SIX BITS: Lee, Spikes, Cooper, Tebow, Jones-Drew

By Adam Silverstein
February 12, 2010

1 » New York Knicks forward/center David Lee, a former Florida Gators standout who is averaging a double-double of 20 points and 11.4 rebounds in his fourth professional season, has been selected as a replacement reserve for the 2010 NBA All-Star Game. Lee will take the place of Philadelphia 76ers point guard Allen Iverson (personal reasons) and will join Atlanta Hawks F/C Al Horford in Dallas, TX.

2 » Former Gators linebacker Brandon Spikes has decided to continue training in Gainesville, FL, as he prepares for the 2010 NFL Scouting Combine at the end of February. His agent, Terry Watson, spoke with The Gainesville Sun about Spikes. “He’s doing well,” Watson said. “He continues to work out hard and he’s eating well. He’s fully committed to a plan that will get him ready for the Combine.” Also in Gainesville working out with Florida strength and conditioning coordinator Mickey Marotti is wide receiver Riley Cooper. “Coach Mick is the best,” Cooper said. “I’m following the same plan Percy (Harvin) did a year ago under Coach Mick.”

Four more very informative Florida Gators BITS after the jump!

3 » On Thursday, former Gators quarterback Tim Tebow was a Grand Marshal for the Gatorade Duel at Daytona that set the order for the Daytona 500. Though Tebow avoided reporters and would only speak about the event, he was asked how he might respond if ESPN director of college scouting Todd McShay was to mock how he says the famous phrase, “Gentlemen, start your engines!” Tebow’s reply? “I actually think the way I pronounce it, it will probably be a little bit off, so I’m going to be working on that.”

4 » Also serving as a Grand Marshal Thursday was Jacksonville Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew, who received his fair share of questions about Tebow. “Getting drafted by Jacksonville would be a lot of pressure [on him],” Jones-Drew told The Miami Herald. “I grew up in the Bay Area and went to college in L.A. I know if I would have gotten drafted to Oakland or San Francisco, people would have thought ‘He’s going to change the team right now.’ I got away from all the pressure, all the family and got to turn into the guy I wanted to be and not have people try to change me into something I’m not.” Jones-Drew also discussed his feelings should the Jaguars draft Tebow. “If we pick him, he’s still going to do a great job […] wherever he goes he’s going to do a great job.”

5 » After winning three of their previous four games, the Florida women’s basketball team (13-11, 6-5 SEC) fell hard Thursday to the No. 23 LSU Tigers (16-7, 5-6 SEC) at home in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. The Gators were defeated by an astonishing 40 points (70-30) by a Tigers team led by guard Allison Hightower, who scored a game-high 19 points. Florida only shot 19.6 percent on the evening (11-of-56) and went 1-of-19 (5.3 percent) from downtown. Senior guard Steffi Sorensen tallied a team-high nine points, almost one-third of the team’s total. “We were just outplayed in every facet [of the game] tonight,” head coach Amanda Butler said.

6 » The No. 3/5 Gators softball team, which finished as a runner-up in the 2009 Women’s College World Series to the Washingotn Huskies, will open its 2010 season in Clearwater, FL, this weekend at the USF Wilson-DeMarini Tournament. Florida will face the No. 13/14 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, Long Island Blackbirds, South Florida Bulls, Canisius Griffs and Illinois State Red Birds over the course of three long days. All times and results will be available here on OGGOA.

Extra Bit » Former Florida soccer player Abby Wambach has been selected as one of 19 players to join the United States’ roster for the 2010 Algarve Cup. Though she missed last year’s tournament with a broken leg, Wambach scored three goals at the 2008 Algarve Cup and is one shy of Kristine Lilly’s U.S. career record.

7 Comments

  1. mooseisloose says:

    Great stuff…love this site. Always the first place I go for Gator news. Keep up the great work, Adam!

  2. UF_84 says:

    Maurice Jones-Drew makes an excellent point about the added pressure of playing in your hometown. MJD is also a total class act.

  3. brlgator says:

    When the heat resign wade and sign bosh this offseason. I think d lee would be a great pick up for us cause I know bosh does not want to play center. And we can afford to throw 10mil a year at him for a couple years.

  4. The Heat (a) will not sign Wade, Bosh and Lee and (b) Lee will go somewhere he doesn’t have to be the third wheel.

  5. Drew 4 Orange and Blue says:

    Good to see Lee get his deserved reward!!!!

  6. coldgator1511 says:

    Are you sure that Cooper is currently in Gainesville? According to his Twitter, he’s in Nashville with Tebow, and was also seen at Maggianos with Tebow tonight apparently.

  7. No, I’m not sure. Robbie Andreu of the Gainesville Sun reported that. Cooper may very well be in TN. Maybe he plans to come back for some strength/conditioning or worked with Coach Mick before he left.

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