1 » The month of February is half over and Florida Gators basketball fans are concerned about where their team will be playing in the end of March. Will it earn a berth in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in three seasons or join some other traditional college basketball powerhouses in the NIT? While ESPN‘s Joe Lunardi has left the Gators out of his most recent bracketology, Seth Davis of Sports Illustrated believes Florida still has a legitimate shot. Davis lists the Gators as a 12-seed and predicts an upset over 5-seed Wake Forest. “Despite recent struggles, Florida looks like a team capable of making the tournament — and staging a first-round upset,” Davis writes.

2 » With the 2010 NFL Draft coming up and plenty of Florida players in contention for top picks, The Houston Chronicle’s Lance Zierlein looked at how former Gators have fared in the league since 2001. The results are less spectacular than Florida fans would hope, though the team has certainly had its share of impact players.

3 » One former Gators star on the verge of a bleak NFL career is Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Derrick Harvey. Though he has struggled thus far in Jacksonville and only compiled two sacks in 2009, Harvey is a favorite of new Jaguars assistant coach Joe Cullen. “Our pick was going to be Derrick Harvey if he was available,” Cullen recounted about the 2007 draft to The Florida Times-Union. “We did a lot of research on him, put him through a great one-on-one workout after Florida’s pro day. The qualities we saw in Derrick are still there. He’s explosive, strong. He’s going to be a powerful rusher. With more repetition and work, that can come out of him.”

4 » Looking back at college football recruiting classes from 2007, SI’s Andy Staples reaffirms that the Gators had the best class in the nation. “This class provided the raw materials for a championship,” Staples writes. “It’s interesting to note that this class could produce as many as four 2010 first-round draft picks.”

Tags: Derrick Harvey, Draft, Jacksonville Jaguars, Joe Cullen, NCAA Tournament, NFL, NIT

1 » Senior Bowl Practice Day 1:
By all accounts, former Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow did not have a great day practicing in Mobile, AL. Most of the criticism surrounding Tebow Monday centered on his fumbling of multiple snaps from under center. However, he did put together some good throws and showed nice arm strength. Wide receiver Riley Cooper proved to be one of the best in his position and showed a nice combination of size and quickness.

“I feel like it was good. Kind of back to the basics,” Tebow said after practice. “Gotta get the timing down, gotta get the snaps down, everything, so it’s like you’re back in junior high.” He also explained some of his early struggles. “I think it has to do with getting used to a new [center]. They are rotating in three quarterbacks, rotating in three centers, so that’s something you have to get used to and it takes a little time.”

Five more BITS including Tebow’s Super Bowl ad, a TMZ piece, Cooper’s agent, Harvin’s Pro Bowl, Parsons’ Facebook friends and Tebow on ESPN…after the jump!
Continue Reading » SIX BITS: Tebow, ad, TMZ, Cooper, Harvin, Parsons

Tags: Ben Troupe, Chandler Parsons, Channing Crowder, Ciatrick Fason, Focus on the Family, Joel Segal, MLB, NCAA Tournament, NFL, NIT, Pam Tebow, Percy Harvin, Pro Bowl, Riley Cooper, Senior Bowl, Super Bowl, Texas Rangers, Tim Tebow, Under Armour

Over the past two weeks, OGGOA asked you to participate in four polls. Ranging from how you thought Florida basketball would finish the season to what the biggest college football coaching news story was this offseason, your responses and votes came in record numbers. There were 1,940 combined votes (485 average – by far our highest ever) cast, and the results are in. Here is a quick review:
Continue Reading » Poll Reviews: NCAAs, Edwards, 5-stars, coaches

Tags: Brian Kelly, George Edwards, Lane Kiffin, Matt Elam, Mike Leach, NCAA Tournament, NIT, Pete Carroll, Ronald Powell, Sharrif Floyd, Urban Meyer

Coming off two consecutive trips to the National Invitational Tournament, the Florida Gators basketball team is looking to return to the glory it experienced just a few short years ago. With guard Nick Calathes leaving to play professional basketball in Greece and an influx of talented players, head coach Billy Donovan hopes to wipe the sour taste the last two seasons have put in fans’ mouths. With that, ONLY GATORS Get Out Alive presents our 2009-10 Florida Gators Basketball Preview.

