament appearances and three SEC Championships.

Tags: Alex Brown, Billy Donovan, Chicago Bears, Duke Blue Devils, John Wooden, Legends of Coaching Award, Mike Krzyzweski, NCAA, NCAA Tournament, New Orleans Saints, NFL, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, University of Florida, Wooden Award

1 » Asked in a question and answer session about a “sleeper pro prospect coming out of Florida,” ESPN NFL analyst Adam Schefter was quick to name former Florida Gators wide receiver Riley Cooper. “Anyone who is 6-foot-4, 225 pounds and fast usually has a chance to do some good things at the NFL level,” Schefter said. “Some scouts timed him in the high 4.4s. So he has a size/speed combo that makes him an attractive prospect. Throw in his ability to play special teams and it would seem like Cooper would benefit some team next season.”

2 » As the Butler Bulldogs prepare for a 2010 NCAA Final Four game against the Michigan State Spartans, their fans are pumped and already swarming local bookstores (both online and in person) to purchase the official tournament t-shirt. “We are going through just thousands of shirts at this point, of the Final Four style,” Follett regional manager Richard Goodpaster said. In fact, Butler fans are buying shirts at such a rapid pace that they are expected to blow past the record number of shirts purchased by Gators fans during the team’s run in 2006.

Two more BITS on a top recruit favoring UF and Charlie Strong…after the break!
Continue Reading » FOUR BITS: Cooper, Seferian-Jenkins, Strong

Tags: Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Brain White, Butler Bulldogs, Charlie Strong, Draft, Louisville Cardinals, NCAA, NCAA Tournament, NFL, Riley Cooper, University of Florida, Vance Bedford

1 » Whether it was the season itself, head coach Amanda Butler’s style or a variety of other factors, three players have left the Gators women’s basketball team. Trumae Lucas, Tessah Holt and Christal Caldwell have all exited the program, which went 15-17 on the season and failed to make the NCAA Tournament after doing so one year ago. The women (short staffed by the transfers) also lost their second-round WNIT game against the Miami Hurricanes, falling 77-64. Sophomore center Azania Stewart had a team-high 18 points with six rebounds and four assists.

2 » On Saturday, Florida lacrosse (5-3) took down No. 17 New Hampshire Wildcats (4-3) 15-3 at home at Donald R. Dizney Stadium. Freshman attacker Ashley Bruns scored six goals as the Gators won their first game against a ranked opponent in program history. Florida’s defense only allowed New Hampshire 11 shots and three goals over the course of the entire match.

Extra Bit » The Gators won seven events at the Black and Gold Challenge hosted by the University of Central Florida at the UCF Track and Field Complex on Saturday. For details on each event victory, click here. Track and field returns to action and Orlando, FL, next Saturday to participate in the UCF Invitational.

Tags: Amanda Butler, Ashley Bruns, Azania Stewart, Black and Gold Challenge, Christal Caldwell, Dizney Stadium, field, Miami Hurricanes, NCAA, NCAA Tournament, New Hampshire Wildcats, Tessah Holt, track, Trumae Lucas, UCF Track and Field Complex, WNIT, women's basketball