May 16th, 2012 05:13pm
by Kevin Brockway
Mike Rosario didn’t have the junior season at Florida that some may have envisioned.
But the former Rutgers standout could have a chance to further develop his game this summer against high-level international competition. Rosario began tryouts for the Puerto Rican National Team this week. If Rosario makes the squad, he’ll take part in a qualifying tournament in early July for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
Rosario was born in Jersey City, N.J., but his mother was born in Puerto Rico, …
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May 9th, 2012 11:37am
by Kevin Brockway
Former Gator center Vernon Macklin described his rookie season in the NBA as both “up and down” and “rocky.”
But although the 6-foot-10 Macklin didn’t play as much as former UF teammate Chandler Parsons, he said he felt like his first season with the Detroit Pistons was a learning experience.
Macklin, the 52nd overall pick in the second round by the Pistons in last June’s NBA draft, played 23 games as a rookie. He averaged 2 points and 1.5 rebounds per game …
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May 4th, 2012 07:05pm
by Kevin Brockway
It’s been a tough year for recruiting big guys for Florida coach Billy Donovan.
After losing out on Jarnell Stokes to Tennessee, Robert Carter to Georgia Tech and Alex Poythress to Kentucky, the Gators suffered another blow when McDonald’s All-American big man Anthony Bennett eliminated Florida from consideration on Friday.
Worse yet, the 6-foot-7, 235-pound Bennett could end up at rival Kentucky. Kentucky remains in Bennett’s final three with Oregon and UNLV.
Florida made its big push for Bennett in March, but contrary …
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May 3rd, 2012 03:43pm
by Kevin Brockway
While much of the focus has centered around the recruitment of prized 2012 forward Anthony Bennett, Florida received a surprise visit from another big man this week.
The surprise was because it was a player from within the conference looking to transfer. According to CBSSports.com’s Jeff Goodman, South Carolina forward Damontre Harris visited the UF campus on Wednesday.
Harris also plans to visit Kansas and hasn’t ruled out returning to South Carolina to play for new coach Frank Martin. If he decided …
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April 18th, 2012 07:40pm
by Kevin Brockway
Florida coach Billy Donovan said it was tough to review the final 10 minutes of UF’s loss against Louisville.
For the second straight season, the Gators were unable to hold an 11-point lead in the second half of an Elite Eight game. In UF’s overtime Elite Eight loss to Butler, Donovan blamed it on hustle plays. In the Louisville loss, Donovan blamed it on defensive breakdowns and a lack of ability to make big plays down the stretch.
“We had some defensive …
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April 4th, 2012 09:33pm
by Kevin Brockway
Bradley Beal returned to St. Louis over the weekend, but according to a close source, remains torn about whether to return to UF or enter the NBA draft.
The source said that the standout Florida freshman guard is discussing the option to hold off his choice until April 29, which is the NBA’s deadline for underclassmen to put their names in for the NBA draft.
The NCAA set its own deadline for April 10, but it’s not a hard and fast deadline. …
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March 24th, 2012 04:10pm
by Kevin Brockway
Duing Friday’s press conference, ESPN.com’s Rick Reilly asked all five UF starters if there was something people didn’t know about their coach that they would like to tell him.
Here were their responses about Billy Donovan:
Erik Murphy — “I don’t know. I don’t think he sleeps too much. He’s probably watching film all night. That’s not an unknown. I guess a lot of coaches are doing that right now.”
Patric Young — “He’s underrated at being funny. He has some really smart …
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March 22nd, 2012 05:53pm
by Kevin Brockway
There were questions how Florida’s entire new staff of assistant coaches would contribute during the 2011-12 season.
So far, so good.
When Florida beat Virginia in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, it got a big boost from assistant coach Norm Roberts. Roberts, a former head coach at St. John’s, had scrimmaged Virginia two years ago and knew some of their personnel. He devised the scouting report that kept Mike Scott and Co at bey.
Roberts’ Big East ties will be counted …
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March 20th, 2012 10:57pm
by Kevin Brockway
Marquette’s second straight trip to the Sweet 16 hasn’t gotten off to the best start.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Tuesday that six Marquette players were ticketed for being underage at a downtown Milwaukee nightclub. The incident took place on Jan. 29, though the tickets weren’t served until March 12.
Players involved included Todd Mayo, 20, a freshman guard (and younger brother of Memphis Grizzles guard O.J. Mayo) ; Vander Blue, 19, a sophomore guard; Jamail Jones, 19, a sophomore forward; Juan …
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March 19th, 2012 01:54am
by Kevin Brockway
Florida coach Billy Donovan admitted following his team’s 84-50 win over Norfolk State that he hadn’t watched Marquette much during the regular season.
Donovan said he’ll take a crash course this week in studying Marquette, UF’s Sweet 16 opponent on Thursday in Phoenix (10:17 p.m. TBS).
Donovan could call Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings, a close friend, for a scouting report. Or LSU coach Trent Johnson. Both Southeastern Conference coaches faced and beat Marquette during the non-conference schedule. LSU won 67-59 in Baton …
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Kevin Brockway gave up on his dream of becoming a lefty starting pitcher for the New York Mets when he walked four straight batters, then hit one in a middle school game in Suffern, N.Y. Since graduating college in 1993, he’s worked as a sports writer at daily newspapers throughout the state of Florida, beginning with the Key West Citizen. He then moved on to the Northwest Florida Daily News and Naples Daily News before becoming the men’s basketball writer for The Gainesville Sun in 2003. Brockway has won multiple state and national writing awards during his 16-year career. Favorite pastimes include karaoke and watching baseball. Favorite college hoops team growing up was St. John’s.