Chandler Parsons 60 Foot Buzzer Beater

Just simply amazing:

Florida Gators Ranked 13 in Latest AP Poll

The Florida Gators men’s basketball team has gone from being a hunter to be one of the hunted this week. The Gators cracked the top 25 in both the AP and ESPN coaches polls for the first time this season on the strength of a 3-0 week against BCS Conference competition. With a rout Over FSU, a win over then #2 Michigan State, and a rather easy win over Rutgers, the Gators check in at #13 in the AP and #17 in ESPN. So much for flying under the radar.

Florida Now has a target on its back. Florida A&M proved this on Tuesday night. The 0-7 Rattlers came to the O’Connell Center and gave UF quite a battle. The halftime score was 37-33. UF then went on a tear at the start of the second half to open up a big lead of over 20 at the 10 minute mark. But over he last 10 minutes, that’s where it stayed with UF winning by 21, 80-59.

The Gators will now have to learn to expect this every night. They are again a big deal. Syracuse is on the schedule for next week. This will be a good test to see how far the Gators have really come. They were able to sneak up on MSU. The Orange will be ready. Syracuse has a win already over North Carolina. The same North Carolina last night ran Michigan State out of the gym for most of the game. The Heels ended up winning by 7, but the game was never really in much doubt.

The Gators have one more tune up against Jacksonville on Friday before the game against Syracuse. Should the Gators beat the Orange, the non-conference schedule then lightens up the rest of the way, giving the Gators a good chance to go into SEC play unbeaten. This gives UF an excellent shot at going into the post season with a single digit loss count. Single digit losses in a power conference mean a high seed in the NCAA Tournament. This means starting with lesser competition in the early rounds. That is the recipe for a deep run. Good luck Gators!

Gators Struggle to Find the Stroke

580 Games. That’s how many games in a row the Florida men’s Basketball team has hit at least one three point shot. That streak is in jeopardy. The Gators are off to a 2-0 start. But it is not because of their shooting prowess.

The other night the Florida Gators made two three point shots. The first was a Chandler Parsons rim rattler with about 6:00 left. This was not nearly the nail biter Sunday’s opener was against Stetson when Parsons hit the only one of the game with  00:35 left. It has been thought by some of Coach Billy Donovan’s critics his Gator teams rely too heavily on the three point shot. Critics say that the Gators need to get more physical, quicker, more athletic.  Well worry no more.

This Gator team has been winning with lightning quick penetration from point guard Erving Walker, dishing to big guys Vernon Macklin, Kenny Kadji, and Alex Tyus under the basket. These Gators crash the boards. How else do you shoot 35% from the field and win two games by 20 or more?

The competition however stiffens up next week. After one more “tune-up” against Troy on Friday, the Gators will face a very tall and athletic Florida State at the O’Connell Center on Tuesday. Then the Gators will go to Atlantic City over the weekend to take on a top five opponent in Michigan State. 35% shooting will not get it done in those games. Those teams can match up under the basket with us. Somebody will need to hit a jump shot.

Right now the Gators are shooting a paltry 10% from three point land. Freshman Kenny Boynton has the reputation of being able to knock the shot down. So far he has only made one in two games. Let’s hope the law of averages will catch up with him. We will need him to hit a few against FSU and MSU.

For all of you coming to town for the football game on Saturday, why not come in on Friday and come out and watch the Gators take on Troy? Let’s pack the O’Dome and get these guys ready for a tough stretch.

Florida Gator Hoops Preview

The last two basketball seasons have been big disappointments in Gator Country. Following up two national titles with two trips to the NIT was not what Gator fans had in mind. This year’s squad looks to get UF back into the NCAA Tournament, a place where Gator fans hah taken for granted up until 2008. After watching last night’s final exhibition game, there is good reason to hope.

I see many prognosticators have the Florida Gators finishing firth in the SEC East this year. On rivals.com, for instance they site the fact that Erving Walker will be taking over at point guard for the departed Nick Calathes. It sure is funny that two years ago that same website rated Erving # 102 player in the nation and #19 among point guards. Now all of a sudden he stinks? Is that because he plays for Florida?