STARTING FIVE:

PG Erving Walker – sophomore, 5’8”, 171 lbs.
2008 STATS: 10.1 PPG – 2.4 APG – .434 FG% – .419 3P% – 1.5 RPG – 23.1 MPG
A spark plug known more for his shooting and penetrating than passing, Walker was a pleasant surprise for the Gators in 2008. Starting the season as the team’s sixth man, he moved into the starting lineup at year’s end, earning a reputation as a sharp-shooter who could be trusted to put the ball in the hoop when the game was on the line. Walker was named to the Southeastern Conference All-Freshman team and led Florida in three-point percentage (.419). His breakout performance came against the Auburn Tigers, when he hit two late three pointers to help send the Gators to a 68-65 win. Walker must improve his ball handling, court vision and willingness to dish the ball in order to allow Boynton to move around and not be forced to play point.

G Kenny Boynton – freshman, 6’2”, 183 lbs.
2008 STATS (HS): 33 PPG – .58 FG%
Boynton is the pride of the Gators’ 2009 recruiting class, a consensus five-star guard who was ranked No. 9 overall on ESPN’s Top-100 list, No. 12 by Rivals and No. 15 by Scout. He is the 12th McDonald’s All-American signed by Donovan and the third-leading scorer in the history of Florida high school basketball. Quick both with and without the ball, Boynton is highly competitive and athletic with the ability to play either backcourt position. He can get his shot off at will, whether it be a quick pull up jumper, deep three-pointer, floater down the lane or penetrating layup. Boynton is also a tough defender who is strong with quick feet laterally. In his two games so far in the Orange and Blue, Boynton has averaged 23.5 points in 25.5 minutes.

The preview is a LOT longer than this. Read the rest after the jump…
Continue Reading » 2009-10 Florida Gators Basketball Preview

Tags: Alex Tyus, Billy Donovan, Chandler Parsons, Dan Werner, Erik Murphy, Erving Walker, Kenny Boynton, Kenny Kadji, Legends Classic, March Madness, NCAA, Nick Calathes, NIT, Orange Bowl Baksetball Classic, Ray Shipman, Rod Tishman, SEC/Big East Invitational, Vernon Macklin

For months, the Florida Gators and head coach Billy Donovan have been waiting for the NCAA Clearinghouse to decide on whether or not Israeli point guard Nimrod Tishman would be eligible to play for the two-time National Champions this season. On Tuesday, that decision was handed down, and Tishman officially became the newest member of the Orange & Blue.

Already cleared to participate in practice, Tishman (6’6″) was impressing Donovan with his work ethic, court vision and ball-handling. During the Florida and SEC media days, Donovan expressed his hope that Tishman would be cleared by the NCAA sooner than later.

Tishman averaged 18.6 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists at the Under-18 European Championships in France this past summer and was signed to the Gators after Donovan failed to land some of the top point guard prospects in the country during the past recruiting cycle.

On the basketball front, Mark Schlabach of ESPN took an in-depth look at the future of the Gators in his column on Tuesday. Coming off a four-year swing that included back-to-back National Championships followed by back-to-back NIT appearances, Donovan is optimistic that the additions of Tishman, five-star guard Kenny Boynton and others will pay off for his team in 2009-10. “I feel like there’s a difference in our team this year as far as intensity,” Donovan said. “I’m excited about that. There seems to be a better chemistry and a maturity level from growing up. I thought our team the last two years was immature.”

Tags: Billy Donovan, Kenny Boynton, National Championship, Nimrod Tishman, NIT