From time to time, OGGOA will come across a plethora of news and notes that we wish to share with our readers – too much to fit into one of our truncated BITS segments. In these instances, we present a special post: Gator Bites. Enjoy.

» With the NFL lockout now in the books, the Florida Gators four selections in the 2011 NFL Draft will be reporting to work for the first time on Thursday. Miami Dolphins center Mike Pouncey (first round, No. 15), Pittsburgh Steelers offensive lineman Marcus Gilbert (second round, No. 63), Tampa Bay Buccaneers strong safety Ahmad Black (fifth round, No. 151 and Washington Redskins guard Maurice Hurt (seventh round, No. 217 are all on teams who will be eligible to workout immediately.

» While that foursome is ready and raring to go, Florida also has a number of undrafted free agents hoping to be picked up by teams looking to supplement their roster. Among those available are defensive linemen Terron Sanders and Justin Trattou, running back Emmanuel Moody and wide receiver Carl Moore. OGGOA will update you if and when these players are picked up by teams.

» The WNBA held its 2011 All-Star game over the weekend and also announced its Top 15 Players of All Time at the event. Though she was nominated and up for selection to the list, former Gators forward DeLisha Milton-Jones was not picked by fans for the honor. The six-time champion (two Olympic gold medals, two WNBA titles, two Euroleague titles) is currently averaging 12.5 points and 5.1 rebounds in 26.6 minutes per game with the Los Angeles Sparks.

There are 11 more Gator Bites including updates on Calathes, UF-FSU, Beal, Alvarez, Wambach, LeCount, ultimate Frisbee and Bostic…after the break!
Continue Reading » Eleven Gator Bites for Monday, July 25th

Tags: Abby Wambach, Ahmad Black, Billy Donovan, Brad Beal, Brodie Smith, Carl Moore, Carlos Alvarez, Cory McGee, Dan Cross, DeLisha Milton-Jones, Draft, Ebony Eutsey, Eddie Lovett, Emmanuel Moody, FIBA, FiBA European Championship, field, Florida State Seminoles, Hall of Fame, Jimbo Fisher, John Reaves, Jon Bostic, Justin Trattou, Los Angeles Sparks, magicJack, Marcus Gilbert, Maurice Hurt, Miami Dolphins, Mike Pouncey, Minnesota Vikings, NFL, Nick Calathes, Panathinaikos, Pittsburgh Steelers, soccer, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Terron Sanders, Terry LeCount, track, ultimate Frisbee, Will Yeguete, WNBA, women's basketball, World Cup, WPS, Wsahington Redskins

Round 2 – No. 38
Chandler Parsons, F
Houston Rockets

Height: 6’10″ – Weight: 215 lbs.
Age: 22 – Class: Senior

Waiting patiently at his home in Orlando, FL, Florida Gators forward Chandler Parsons learned late Thursday evening that he had been selected by the Houston Rockets with the No. 38 overall pick in the second round of the 2011 NBA Draft.

Parsons, the 2011 Southeastern Conference Player of the Year, is the first Florida player to be selected in the NBA Draft since his former high school teammate, guard Nick Calathes, was picked No. 45 overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2009 before being traded on draft day to the Dallas Mavericks.

Parsons averaged 11.3 points per game as a senior and led the Gators in both rebounding (7.8) and assists (3.7) last season. He shot 48 percent from the field, 36.8 percent from beyond the arc and 55.7 percent from the free throw line in 2011.

A team leader who excelled in team workouts over the last month, Parsons has the size, length and basketball IQ to succeed at the next level. He can defend, rebound and make plays both off the dribble against slower opponents and in the post against smaller ones.

Parsons is the 32nd player in school history to be selected in the NBA Draft.