The Gators have been suffering from a lack of size since Marrese Speights left after the ’07-’08 season for the NBA. Last year Alex Tyus was forced to play center most of the time with Dan Werner at power forward. This year’s team adds Vernon Maclin, a transfer from Georgetown at center along with sophomore Kenny Kadji. Both men a big and can run the floor. Kadji looks vastly improved from his freshman year. He should be the starter on Sunday, the Gators opener vs. Stetson.

With that, Tyus gets to go to the forward position and guard smaller players. He also will be guarded by smaller players. Look for him to be a huge player this year. Chandler parsons at the small forward looks much improved. Perhaps he is ready to break out of Calathes’ shadow. The two played high school ball together and parsons has always been second fiddle. Without Nick, maybe he will bust out. Let’s hope so.

Where the Gators really upgrade is with its incoming freshmen. Kenny Boynton will more than make up for Calathes’ points and assists. He is a big time player. Get a good look at him Gator fans because he will be in the NBA very soon. This guy can ball. Eric Murphy has been described as the “Ahmad Black” of basketball. He’s always in the right place at the right time. He can shoot from outside and he can go inside and rebound with the bigs.

Dan Werner, the team’s lone senior, is coming off the bench. This should be a sign that we have more talent than the past two years when he started. He was also asked to be a huge contributor. Look for him to be a spot up three point shooter this year. When he gets to set his feet, catch and shoot, he can hit the three ball. I look for him to be a pleasant surprise this year.

This team can use several different combinations this year. We can go big. We can go small and quick. We got guys who can play inside. We got guys who can shoot from outside. We got some that can do both. We got guys who can get their own shot and guys who can pass. If this team is only the fifth best team in the SEC East, then the SEC East is going to be something else.

Casey Prather Commits to Florida

Join the forum discussion on this post - (1) Posts

Florida hoops got some great news last night when Tennessee wing Casey Prather gave a verbal commitment. Fightin’ Gators.com’s Eric Bossi provides Gator fans with a thorough breakdown of their newest player.

Full article available at Scout/Fightin’ Gators.

Prather is perfect for Billy D’s style of play as he will be great at playing transition basketball.  They are predicting he will be more of a benefit on the defensive side early on.

Single Game Gator Basketball Tickets on Sale

Join the forum discussion on this post - (3) Posts

Single Game men’s basketball tickets are on sale right now by visiting www.gatorzone.com/tickets or by calling the Gator Ticket Office at 352-375-4683, x6800.

Florida’s 19-game home slate includes 17 regular season games and two exhibitions. In addition to its eight SEC regular season home games starting with Kentucky on Jan. 12, the Gators host 2009 NCAA participants Florida State (Nov. 24) and Xavier (Feb. 13).

The Gators open exhibition play on Nov. 2 against Saint Leo University, while hosting Webber International on Nov. 9 in the final exhibition tune-up. The Gators open the regular season on Nov. 15 against Stetson.

Florida returns nine players and four starters from last year’s squad that posted a 25-11 record.

2009-10 University of Florida Home Schedule

Nov. 2              Saint Leo University (Exhibition)         7 p.m.

Nov. 9              Webber International (Exhibition)        7 p.m.

Nov. 15            Stetson                                                4 p.m.

Nov. 18            Georgia Southern@                            7 p.m.

Nov. 20            Troy                                                     7 p.m.

Nov. 24            Florida State                                        7 p.m.

Dec. 1             Florida A&M                                         7 p.m.

Dec. 22           South Alabama                                   7 p.m.

Dec. 28           American                                             7 p.m.

Dec. 30           Presbyterian                                        7 p.m.

Jan.12             Kentucky*                                            9 p.m.

Jan. 16            LSU*                                                    8 p.m.

Jan. 23            South Carolina*                                   6 p.m.

Jan. 27            Georgia*                                              7 p.m.

Feb. 6              Mississippi State*                               1:30 p.m.

Feb. 13            Xavier                                                  6 p.m.

Feb. 18            Auburn *                                               7 p.m.

Feb. 23            Tennessee*                                        9 p.m.

March 2           Vanderbilt*                                           9 p.m.

*Denotes SEC Game

@ Legends Classic

2009 Basketball Preview

Join the forum discussion on this post - (1) Posts

With all the talks about Florida Gator football, sometimes we fail to look at specifics with basketball.  Billy Donovan is hitting the courts this year with a really young team.  Having only lost 2 starters from last year, Nick Calathes and Walter Hodge, the Gators look to hit the blacktop this season with nearly all of its players from last year.

