The No. 14/14 Florida Gators (22-6, 11-3 SEC) hope the conclusion of Tuesday’s game against the Alabama Crimson Tide (19-9, 11-3 SEC) brings the same smiles that three seniors and one junior will have on their faces before the contest even begins, as the University of Florida celebrates the achievements of redshirt senior center Vernon Macklin, senior forwards Chandler Parsons and Alex Tyus, and redshirt junior F Adam Allen on Senior Day. All three players, along with head coach Billy Donovan, spoke about the special occasion on Monday.

LOOKING BACK ON FOUR YEARS OF GROWTH

Refraining from referring to ego or a sense of entitlement, Donovan discussed the trials and tribulations his graduating class went through over the course of their Florida careers – especially early on.

“I don’t think you can really be successful unless your heart really gets broken in something that’s competitive,” he said. “I did not feel, when those guys were freshmen and sophomores, that their hearts were broken. Their hearts got broken after their sophomore year. When they came in here after those two National Championships, there was no doubt in their mind they were cruising right to the same thing in 2008 and 2009. It was just very, very immature. It was not their fault. There was no one there to show them.

“They walked into the most difficult situation you could possibly walk into as a young group, and it was not their fault. If anybody, it was my fault. When I say it was my fault, I did not have enough depth or enough people around those guys that when [the Oh Fours] left, that there was enough there for those guys. They came in as freshmen not knowing anything and really got put into a very difficult situation. I give them credit because they were resilient. They did battle and they did fight and they did try to figure things out. They could have felt sorry for themselves. They could have left and gone somewhere else, but they kept battling. Where they are today from where they were as freshmen is two totally different ends of the spectrum.”

Parsons remembers Donovan locking the team out of the beautiful practice facility and taking away their official team clothes after a tough first season that resulted in a NIT berth. “That was unbelievable. That was a rough time for everybody,” he said. “Having to practice at Florida Gym with no shirt, our own shorts, having to do our laundry, come back three times a day, practicing at P.K. Yonge. That was definitely different. Those experiences have helped our upperclassmen get to where they are today.”

EMOTIONAL YET REWARDING

Like most coaches, Donovan will probably show plenty of emotion and stick his chest out with pride as his four oldest players celebrate their final game in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. “It’s always a hard thing. It’s emotional for anybody. When guys step into the arena and know it’s their last game, that’s significant,” he said. “They’re never going to play there again. When they’re young, they act like it’s never going to end. Now they realize, ‘Wow, this is coming to an end.’”

That being said, he also realizes what it took for them to get to where they are now both as players and individuals. “It’s been very rewarding, fulfilling just to see them to get to this point. Sometimes, two-to-three years ago, you don’t know if you’re ever going to get to that point in time,” Donovan noted. “They have worked hard. They have figured some things out. They still know there is a lot left of this season to be played.

“Those three guys deserve a lot of credit in terms of trying to get better, trying to improve and dealing with the adversity and growing pains of trying to be successful.”

Macklin in particular realizes he has made huge strides since first joining the team as a transfer from Georgetown. “I came a long way. I was mentally and physically weak when I got here,” he said. “It was tough for me to realize that coaches and these players actually care about me. Me sitting out, these guys treated me like I was actually playing that year. That made me feel like those guys really wanted me to be here. That helped me out a lot, and I think I’ve grown a lot from there.”

Read more from the mouths of Parsons, Allen and Macklin…after the break!
Continue Reading » Parsons, Tyus, Macklin celebrating Senior Day

Tags: Adam Allen, Alabama Crimson Tide, Alex Tyus, Billy Donovan, Chandler Parsons, Kenny Kadji, Selection Sunday, Senior Day, Vernon Macklin

NOTE: OGGOA is currently in the process of relocating (AKA I am moving) and is without Internet access until Monday morning. Therefore, we will be coming at you with a ton of news and notes first thing that morning. However, we will still be keeping tabs on Florida Gators basketball throughout the weekend and will still offer a live update right after Selection Sunday, beginning at 6 p.m. Sunday on CBS.

Florida’s win Thursday against the Auburn Tigers appeared impressive enough to earn them a berth in March Madness, but their loss to the Mississippi State Bulldogs in the 2010 Southeastern Conference Tournament quarterfinals coupled with a bunch of upsets and other victories has forced them to the back of the bubble.