6/22 – Entry VI: Crossing the finish line
6/15 – Entry V: Workouts intensify
6/8 – Entry IV: East Coast trip continues
6/1 – Entry III: Month of workouts begins
5/24 – Entry II: Workouts, interviews, tests
5/17 – Entry I: Preparing for the combine

Tags: Chandler Parsons, Dallas Mavericks, Draft, Houston Rockets, Minnesota Timberwolves, NBA, Nick Calathes, Player of the Year, SEC, University of Florida

1 » Outspoken Miami Dolphins linebacker Channing Crowder told the Sun-Sentinel Tuesday that the current NFL lockout could “mess up integrity of the game” if it continues. “There’s going to be more injuries, it’s going to be real simple football,” he said. “It’s going to mess up the integrity of the game because we’re used to having those OTA’s, minicamps, off-season workouts […] it’s hurting the NFL now and as long as the owners won’t let us go to work it’s going to continue to hurt the game we love.” Crowder has been participating in private workouts with teammates in the offseason and hopes to be in top-notch condition when the season begins…whenever (if ever) that occurs.

2 » In a pairing that may make some Florida Gators fans cringe, Minnesota Vikings rookie quarterback Christian Ponder has reached out to wide receiver Percy Harvin to begin working out together. The former Florida State Seminoles QB and Florida WR could be connecting for touchdowns for quite some time considering Harvin’s impressive athleticism and Ponder being selected with the No. 12 overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft.

Click to expand and read the remainder of this post.

Tags: Channing Crowder, Chicago Bulls, Christian Ponder, Corey Brewer, Dallas Mavericks, Joakim Noah, Miami Dolphins, Minnesota Vikings, NBA, NFL, Nick Calathes, Panathinaikos, Percy Harvin

With the Florida Gators in the process of wrapping up their spring sports and a few months remaining until football season actually begins, ONLY GATORS Get Out Alive is making a concerted effort to provide our readers as much additional content as possible over the next few sweltering summer months.

On Monday, 2011 Southeastern Conference Player of the Year and former Florida forward Chandler Parsons agreed to join OGGOA as a guest blogger through the 2011 NBA Draft set for June 23 at 7 p.m.

Parsons will check in with us each week to discuss what he is up to in his quest to become the first Gators basketball player to be drafted since teammate Nick Calathes was picked with the No. 45 overall pick in the second round in 2009.

Readers will be able to tag along as Parsons trains to improve his game, competes at the 2011 NBA Combine and meets with individual teams interested in selecting him in late June. Projections for Parsons have him being selected anywhere from the mid-teens in the first round to early in the second round of the draft.

Leaving Florida with a degree in telecommunications, he led the Gators in both rebounding and assists last season. Florida went on to capture the 2011 SEC regular season title and reached the Elite Eight in the 2011 NCAA Tournament.

He finished his career as the 12th leading scorer in school history (1,452 points) and just the sixth with more than 500 career field goals. Upon playing his last game in March, Parsons was the only active player in Division I with over 1,300 points, 800 rebounds, 300 assists and 125 steals for his career.

Parsons is the second former Gators player to guest blog for this website. He follows Danny Wuerffel, a national champion and 1996 Heisman Trophy winner, who wrote five columns evaluating the football team in Sept. and Oct. 2010.

Keep a look out for his contributions exclusively here on OGGOA!

OGGOA RELATED: Exclusive interview with Chandler Parsons

Tags: Chandler Parsons, combine, Danny Wuerffel, Draft, Elite Eight, NBA, NCAA, NCAA Tournament, Nick Calathes, Player of the Year, SEC

Florida Gators basketball’s 2012 recruiting class doubled in size Wednesday as four-star point guard Braxton Ogbueze (Charlotte, NC) committed to head coach Billy Donovan.

Joining four-star shooting guard Michael Frazier (Tampa, FL), Ogbueze is Donovan’s second backcourt commitment for the 2012 cycle and the University of Florida’s highest-ranked point guard recruit since former five-star Nick Calathes. He is listed as the No. 7 player at his position by Scout and the No. 9 point guard in his class by Rivals.

“When I arrived on campus I was impressed with all the coaches, players and the beautiful campus,” Ogbueze told ESPN about his decision. “I want to learn my position from Coach Donovan, who has had great success with perimeter players and is a proven winner. Winning back-to-back national championships means a lot.”