Florida has a very young team.  With only 1 senior on the squad, this looks to be a great year for Florida to build up its chemistry with players and return next year with a run at the NCAA tournament.  While nothing would make me happier than to have Florida make a run this year, I like to live realistically and as a realist, there is not that much hope at a title shot this year.

However, if we maintain all of our current juniors and only lose Dan Werner from this year, Florida would go from one of  the younger teams to a much, much more mature basketball team.  Breakdown by year:

Freshmen (3)	Sophomores (5)	Juniors (4)	Seniors (1)
Kenny Boynton	Adam Allen	Hudson Fricke	Dan Werner
Erik Murphy	Kenny Kadji	Vernon Macklin*
Nimrod Tishman	Kyle McClanahan	Chandler Parsons
	Ray Shipman	Alex Tyus
	Erving Walker

Florida lost Eloy Vargas in a transfer and it was said by myself he would go to Kentucky but I have been unable to find any information about this transfer other than my post.  We also lost Allan Chaney in a transfer.  So all in all, Florida lost 4 players.  I guess you don’t have to count transfers as losses as they weren’t good enough to start as it was so it’s not a true “loss”.

We should not expect a title run in the tourney but we also shouldn’t be surprised if we find ourselves in position to make one.  This year is a building year and I would like to see us be a legitimate contender in the 10 – 11 season.

Eloy Vargas Transfer to Kentucky

Join the forum discussion on this post - (3) Posts

The short-lived Florida career of forward Eloy Vargas is over.

Vargas will be granted his release from his UF scholarship and is visiting Kentucky this weekend, according to a source close to the program. Vargas also posted on his Twitter page that he “will be takin a visit to Kentucky Wildcats this weekend.”

Florida coach Billy Donovan acknowledged before his Ocala tip-off club banquet Wednesday that Vargas was dealing with some academic difficulties. Vargas was reportedly in jeopardy of being declared ineligible for the fall semester.

“I’m not at liberty to say much at all about him right now,” Donovan said Wednesday. “But I think there might be a time where I can come out and say something.”

Vargas was recruited heavily by new Kentucky assistant coach Orlando Antigua when Antigua was at Pittsburgh two years ago.

Full story at Gainesville Sun

I know the title is a little misleading.  But it’s been all but confirmed that this is the destination of Vargas.  While this would be just another player transfering, his transfer to Kentucky is a disappointment as he’s going to a team we have to play twice and will probably give us trouble playing against us.

Vargas was seen as a top prospect when in High School but his potential seemed to have faded in the sunset as nothing ever came to fruition with Vargas.  Vargas leaving in poor academic standing would hurt Florida’s academic rating.  Not that we have been top tier in the past but we did post above the minimum 925 APR last March for the first time in three seasons.

We’ll keep you updated with new information about Vargas and where he lands.  Right now everything is pointing to Kentucky.

Patric Young Increasing His Value

Patric Young was recently rated the top player out of 40 prospects at the Reebok All-American camp in early July. The 6-foot-8, 220-pounder expects to sign a letter-of-intent in November.

Young said he is still solid in his commitment to Florida and expects to sign a letter-of-intent in November.

The full story can be found at Gator Sports

Bradley Beal Has Florida at Top of List

The jump shot is so fundamentally sound, so picture perfect that the net barely moves when the ball finds its way to the bottom. Bradley Beal shoots it the same way every time and almost always with the same result. Even his misses look good. Nobody is ever going to say he shoots like a girl, but perhaps someone should suggest it.

“My mom taught me how to shoot,” Beal says with a baby-faced grin. Obviously Mom taught him well because Beal (6-3, 175, St. Louis, MO Chaminade Prep #22 ESPU Super 60) is hands down the best shooter in the basketball recruiting class of 2011.

Full Story at Gator County

Florida has had them in their sights the longest but Kansas wasn’t too far behind on the recruiting bandwagon.

You’d have to say Florida is my leader,” Beal said

He went on to mention that a verbal committment would follow soon and it just so happens he is set to attend Billy D’s Elite Camp on August 1.  Beal would give the Gators an incredible advantage in the backcourt and his ability to let the game find him and incorporate his team into the game is incredible and he will only get better as he matures.

Bradley Beal Highlight Video

Next Page »