March 23rd, 2013 12:51pm
by Kevin Brockway
It wasn’t an easy night at the office for Florida 6-foot-9, 247-pound big man Patric Young on Friday night.
Most of Florida’s players welcomed the up-tempo matchup against Northwestern State. But for Young, there were some early struggles. Young was subbed out for Will Yeguete just 3:21 into the game and was noticeably breathing heavily on the bench.
“Yeah, I was a little tired, but I was working my butt off,” Young said. “Coach does a really good job of subbing us …
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March 20th, 2013 11:40pm
by Kevin Brockway
Florida swingman DeVon Walker has dealt with limited playing time in his freshman season.
But the Winter Haven native who stayed close to home to play for the Gators has no regrets so far.
“When you come into a major university you have these dreams,” Walker said. “You see the sky is the limit and then you get here and you realize your role and it’s just a process of accepting it.”
Going through the mental process of not getting quality playing time …
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March 19th, 2013 06:19pm
by Kevin Brockway
It’s well after the fact, but it appears that Marshall Henderson should have received a technical foul following his Gator Chomp antics during Ole Miss’s 66-63 comeback win over Florida in the SEC Tournament finals.
The lightning-rod Ole Miss shooting guard chomped at the crowd following his rainbow 3-pointer with 7:14 left that put Ole Miss ahead 59-53.
According to the NCAA Division I men’s basketball rulebook, the following classify as unsporting technical infractions:
– Using profanity or vulgarity; taunting, baiting or ridiculing …
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March 19th, 2013 05:55pm
by Kevin Brockway
Florida coach Billy Donovan has already earned some significant performance bonuses during the 2012-13 season.
Per his contract, Donovan will receive a $50,000 bonus for winning the Southeastern Conference regular season championship, $25,000 bonus for being named the AP’s SEC coach of the year and $37,500 for reaching the NCAA Tournament.
Donovan’s $37,500 bonus for reaching the NCAA Tournament would increase to $75,000 if the Gators reach the Sweet 16 and $100,000 if the Gators get to the Final Four in Atlanta. …
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March 18th, 2013 03:22pm
by Kevin Brockway
Say this for Florida senior forward Erik Murphy, he’s not afraid to fail.
After front-rimming a hook shot in the final 10 seconds that could have tied the game in Florida’s SEC Tournament final loss to Ole Miss, Murphy said he would welcome being in that situation again if called upon.
“That’s something I’m comfortable with,” Murphy said. “If that happens again, I have to try to make the play again, whether it’s for me or one of my teammates. I want …
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March 17th, 2013 10:10pm
by Kevin Brockway
Florida fans are familiar with how long a run a No. 3 seed can make in the NCAA Tournament.
In 2006, as a No. 3 seed, the Gators cut down the nets in Indianapolis, winning six straight to earn the first of their back-to-back national titles.
Here’s a look at how No. 3 seeds have fared in the NCAA Tournament since the field was expanded to 64 teams in 1985, courtesy of the Washington Post:
vs. No. 14 seed — 81-15 (.844)
Round of …
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March 15th, 2013 08:46pm
by Kevin Brockway
Florida assistant coach John Pelphrey had vivid memories of the 2008 SEC Tournament.
Pelphrey was in his second season as head coach at Arkansas, having led the Razorbacks to the SEC Tournament final for the second straight season. But the tournament was remembered more for a natural disaster that literally rocked the Georgia Dome on Friday night. A tornado ripped a hole in the roof of the Georgia Dome and damaged downtown Atlanta, forcing the tournament to be moved to Georgia …
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March 13th, 2013 03:43pm
by Kevin Brockway
Florida’s 2012-13 season saw a modest gain in home attendance
The Gators finished their SEC winning season averaging 10,667 fans in paid attendance, up slightly from the 10,434 Florida averaged last season.
Of UF’s 15 home dates, six were sellouts (up from five last season). The sellout games came against Missouri, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Kentucky, Arkansas and Alabama.
Student attendance also continued its upward trend. Florida averaged 2,326 students per game this season, up from 2,138 students last season. In 2010-11, the …
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March 8th, 2013 11:28am
by Kevin Brockway
As a voter for the AP all-SEC awards, I plan to vote for Georgia guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope as SEC player of the year.
Caldwell-Pope is, in my opinion, the most complete player in the league and a future NBA shooting guard because of his size (6-5, 205 pounds) and scoring ability. He’s second in the SEC in scoring (18 ppg), eighth in rebounding (6.9 rpg) and second in steals (2.1 spg). In other words, he’s this season’s Bradley Beal.
But there are …
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March 5th, 2013 01:20pm
by Kevin Brockway
Florida is heading down the home stretch of the 2012-13 season playing for a higher seed in the NCAA Tournament.
But Florida coach Billy Donovan said he doesn’t view a big difference between being a No. 1 seed and No. 3 seed, which is where the Gators are currently projected.
“The selection committee is going to seed you how they seed you,” Donovan said. “You’ve got to go out and play. You’ve got to get prepared to play.”
Donovan said he felt the …
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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.