Always holding the school in high acclaim, Ogbueze decided to attend Florida over offers from Oklahoma, Baylor, Tennessee, Wake Forest and South Carolina. Assistant coach Rob Lanier was heavily involved in his recruitment.

“Braxton Ogbueze approaches everything with excellence in mind,” his high school head coach Sean Wiseman told ESPN. “From the court to the classroom as well as his character, he tries to be the best at what he does. That’s what makes him special.”

The Gators already have five-star SG Brad Beal (St. Louis, MO) and three-star forward Walter Pitchford (East Lansing, MI) on board as members of their 2011 signing class.

Scout.com first reported Ogbueze’s decision.

Photo Credit: NY2LA

Tags: Billy Donovan, Brad Beal, Braxton Ogbueze, Michael Frazier, Nick Calathes, Rob Lanier, University of Florida, Walter Pitchford

1 » Name a major sporting event, chances are ESPN reporter and former Florida Gators dazzler Erin Andrews has covered it. Talk about one of the most popular reality shows (Dancing with the Stars), her name pops up as a contestant who almost won it. Just over a month after college football has ended and with college basketball in full swing, Andrews will be taking on a new task: reporting live from the red carpet and interviewing some of the winners at the 83rd Annual Academy Awards. She has been in Hollywood, CA all week taping segments for Good Morning America but is still a bit edgy for the event. “I’m really, really nervous for Sunday,” she told Newsday. “I was talking to a couple of my buddies who are in the NFL and I was like, ‘I’m really nervous.’ They were, like, ‘Why?’ I said, ‘I know you guys. I can talk to you guys. These people, they don’t know me. I’m really out of my comfort zone.’ It’s kind of cool to feel that way.”

2 » Surviving a serious leukemia scare last year, former Gators Dwayne Schintzius has been cleared as healthy and made a very public appearance at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center on Thursday to cheer on his Florida basketball team as they faced and defeated the Georgia Bulldogs. Wearing an “I’m Awesome” shirt, one worn by WWE wrestler The Miz, Schintzius stepped into the O’Dome for the first time in 21 years and was introduced by the public address announcer to an ovation. “I did come back for a football game, when they brought us back once, but never for a basketball game since the time I played,’’ he told GatorZone’s Scott Carter on Thursday. “Wasn’t sure if I felt right about it or [if] people would want me back. I do like coming back and I want to come back again.’’ Schintzius’s hesitation to return was due to some off-the-court issues he had as a player (including allegedly hitting a student with a tennis racket and quitting on the team well before the season was over) but all of that is in the past now. “I’m very proud to be a Gator,’’ he said. “I feel like I helped start something. I don’t want to call it ‘The House That Dwayne Built,’ because that’s not true. I helped to build it. Makes me feel good where the program has come.’’

“It was important to me for Dwayne to come back here,” head basketball coach Billy Donovan told the Tampa Tribune. “Every time I’m down in Tampa or St. Petersburg for a Gator function, Dwayne is there. He’s very supportive. He still feels part of it. Yet he never came back. I think he felt he wasn’t welcome here, but that wasn’t true. He is an important part of this program’s history. He needs to feel welcome here, regardless of what happened in the past.”

Read two more BITS on Corey Brewer and Nick Calathes…after the break!
Continue Reading » 4 BITS: Andrews, Schintzius, Brewer, Calathes

Tags: Academy Awards, Billy Donovan, Chandler Parsons, Dancing with the Stars, dazzlers, Dwayne Schintzius, Erin Andrews, Georgia Bulldogs, NBA, Nick Calathes, O'Connell Center

By Malik Grady – OGGOA Correspondent

After nine games, the Florida Gators men’s basketball team is a hard-to-gauge 7-2 with losses to a top-five Ohio State team in Gainesville, FL, and an embarrassing loss to a possible NCAA Tournament team in Central Florida in Orlando, FL. Is this team closer to the top-10 ranked one that led Ohio State at the 12-minute mark of the second half or more akin to the one that only beat Morehead State by six and lost to UCF?

