SIX BITS: Knight, NCAAs, baseball, softball, tennis

By Adam Silverstein
March 29, 2010

1 » Five-star 2011 guard recruit Brandon Knight (Fort Lauderdale, FL) looked to be heading anywhere but the University of Florida, after a report surfaced last week that the Florida Gators have decided to stop pursuing him and move on. Whether you believe that to be the case or you think Knight has already made up his mind to play for the Kentucky Wildcats is no matter – Knight has told The Miami Herald that he has not made a decision yet. “I still have an offer [from Florida],” Knight said. “They’re not not recruiting me. They’re just trying to make sure they get a point guard before the signing period is over. […] I don’t feel anything wrong with [that decision]. It’s smart. As a head coach, you don’t want to put all your eggs in one basket and not end up with anything. They just don’t feel as strongly as they did before. Since they’re the hometown school, they thought I would have signed early or something of that nature. I’m not exactly sure.”

2 » Though Gators men’s swimming failed to match the women’s team with a 2010 National Championship, the team did finish in fifth at this year’s event and is the backbone of the 2010 Division I National Men’s Swimmer of the Year, junior Conor Dwyer. The Texas Longhorns ended up winning the event even as 11 Florida swimmers earned 38 All-America performances while simultaneously shattering two school records. Dwyer picked up seven honors of his own along with two national titles in the 500- and 200-yard freestyles. Read more about the event.

3 » No. 2/5 Florida baseball (18-5, 4-2 SEC) succeeded in ending its two-game road losing streak with a dominating 13-1 victory Sunday against the No. 17/19 Ole Miss Rebels (19-6, 4-2 SEC). After falling 3-2 in a tight first game and being trounced in the second game 15-3, the Gators rebounded with three RBI apiece from freshman catcher Austin Maddox (2-4, two runs) and sophomore outfielder Daniel Pigott (1-4) as well as 5.1 solid innings from freshman starter Brian Johnson (2-1). Johnson did not allow a single earned run in the outing.

Catch up on No. 6/13 softball, No. 4 women’s tennis and No. 6 men’s tennis!

4 » Complimenting baseball was No. 6/13 Gators softball (23-4, 6-2 SEC), which defeated the No. 5/7 Alabama Crimson Tide (24-9, 7-4 SEC) 11-9 in the rubber match of a three-game series on the road. Freshman reliever Ensley Gammel (4-0) took home the victory by pitching the final 1.2 innings. Junior starter Stephanie Brombacher was roughed up in her outing, allowing nine hits, eight runs (four earned), four walks and one strikeout in 5.1 innings of work. Senior third basemen Corrie Brooks went 2-3 with five RBI and three runs to lead Florida.

5 » No. 4 women’s tennis (16-2, 6-0 SEC) continued its hot streak Sunday, remaining undefeated in conference play with a 6-1 win over No. 28 Ole Miss (9-4, 3-3 SEC) at Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex in Gainesville, FL. The Gators’ strong doubles pairings did not all participate in the match, but they did well in singles with No. 9 freshman Allie Will, No. 17 freshman Lauren Embree and No. 69 senior Marrit Boonstra all coming away with victories.

6 » No. 6 Gators men’s tennis (13-2, 5-0 SEC) must have felt the pressure from the women as they just edged out the No. 14 Rebels (13-3, 4-2 SEC) to also remain perfect in Southeastern Conference competition. The No. 10 pair of redshirt senior Antoine Benneteau and junior Alexandre Lacroix were once again victorious in doubles action (9-8); the duo also excelled in singles competition as No. 6 Lacroix won his match 6-4, 6-4 and Benneteau earned a three-set 6-1, 3-6, 6-3* victory.

7 Comments

  1. Tim says:

    What point guard would you say we have the best chance of landing?

  2. Tim says:

    I saw Rivals has him “high” on Detroit and “medium” on every other school. Is that just because his dad coaches there so they are speculating. I would like to get him in here, although I have heard the speculations re: his jump shot. We could have some serious issues from the perimeter if we can’t pair Boynton with someone who can make up for his deficiencies.

    Boy, I hope Boynton makes a huge jump from his freshman year. I believe he will.

  3. Mitch says:

    I appreciate Brandon Knight’s attitude. He could have trashed UF. He says the offer to him is still there. Maybe our backing of has piqued his interest in UF. I doubt it but wishful thinking.

  4. Ty says:

    Ray is hoping to play for his father however the issue is that his dad is probably going to get an offer for a better job here in the next couple of years if not sooner, so Ray would have to transfer and sit another year. Besides Detroit he is pretty high on the Gators.

  5. Malikg says:

    I’m not all that worried about his outside shot — Eric Bledsoe came out with a shaky jumpshot last year and ended one basket shy of leading Kentucky in 3-point shots made this past season…

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