1 » Former Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow, linebacker Ryan Stamper, defensive end Jermaine Cunningham and kick returner Brandon James have received invites to the 2010 NFL Combine. Juniors who have declared for the 2010 NFL Draft have yet to receive invitations, but fans can expect DE Carlos Dunlap, cornerback Joe Haden, tight end Aaron Hernandez and safety Major Wright to participate in the event from Feb. 24 to March 2 in Indianapolis, IN.

2 » Three-star athlete Marcus Smith (Columbus, GA) had an outstanding scholarship offer from Florida and was prepared to take it…that is until Louisville Cardinals head coach Charlie Strong came calling. “If Louisville would have never been in the mix, I would have probably went to Florida,” Smith told the Courier-Journal. “But I’m glad Louisville came into the mix. I like coach Strong a lot, and I really wanted to play for coach Strong. Louisville is a great program. He wants me to play quarterback, he established that during our talk this morning. To tell you the truth, I just want to play, so I am good wherever he wants me.” Upon taking his position with the Cardinals, Strong said he would not poach recruits the Gators were interested in unless they initiated contact.

3 » The Gators hosted their biggest remaining recruiting weekend the past few days and a number of both committed and undecided prospects came away impressed. Four-star running back Mack Brown (Lithonia, GA), who at one point was wavering after head coach Urban Meyer announced his leave of absence, solidified his recruitment after getting extensive time with new running backs coach Stan Drayton. Brown also told Adam Gorney of Rivals that Meyer may return as soon as March. “He looked pretty fine to me,” Brown said. “He looked healthy. I know he wants to coach, so I know he’s going to be there. He’s going to take a couple weeks off in February, but he’ll be back.” Fellow four-star recruits offensive tackle Chaz Green (Tampa, FL) and wide receiver Christian Green (Tampa, FL) raved to numerous sources about their respective experiences.

4 » Coming off of a heartbreaking loss to the No. 4 Tennessee Volunteers with just two seconds remaining in the game, the Florida women’s basketball team gained a bit of revenge by taking down the Mississippi State Bulldogs 55-52 on the road on Sunday afternoon at Humphrey Coliseum. Sophomore guard Trumae Lucas scored seven points off of the bench in the waning minutes while senior forward Sharielle Smith led the Gators with 13 points on 4-of-6 shooting while also grabbing seven boards.

Tags: Aaron Hernandez, Brandon James, Carlos Dunlap, Charlie Strong, Chaz Green, Christian Green, combine, Draft, Humphrey Coliseum, Jermaine Cunningham, Joe Haden, Louisville Cardinals, Mack Brown, Major Wright, Marcus Smith, Mississippi State Bulldogs, NFL, Ryan Stamper, Sharielle Smith, Stan Drayton, Tim Tebow, Trumae Lucas, Urban Meyer, women's basketball

Still trying to recover from three straight losses after climbing to No. 10/11 in the AP Top 25 and USA Today/ESPN Top 25 polls three weeks ago, Florida Gators basketball (10-3) rolled the Presbyterian Blue Hose (2-12) 79-38 on Wednesday night in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. Junior forward Chandler Parsons led Florida with 21 points including two three-pointers and three dunks.

Fellow forwards juniorAlex Tyus and freshman Erik Murphy posted double-doubles in the Gators’ victory, scoring 16 points each; Tyus collected 13 rebounds while Murphy grabbed 11 boards. Florida shot 30 percent from downtown with freshman guard Kenny Boynton going 3-for-8 from beyond the arc, leading the team in makes and attempts while finishing with 14 points. Freshman point guard Rod Tishman saw seven minutes of limited action, earning two points, rebounds and assists.

Gators sophomores G/F Ray Shipman (knee) and center Kenny Kadji (back) both sat out the contest; starting redshirt junior transfer C Vernon Macklin only played 14 minutes. F Jake Trovli led the Blue House with 14 points. Florida will next face the North Carolina State Wolfpack in Raleigh, NC, on Sunday, Jan. 3, 2010, at 3 p.m.

Also on Wednesday, the women’s basketball team (7-6) defeated the Jacksonville Dolphins (1-9) for head coach Amanda Butler’s 50th win at the school. The Gators shot 54.5 percent from the floor while limiting Jacksonville to only 26.5 percent shooting. Sophomore G Trumae Lucas and freshman F Jennifer George led the team with 15 points each while senior F Sharielle Smith turned in the sixth double-double of her career with 11 points and 13 rebounds.

Tags: Alex Tyus, Amanda Butler, Chandler Parsons, Erik Murphy, Jacksonville Dolphins, Jake Trovli, Jennifer George, Kenny Boynton, Kenny Kadji, O'Connell Center, Presbyterian Blue Hose, Ray Shipman, Rod Tishman, Sharielle Smith, Trumae Lucas, Vernon Macklin, women's basketball

1 » One day after advancing to the finals of the Gator Holiday Classic with a dominating 62-35 win over the Southern Jaguars, Florida Gators women’s basketball (5-6) fell to the High Point Panthers (5-6) 75-68 at home in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. Senior forward Sharielle Smith led the Gators with a team-high 11 points for the fifth double-double of her career (11 rebounds).