Complicating the issue is the curious combination of players struggling offensively and extended minutes for young players who may still improve dramatically in the coming months. It’s much easier to look at the often contradicting facts than to make any certain predictions for this team going forward.

Simply put, the Gators have not been particularly noteworthy on either offense or defense as of yet, except in a few curious instances. Checking their advanced statistics so far reveals a few things about how the team has played up until this point.

Read the rest of Malik’s commentary on Florida basketball…after the jump!
Continue Reading » Jury still out on Florida basketball through nine

Tags: Alex Tyus, Billy Donovan, Casey Prather, Chandler Parsons, Erik Murphy, Erving Walker, Jacob Pullen, Kenny Boynton, NCAA, NCAA Tournament, Nick Calathes, Patric Young, Scottie Wilbekin, Vernon Macklin, Will Yeguete

From time to time, OGGOA will come across a plethora of news and notes that we wish to share with our readers. In those instances, we present a special post: Gator Bites. Enjoy.

» Former Florida Gators forward/center David Lee of the Golden State Warriors was the subject of a piece by Harvey Araton of The New York Times on Monday. Lee, who has spent his whole career with the New York Knicks after they drafted him coming out of college, has a special bond with the team and has been the face of the franchise over the last few years. Read about how he went out of his way to represent the team (even after being traded to Golden State) at a funeral for longtime NBA and Madison Square Garden security official Scott Jaffer and how he will always be remembered in New York for being such an upstanding person.

» Interviewed by the NFL Network about his throwing mechanics, San Diego Chargers quarterback Phillip Rivers went through the motions with some of the studio analysts on Monday. Because of the subject matter, Rivers was asked about Denver Broncos rookie QB Tim Tebow’s motion, and the veteran offered advice and insight into what Tebow may and may not need to do going forward.

» Florida should be excited about 2011 five-star shooting guard commitment Brad Beal (St. Louis, MO) – he could be the best player the team has signed since guard Nick Calathes. Then again, with one of the top players in the country considering his future in a different sport, there is a slight cause for concern. With his father and two brothers all having played collegiate football, Beal tells USA Today that he is “still trying to decide” which sport to play. “My brothers, especially my younger brothers, want me to play football so we can be on the same team,” Beal said. “But my mom always tells me, ‘You don’t have the body for football, so you have to stick to basketball.’” Don’t get it twisted – his future is on the court – not the field. Having a former Gators star like Lee (who also graduated from Chaminade High School) in his ear certainly helps. “We don’t have that much in common because we play different positions,” Beal said. “He came back to visit the school, and I talk to him during lunch period. He gave me input on the game.”

» While Beal is deciding what sport to play, four-star cornerback Nick Waisome (Groveland, FL) is just trying to figure out what school to end. According to the Orlando Sentinel’s Chris Hays, Waisome now considers his final five to Florida, Florida State, LSU, Georgia and South Carolina; he plans to decide in August.

» Updating a previous item, four-star wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin (Belle Glade, FL) still considers the Gators to be the leader for his services, even after having Miami Hurricanes commitment four-star quarterback Teddy Bridgewater (Miami, FL) in his ear during the Nike 7-on-7 Championship last Saturday. “Florida is still in the lead,” Benjamin told SoFLAfootball.com. “I like Florida and what they showed me, how they would use me. I like Miami too and Florida State, so all the Florida teams, they’re really up there. But I like Florida.”

Three more BITES on Meyer, Smith and Werner…after the break!
Continue Reading » Gator Bites for Tuesday, July 20th

Tags: Brad Beal, Chris Bosh, Dan Werner, David Lee, Denver Broncos, Dwyane Wade, Emmitt Smith, Golden State Warriors, Kelvin Benjamin, Lane Kiffin, LeBron James, Luther Campbell, Madison Square Garden, Miami Heat, Miami Hurricanes, Mike Miller, NBA, New York Knicks, NFL, Nick Calathes, Nike, San Diego Chargers, Teddy Bridgewater, Tim Tebow, Udonis Haslem, Urban Meyer, USC Trojans, Walter Payton