Below is OGGOA‘s latest bubble watch update:

» Mississippi State (22-10) defeated Florida 75-69
» Dayton (20-12) lost to Xavier 78-73
» Rhode Island (23-8) defeated Saint Louis 63-47
» Georgia Tech (21-11) defeated No. 19 Maryland 69-64 (considered a lock)
» Illinois (19-13) defeated No. 18 Wisconsin 58-54
» Ole Miss (21-10) lost to No. 13 Tennessee 76-65
» San Diego State (24-8) defeated No. 8 New Mexico 72-69 (considered a lock)
» Minnesota (19-12) defeated No. 11 Michigan State 72-67
» Washington (22-9) defeated Stanford 79-64

Additionally, ESPN bracketology expert Joe Lunardi has dropped Florida out of his final teams to earn a berth. Instead, he has them as his second team out after Illinois after Mississippi State, Minnesota and Washington pulled off impressive victories Saturday coupled with some big upsets from other teams.

Florida [21-12 (9-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 31] The Gators seemed to be in decent shape after defeating Auburn in Thursday night’s first round of the SEC tournament, but then they lost to Mississippi State on Friday and a bunch of other bubble teams won. It will be a close call for Florida, which is trying to end a two-year NCAA drought after winning back-to-back national championships in 2006 and 2007. UF went 9-7 in SEC play during the regular season. The Gators are 3-8 against RPI top-50 foes, but those three are very good: beating Tennessee (home), Michigan State (neutral) and Florida State (home). Eight of their 12 losses came against teams that are ranked No. 24 or better in the RPI ratings. The Gators will have to overcome one ugly eyesore — a 67-66 loss at home to No. 212 South Alabama on Dec. 22.

Selection Sunday will air March 14 beginning at 6 p.m. on CBS. The NCAA Selection Committee will choose five at-large teams to join the 39 locks and 21 automatic qualifiers already in the tournament. OGGOA will provide full coverage of the event.

Tags: Auburn Tigers, March Madness, Mississippi State Bulldogs, NCAA, NCAA Tournament, SEC, SEC Tournament, selection committee, Selection Sunday

It should be no surprise that members of the Florida Gators basketball team were depressed and dismayed following their 75-69 loss to the Mississippi State Bulldogs Friday night in the quarterfinals of the 2010 Southeastern Conference Tournament. Below are some comments from the players who are concerned about a berth in the 2010 NCAA Tournament, courtesy of the Palm Beach Post and Orlando Sentinel.

» Junior forward Chandler Parsons on the loss: “It’s terrible. It’s awful. My first two years, we had a feeling we weren’t going to make (the NCAA Tournament). I think this year we have a much better chance, but it’s completely out of our hands. I’m going to keep my fingers crossed until then. I’m concerned, real concerned, because it’s not in my hands. I can’t control anything, coach (Billy) Donovan can’t, our school can’t. So I think everyone is just concerned and anxious and just hoping.”

» Parsons continued: “It’s a terrible feeling not knowing because it’s not in our hands at all. All we can do is go back to Gainesville and hope and keep our fingers crossed. I think we feel as a team we deserve to be there. We’ve had some good wins.”

» Freshman guard Kenny Boynton on what went wrong: “They wanted it more tonight, it was obvious. Reality kicked in, we tried to come back, but it was too late.”

» Senior F Dan Werner on falling behind: “You can never get by down by that much and expect to come back on a good team.”

» Werner on his miscue (flubbing pass down four with 1:25 left and a clear lane to the hoop to cut the deficit to two): “I saw that there was no one at the basket so I was going to try to run in and get an easy lay-up. When I started running I guess I kind of misjudged the ball. Stuff like that happens.”

» Head coach Billy Donovan on the team’s chances: “I think we’ve played a very, very competitive schedule. We’ve had some really, really good quality wins. If that’s good enough, then so be it. We’ll wait and see what happens on Sunday.”

