Mike White has played just 16 of his 47 games as Florida head coach at home. His 17th comes Wednesday night when the Gators celebrate the grand opening of the Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center against Arkansas-Little Rock.
White Praises Players for Perseverance on Road
Monday, December 19, 2016 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
After 17 games away from home, the Gators will move into the renovated Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center Wednesday night.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — This figures to be a glorious week for the Florida basketball program.
Also a dangerous one.
After an exhausting 11-game run of nothing but games away from home, the Gators (8-3) at long last will christen the renovated Exactech Arena/O'Connell Wednesday night with a grand opening date against Arkansas-Little Rock (9-2). Though the student body is gone for holiday break, the occasion figures to be accompanied by its share of fanfare — about 1,000 tickets remained, as of Monday afternoon — with the Florida players getting their first look at the new digs (court, locker rooms, etc.) Tuesday afternoon.
The $64.5 million upgrades will make for some wide eyes and jacked-up emotions pre tipoff, which has UF coach Mike White understandably concerned.
"Wednesday night is going to be 85 percent about [Little Rock], but it probably needs to be 99 percent," White said. "The elephant in the room is that we get a chance to play in front of our people in a brand new arena."
Translation: By game time, the Gators need to be less locked in on the O'Dome's bells and whistles and more in tune with the guys in the other uniform. The Trojans, certainly, should demand as much.
UALR is the reigning champion of the Sun Belt Conference, having gone 30-5 last season to reach the NCAA Tournament as a No. 14 seed and upsetting third-seeded Purdue in second-round play. The Trojans currently check in with an RPI of 195, but the Southeastern Conference already has four teams who have dropped games to opponents in the RPI 100s, including up-and-coming Auburn, which was stunned by Boston College (260th) earlier this month and Sunday needed a buzzer-beating, turn-around 3-point jumper to escape at home against Mercer (128th).
The holidays, with most players days away from heading home to their families, provides enough distractions. This is another. A most unique one, especially one that rears itself six weeks into the season.
Not one Florida player has gotten a preview of the O'Dome (or is in "E'Dome' now?). That will come Tuesday when the team will get taped at its practice facility, then walk to the arena for a tour and introduction to their sparkling new lounge and locker room, then practice on the court for the first time.
The next jump shot in O'Dome will be the team's first since last March 1, when Florida played Kentucky on Senior Night. The Gators have played 17 straight road or neutral-site games since and gone 12-5 along the way, with the losses against SEC co-champ Texas A&M in the conference tournament, eventual 2016 NIT champion George Washington, plus a trio of defeats against current ranked opponents Duke (5th), Gonzaga (7th) and Florida State (21st).
After putting a wrap on that 17-game barnstorming tour with Saturday's 87-46 thrashing of Charlotte in the Orange Bowl Classic at Sunrise, Fla., White praised his players for keeping grounded and focused amid all the bus rides and accompanying inconveniences along the way.
That was the tenor again Monday, as the Gators held a morning practice, took a few hours off, then returned to the practice facility for weight-lifting and individual instruction.
"Obviously, I haven't been part of anything like this before. … You feel like it's been five years since we played in front of our people in Gainesville," said White, who has coached just 16 of his 47 games at UF at home. "You can spend time complaining, but it would be a waste of time. I would trade a brand new arena — and I know our fans would too — to go through what we've done the last few months."
He went on to say all the time traveling has helped the squad bond together, but also given them a "built-in advantage" of upping Florida's RPI resume with nothing but games away from home. As of Monday, the Gators checked in at No. 4 in the nation in RPI, behind only Villanova, Baylor and Xavier.
"We're excited to play in front of our fans," White said. "I didn't allow myself or our team to even think about it."
Now they can, but only until thinking more about Little Rock.
Also a dangerous one.
After an exhausting 11-game run of nothing but games away from home, the Gators (8-3) at long last will christen the renovated Exactech Arena/O'Connell Wednesday night with a grand opening date against Arkansas-Little Rock (9-2). Though the student body is gone for holiday break, the occasion figures to be accompanied by its share of fanfare — about 1,000 tickets remained, as of Monday afternoon — with the Florida players getting their first look at the new digs (court, locker rooms, etc.) Tuesday afternoon. The $64.5 million upgrades will make for some wide eyes and jacked-up emotions pre tipoff, which has UF coach Mike White understandably concerned.
"Wednesday night is going to be 85 percent about [Little Rock], but it probably needs to be 99 percent," White said. "The elephant in the room is that we get a chance to play in front of our people in a brand new arena."
Translation: By game time, the Gators need to be less locked in on the O'Dome's bells and whistles and more in tune with the guys in the other uniform. The Trojans, certainly, should demand as much.
UALR is the reigning champion of the Sun Belt Conference, having gone 30-5 last season to reach the NCAA Tournament as a No. 14 seed and upsetting third-seeded Purdue in second-round play. The Trojans currently check in with an RPI of 195, but the Southeastern Conference already has four teams who have dropped games to opponents in the RPI 100s, including up-and-coming Auburn, which was stunned by Boston College (260th) earlier this month and Sunday needed a buzzer-beating, turn-around 3-point jumper to escape at home against Mercer (128th).
The holidays, with most players days away from heading home to their families, provides enough distractions. This is another. A most unique one, especially one that rears itself six weeks into the season.
Not one Florida player has gotten a preview of the O'Dome (or is in "E'Dome' now?). That will come Tuesday when the team will get taped at its practice facility, then walk to the arena for a tour and introduction to their sparkling new lounge and locker room, then practice on the court for the first time.
The next jump shot in O'Dome will be the team's first since last March 1, when Florida played Kentucky on Senior Night. The Gators have played 17 straight road or neutral-site games since and gone 12-5 along the way, with the losses against SEC co-champ Texas A&M in the conference tournament, eventual 2016 NIT champion George Washington, plus a trio of defeats against current ranked opponents Duke (5th), Gonzaga (7th) and Florida State (21st).
After putting a wrap on that 17-game barnstorming tour with Saturday's 87-46 thrashing of Charlotte in the Orange Bowl Classic at Sunrise, Fla., White praised his players for keeping grounded and focused amid all the bus rides and accompanying inconveniences along the way.
That was the tenor again Monday, as the Gators held a morning practice, took a few hours off, then returned to the practice facility for weight-lifting and individual instruction.
"Obviously, I haven't been part of anything like this before. … You feel like it's been five years since we played in front of our people in Gainesville," said White, who has coached just 16 of his 47 games at UF at home. "You can spend time complaining, but it would be a waste of time. I would trade a brand new arena — and I know our fans would too — to go through what we've done the last few months."
He went on to say all the time traveling has helped the squad bond together, but also given them a "built-in advantage" of upping Florida's RPI resume with nothing but games away from home. As of Monday, the Gators checked in at No. 4 in the nation in RPI, behind only Villanova, Baylor and Xavier.
"We're excited to play in front of our fans," White said. "I didn't allow myself or our team to even think about it."
Now they can, but only until thinking more about Little Rock.
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