February 8th, 2010 09:59pm
by Kevin Brockway
Senior forward Dan Werner is growing accustomed to his new role as Florida’s sixth man.
Werner had a string of 70 straight starts snapped when he came down with the flu before Florida’s third Southeastern Conference game against LSU. By the time Werner fully recovered, the Gators had won two straight. Florida coach Billy Donovan then decided to keep junior Chandler Parsons in the starting lineup.
Werner said Donovan explained to him why he made the change.
“Basically he said it was nothing …
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February 2nd, 2010 11:52pm
by Kevin Brockway
Florida has relied heavily on its starting backcourt for offense and minutes this season.
So as the calendar turns to February there has to be at least some concern to how much sophomore Erving Walker and freshman Kenny Boynton have left in the tank. Boynton is averaging a team high 32.7 minutes per game. Walker is right behind Boynton at 32.6 minutes per game.
Tennessee came into its matchup with Florida intent in stopping Walker and Boynton and it worked. Boynton and …
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January 28th, 2010 06:59pm
by Kevin Brockway
Florida coach Billy Donovan said Wednesday that his oldest son, William, will play basketball next season at Catholic University in Washington, D.C.
William Donovan, a senior 6-foot-1 guard at St. Francis High in Gainesville, earned Gainesville Sun honorable mention all-area honors last season after averaging 11.4 points per game. Like his dad, the younger Donovan is a long-range shooter. He made 78 of 204 3-point attempts last season.
“It’s a great school,” Donovan said. “Their coach, Steve Howes, came down to watch …
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January 26th, 2010 08:09pm
by Kevin Brockway
Following back-to-back wins over Arkansas and South Carolina, Florida jumped from 79 to 62 in the latest weekly men’s college basketball Ratings Percentage Index.
The RPI measures a team’s record as it relates to its strength of schedule. Florida is 14-5 with a strength of schedule that ranks 87th out of 347 Division I teams.
Florida’s RPI has a chance to jump significantly in the coming weeks. The Gators still have Kentucky (RPI 7), Xavier (RPI 13) and Tennessee twice (RPI 15) …
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January 25th, 2010 06:34pm
by Kevin Brockway
Florida coach Billy Donovan said freshman center Erik Murphy’s dwindling minutes have nothing to do with a shoulder injury he sustained earlier this season.
Murphy appeared for just two minutes Saturday against South Carolina and played just six minutes against Arkansas. Against South Carolina, Donovan chose to keep Alex Tyus and Dan Werner on the floor in the second half to help contain the quickness of senior guard Devan Downey.
“With the way they were playing, they were putting the ball in …
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January 18th, 2010 11:06pm
by Kevin Brockway
When Dan Werner didn’t start Saturday against LSU because of the flu, it snapped a string of 70 straight starts for the senior forward.
It also prompted Florida coach Billy Donovan to tweet before the game: “(I) hope people understand what he means to our team.”
Werner had one point and two rebounds in 20 minutes off the bench in Florida’s 72-58 win over the Tigers. But Donovan said Monday that Werner is back practicing this week and will reclaim his starting …
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January 13th, 2010 09:10pm
by Kevin Brockway
Junior forward Chandler Parsons has thrived as Florida’s sixth-man this season.
But with senior forward Dan Werner’s continued offensive struggles, would UF coach Billy Donovan consider replacing Werner with Parsons in the starting lineup?
I broached the subject with Donovan last week.
“On those situations, with two upperclassmen, I would have a tendency to talk to those guys about that,” Donovan said. “Chandler comes into the game pretty quickly. It’s not that big of a factor for me, the last …
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January 11th, 2010 10:18pm
by Kevin Brockway
Count Florida coach Billy Donovan as someone who wouldn’t mind having the NCAA Tournament expand from 65 to 96 teams.
The Sports Business Journal reported last month the NCAA is exploring the idea. The NCAA can opt out of its current TV deal with CBS this summer and may look to expand the tournament to increase broadcast revenue from cable outlets like ESPN and TNT.
Under the proposed plan, the top 32 seeds would receive byes and …
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January 9th, 2010 06:32pm
by Kevin Brockway
1. Can Florida break out of its season-long 3-point shooting slump?
Florida went 13-for-27 (48.1 percent) from 3-point range, its second best 3-point shooting performance of the season (Florida shot 60 percent from 3-point range on Dec. 4 against Jacksonville). UF’s starting backcourt of Erving Walker and Kenny Boynton were a combined 11-for-22 from beyond the arc. Heck, even senior forward Dan Werner made a couple of threes, his first 3-pointers since Dec. 4 at Jacksonville. But it still wasn’t enough …
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January 6th, 2010 07:19pm
by Kevin Brockway
Chandler Parsons’ miracle 75-foot shot at the buzzer may not have only helped Florida to a 62-61 overtime win at North Carolina State.
It might end up helping the Gators in recruiting as well.
Watching at the RBC Center was heralded 2010 power forward recruit C.J. Leslie. Leslie, a Raleigh, N.C., native, chatted with Florida coach Billy Donovan shortly after the game outside the UF locker room.
Leslie has yet to sign a letter of intent, but has listed Florida in his final …
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