Gators Gear Up For Critical Stretch As Calendar Turns To February
Tuesday, February 1, 2011 | Men's Basketball, Scott Carter
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Florida men's basketball team is atop the SEC East and already has road wins at Tennessee and Georgia. All in all, a pretty good place for the Gators to be as the calendar flips to February and the heart of the SEC schedule looming.
The Gators' veteran starting lineup has been here before. Freshman center Patric Young has not.
When asked Monday about the mythical “freshman wall'' that so many talk about, the 6-foot-9, 245-pound Young ran clear through it.
“I feel great,'' he said. “I feel like I have brand new legs and that the season just started.''
Florida coach Billy Donovan would like to see the rest of the Gators follow Young's lead with four consecutive games against SEC East foes on the schedule starting with Tuesday night's home game against Vanderbilt. The Gators then host Kentucky, travel to South Carolina, and return home for a rematch with Tennessee.
They usually call a stretch like that crunch time.
The Gators entered February with similar visions of an SEC regular-season title the past three years. However, February proved unkind with a back-loaded SEC schedule and Florida going 11-10 the past three seasons during the month.
Donovan is hoping a deeper roster and the experience of past struggles produce a different story this time around. Florida enters Tuesday's game coming off a loss at Mississippi State on Saturday in which it led late and had chances down the stretch thanks to contributions from 10 different players.
“Last year we weren't very deep,'' Donovan said. “I think we are a deeper team. It also depends on how guys are playing, too. We were a deeper team against Mississippi State because our bench came in and played well.''
Freshmen Young, point guard Scottie Wilbekin and forwards Casey Prather and Will Yeguete helped the Gators outscore Mississippi State's bench 17-0. Sophomore forward Erik Murphy is also back in the mix after missing four games in January due to a foot injury.
With the same five returning starters as a year ago – guards Erving Walker and Kenny Boynton, forwards Alex Tyus and Chandler Parsons, and center Vernon Macklin – experience is on Florida's side.
And while all five played significant roles, the five bench players could determine the how well the Gators tackle what's ahead.
“Our young guys played well, and we need them to play well,'' Donovan said. “I do think we're a better team than we were a year ago because we've been able to put those guys in games and they've been reliable.''
Young, for one, is much more confident when his number is called than he was earlier in the season. He senses the same vibe from his teammates and it has shown recently on the court.
“We're coming along pretty well, especially compared to the beginning of the year when we were just scared about doing something wrong,'' Young said. “We're not really worried about that anymore. Coach [Donovan] trusts us and knows what he's going to get when he puts us in the game.''
Unlike Young, Macklin was around last season when the Gators opened February with back-to-back wins over Alabama and Mississippi State. In a combination of a lack of numbers and the schedule catching up with the Gators, they went 3-5 the remainder of the regular season with losses to NCAA Tournament squads Xavier, Vanderbilt and Kentucky.
Macklin looks at this week as a big opportunity for the Gators to make a statement. Both games are on national TV and ESPN's GameDay crew will be at the O'Connell Center for Saturday night's showdown between the Gators and Wildcats.
“These two games are huge, as is every game in the SEC,'' Macklin said. “If we can go out and play well against these two teams, it'd be a great opportunity for us.''
Despite the disappointing loss at Mississippi State, the Gators remain a half-game up on Kentucky in the SEC East race. The Wildcats visit Ole Miss on Tuesday a couple of hours before the tip-off is scheduled at the O-Dome.
The Gators are trying to block out any distractions as the season's stretch run comes into focus, including having a short memory – win or lose.
“We can't live in the past anymore,'' Macklin said. “We won a tough one at Georgia and then lost at Mississippi State. We can't look back anymore. We have to go out and play hard against whoever we play against.
“Obviously we've got tough games coming up, so we've got to be ready.''
As the schedule gets tougher and the games take on added meaning, Donovan is relying more on his trainers and strength coach to keep the players healthy physically. He'll take precautions when needed such as shortening practices or splitting up minutes when a game allows.
But what hasn't changed is that it's February and that means separation time in the SEC.
“It's certainly a grind,'' Donovan said. “Not only for us, but everybody.''
GATORS GAMEBOX
Vanderbilt at Florida
Tip-off: 9 p.m.; O'Connell Center
Records: Vanderbilt 15-5 (3-3 SEC); Florida 16-5 (5-2)
Game notes: (click here)
TV: ESPN
Radio: Gator Radio Network (click here for affiliates)
Need to know: Gators look to rebound from Saturday's loss at Mississippi State; Florida is 4-0 after losses this season; Vanderbilt has won last two meetings between the schools, but Gators are 18-11 against the Commodores under Donovan … Commodores coming off a loss to Arkansas in which Razorbacks G Rotnei Clarke scored 36 points; Gators held Clarke scoreless in 75-43 win over Hogs on Jan 22 in their last game at O'Connell Center … Florida is averaging just 9.9 turnovers per game in SEC play, more than five fewer than in non-conference games … Florida dropped out of AP Top 25 on Monday but checked in at No. 23 in USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll; meanwhile, Vanderbilt is No. 23 in AP poll and tied for No. 24 in USA Today/ESPN poll … Sophomore G John Jenkins leads Vanderbilt in scoring at 19.1 points a game, tops in the SEC; Jenkins leads the league in three-pointers made with 59 … Senior F Chandler Parsons is averaging team-best 7.3 rebounds, including 12.3 per game over the last three games.