Florida’s win Thursday against the Auburn Tigers appeared impressive enough to earn them a berth in March Madness, but the Gators must still keep an eye on their competition also on the bubble. While conference tournaments had been kind to UF up to this point, Friday night saw a number of bubble teams find success against top-ranked competition. Below is OGGOA‘s latest bubble watch update:

» Mississippi State (22-10) defeated Florida 75-69
» Dayton (20-12) lost to Xavier 78-73
» Rhode Island (23-8) defeated Saint Louis 63-47
» Georgia Tech (21-11) defeated No. 19 Maryland 69-64 (considered a lock)
» Illinois (19-13) defeated No. 18 Wisconsin 58-54
» Ole Miss (21-10) lost to No. 13 Tennessee 76-65
» San Diego State (24-8) defeated No. 8 New Mexico 72-69 (considered a lock)
» Minnesota (19-12) defeated No. 11 Michigan State 72-67
» Washington (22-9) defeated Stanford 79-64

Additionally, ESPN bracketology expert Joe Lunardi has kept Florida at No. 1 on his list of the final five at-large teams to qualify for the tournament after their loss Friday. Lunardi projects that it would take additional wins by Minnesota or Mississippi State or unexpected teams winning their conference tournaments to knock any of his final five (Florida, Virginia Tech, Illinois, Washington, Rhode Island) off the bubble.

Selection Sunday will air March 14 beginning at 6 p.m. on CBS. The NCAA Selection Committee will choose five at-large teams to join the 39 locks and 21 automatic qualifiers already in the tournament. OGGOA will provide full coverage of the event.

Tags: Auburn Tigers, Chandler Parsons, March Madness, Mississippi State Bulldogs, NCAA, NCAA Tournament, SEC, SEC Tournament, Selection Sunday

Down a game-high 19 points with 13:29 left to play, the Florida Gators (21-12) rallied with a strong 14-0 run but still fell short, losing to the Mississippi State Bulldogs (22-10) 75-69 Friday night in the quarterfinals of the 2010 Southeastern Conference Tournament from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, TN.

Led by a 23-point effort from freshman guard Kenny Boynton, the Gators’ backcourt scored 48 of the team’s 69 total points. Sophomore point guard Erving Walker contributed 19 points on 6-12 shooting while going 4-for-8 from beyond the arc. Boynton finished 4-of-7 from downtown and 8-for-16 overall with a team-high three assists.

Florida began the game slow, missing their first five shots and allowing Mississippi State to get out to a 10-0 lead. A layup by Walker almost four minutes in ended the drought. The Gators attempted an early comeback, using a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to 13-9, but the Bulldogs answered back and pulled ahead to a 15-point lead halfway through the period. UF finished the half with its backcourt accounting for 25 of its 28 points.

Up a game-high 19 points, 58-39, with 13:20 to left on the clock, MSU looked to have the game locked up. That was until Florida exploded on a 14-0 run to close within five as Mississippi State was held scoreless for six minutes. It would not be enough for the Gators, who would eventually get down to a four-point deficit on a Walker free throw with 1:25 to play. Florida had a chance to get within two with plenty of time left, but a mishandled pass by senior forward Dan Werner – who had a wide-open lane to the hoop in front of him – turned the ball (and perhaps the game) over to the Bulldogs.

Mississippi State shot over 66 percent from both the field and downtown for the majority of the game, but finished 57.1 percent and 50 percent from the respective locations compared to 43.6 percent and 39.1 percent for the Gators. Florida out-rebounded MSU 32-20, mostly due to the majority of the Bulldogs’ baskets going into the hoop.

Mississippi State guard Barry Stewart led the way with a team-high 17 points as F Jarvis Varnado dominated the paint with 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting, four rebounds and four big blocks. In all, five Bulldogs finished in double figures, with G Ravern Johnson adding 12 and G Dee Bost and F Kodi Augustus contributing 10 apiece.

Florida junior F Alex Tyus scored five points one day after a season-high 24-point performance Thursday against Auburn, redshirt junior center Vernon Macklin added three with his first bucket coming with 11:23 left in the game and junior F Chandler Parsons added 10 points with a team-high seven rebounds.

“They wanted it more tonight, it was obvious,” Boynton said after the game.

Friday’s loss was UF’s first to an SEC West opponent this season.

All that is left for the Gators is to wait for the NCAA Selection Committee to make its decision on whether or not they are worthy enough to earn a berth to the 2010 NCAA Tournament. Selection Sunday begins on March 14 at 6 p.m. on CBS. OGGOA will provide full coverage of the event.

Photo Credit: Mark Humphrey/Associated Press

Tags: Alex Tyus, Barry Stewart, Chandler Parsons, Dan Werner, Dee Bost, Erving Walker, Jarvis Varnado, Kenny Boynton, Kodi Augustus, Mississippi State Bulldogs, NCAA, NCAA Tournament, Ravern JOhnson, SEC, SEC Tournament, Selection Sunday, Vernon Macklin