2 » Though they lost head coach Brian Kelly to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and their interim coach, Jeff Quinn, accepted the head job with the Buffalo Bulls, the Cincinnati Bearcats are playing better than ever, according to quarterback Tony Pike. “I think this has been our best week of practice this season,” Pike said. “It’s been a relief to get back on the field. The success we’ve had this season had been overshadowed by the other stuff.” The Bearcats and Gators will both descend on New Orleans, LA, on Saturday to begin practice for the 2010 Sugar Bowl.

3 » A five-star recruit coming out of high school, Florida freshman guard Kenny Boynton has already delighted fans with his exciting play and aggressive style. His shot selection, however, leaves much to be desired. Kevin Brockway of the Gainesville Sun took a closer look at Boynton’s struggles – the freshman sensation is shooting only 37 percent from the floor and a measly 21.9 percent from beyond the arc. In the Gators’ loss last Saturday against the Richmond Spiders, Boynton was 0-6 from three-point range, some of which were simply bad shots. “Kenny may have taken some bad shots, but I think the same thing can be said of the rest of our team,” head coach Billy Donovan said. “Guys are going to have ups and downs. He’s got to have the freedom to take good shots, to take unchallenged shots.” While his shot selection may be questionable, one key to Boynton’s success in the backcourt is his penchant to hold onto the ball; he has a sterling 2.25 assist-to-turnover ratio.

4 » Though Donovan and his players are certainly not making excuses, one of the reason’s for Florida’s recent struggles on the court (aside from the high quality of opponents faced) are their injuries. Only six of the team’s 11 scholarship players are healthy, with the frontcourt being especially banged up. Junior forward Chandler Parsons (torn leg muscle), redshirt junior transfer center Vernon Macklin (pulled gluteus muscle) and sophomore C Kenny Kadji (back) will all likely be good-to-go Tuesday. Freshman F Erik Murphy (shoulder), on the other hand, may sit and rest. “Those kind of injuries that we have right now are similar to a lot of teams and what they go through,” Donovan said. “But there’s no question [that other teams] have a lot more depth than we do right now.”

Tags: Billy Donovan, Brian Kelly, Buffalo Bulls, Chandler Parsons, Cincinnati Bearcats, Erik Murphy, Florida Gators, Gator Holiday Classic, High Point Panthers, Jeff Quinn, Kenny Boynton, Kenny Kadji, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, O'Connell Center, Richmond Spiders, Sharielle Smith, Southern Jaguars, Sugar Bowl, Tony Pike, Vernon Macklin, women's basketball

Florida Gators women’s basketball (1-1) hosted the No. 13/10 Florida State Seminoles (2-0) at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center Tuesday evening, dropping a heartbreaker 66-62. The Gators, who were attempting to upset the ranked Seminoles, took the lead 62-60 with 2:04 remaining but would not score another point as FSU would regain control with 37.4 second left on the clock. Florida senior forward Sharielle Smith recorded 18 points and 13 rebounds for her fourth career double-double in the contest.

Up next for the Gators is a trip to Pittsburgh, PA, on Friday to face the No. 25 Pittsburgh Panthers at 7 p.m. It is the team’s first road game of the season.

Tags: Florida State Seminoles, Sharielle Smith, women's basketball

Florida Gators soccer, cross country and women’s basketball were all in action this weekend coming off a Friday that saw softball, soccer and volleyball compete just one hour apart from another.

Just two days after defeating the Illinois State Redbirds in the first round of the 2009 NCAA Championship at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium in Columbus, OH, the Florida soccer team (16-6-2, 8-1-2 SEC) fell in a heartbreaking 1-0 overtime loss to the Oregon State Beavers (14-7-1, 4-5 Pac 10). Having reached the round of 16 in 2006, 2007 and 2008, the Gators’ loss was the earliest exit for the team in four years. UF had multiple opportunities to score throughout the first 90 minutes, but a ball would not see the net until a turnover in the defensive third resulted in a through ball from Oregon State’s Rachael Axon to Melinda Ingalls for the goal. The Beavers’ first overtime win of the season ended the Gators season and hopes of a title.

The No. 3 women’s cross country team, on the other hand, found success this weekend, winning the NCAA South Region Championship on Saturday morning. Earning an automatic bid to the National Championship on Nov. 23, redshirt sophomore Rebecca Lowe led the way by winning the individual title while the Gators placed five runners in the top 17 and earned six All-South Region honors. Florida won their third regional title in program history, their first in over a decade (1998).

Men’s basketball was not the only Florida team to take their shot at the Stetson Hatters on the hardwood. The women faced them first on Saturday in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center, earning an 85-63 win to open the season. Leading the way for the Gators were freshman forward Jennifer George and redshirt sophomore transfer guard Jordan Jones, who combined for 38 points in their first career games in the Orange and Blue. Florida shot 50 percent from the field, grabbed 14 steals and was 7-of-18 from beyond the arc. Jones also led the team in assists (5) and George helped out on the boards (5) while seniors F Sharielle Smith (9) and G Steffi Sorensen (6) led the way in rebounds. The Gators will face the No. 15/12 Florida State Seminoles on Tuesday at 8 p.m. in Gainesville, FL.

Tags: All-South Region, Becky Burleigh, cross country, Jennifer George, Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium, Jordan Jones, Melinda Ingalls, National Championship, NCAA South Region Championship, O'Connell Center, Oregon State Beavers, Rachel Axon, Rebecca Lowe, Sharielle Smith, soccer, Steffi Sorensen, women's basketball