Florida Times-Union sports columnist Gene Frenette offers weekly observations on a variety of sports topics for jacksonville.com This is his updated entry from the SEC basketball tournament for Thursday March 13.
With bubble teams falling out of NCAA tournament consideration all over the country, the Florida Gators wasted a terrific opportunity to extend their nine-year streak of Big Dance appearances with a pathetic display of basketball Thursday night at the Georgia Dome.
Instead of using the Southeastern Conference tournament to gain entry to the NCAAs, the Gators embarrassed themselves with a lackluster effort in an 80-69 loss to Alabama that wasn't anywhere as close as the score indicated.
Florida put itself in holes of 14-0, 26-5 and 42-14 in the first half because it couldn't hit any outside shots or stop Alabama senior guard Mykal Riley (26 points) from draining three-pointers from every conceivable spot on the floor. The outing so annoyed UF coach Billy Donovan that he minced no words afterwards over his team's woeful performance.
Donovan questioned his team's passion, its commitment to playing defense and whether his young squad of nine scholarship players (five freshmen, three sophomores and one junior)would develop into the kind of team that can ever contend for any kind of a championship.
"You know, it's hard for me to be excited going forward because I don't see things getting fixed," said Donovan. "Again, we're 31 games into the season, and I'm not going to sit up here and talk about youthfulness or what we don't have or what we lost or those type of things.
"What you want to see is you want to see a group of guys really understand what it takes to win. And sometimes you've got to go through some things to understand what it takes to win. It's in front of our guys, what it takes to win, and for whatever reason, I haven't brought it out in them. They're not committed to it. I'm not necessarily really that excited about these guys being sophomores, to be honest."
Donovan's scathing criticism came on the heels of freshman Chandler Parsons telling the media assembled for the post-game news conference that the team "didn't come ready to play."
It's pretty hard to argue the point when you consider that Florida was outrebounded 26-12 in the first half, got no points from its starters in the first 11 minutes, and had 6-foot-10 sophomore center Marreese Speights not attempt a shot in the game's first 28 minutes.
Though Florida did whittle a 46-23 halftime deficit down to six points at 57-51, aided partly by some suspect Alabama free throw shooting, it couldn't mask the disappointment of a horrific start in a game with monumental stakes.
The feeling was UF needed to win two or three games in the SEC tournament to assure itself of an NCAA bid. The Gators received a huge lift when bubble teams like Dayton, Arizona State, Baylor, Villanova and UAB all lost earlier in the day, opening the door for Donovan's team if it could beat Alabama and follow up with a win over Mississippi State.
But everything flamed out with a pedestrian first-half effort that left everyone from Donovan to the players shaking their head afterwards, wondering if things will get any better next season.
First, there's the matter of closing out this season in the National Invitation Tournament, which will announce its pairings late Sunday night, long after the NCAA Selection show.
Until then, Donovan didn't sound terribly optimistic that his Gators will be dramtically better in 2008-09 simply because he returns his entire team.
"I would say that just because this group, all of them, are a year older doesn't mean they become a year better," said Donovan. "I've never been a big believer of that old adage, the best thing about freshmen is they become sophomores. I've never bought into that motto.
"They're wiser, they're more experienced, but the same issues are still in front of them, and until they address those issues, it doesn't really make a difference how old they are."
After winning back-to-back NCAA championships, including the last one at the Georgia Dome, the Gators exited that same venue Thursday night feeling entirely different about themselves.
Their confidence was not only shaken, but Donovan didn't have any problem calling them out for an embarrassing performance in a big-game situation. In more ways than one, UF's bubble had burst.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Bubble looking a little better for Gators
Florida Times-Union sports columnnist Gene Frenette offers a weekly perspective on various topics for jacksonville.com This is his entry for Thursday March 13.
Going into tonight's opening-round game in the Southeastern Conference tournament against Alabama, the bubble-residing Florida Gators received some assistance today when other teams living on that NCAA tournament edge fell off and out of Big Dance consideration.
Florida (21-10, 8-8 in the SEC) caught a huge break in the Big East tournament when Villanova, after knocking Syracuse into the NIT, followed up with a 19-point loss to Georgetown, which likely means that two Big East teams needing a little bit of a tournament run are out of NCAA consideration.
There were approximately 20-25 teams like the Gators who are walking that NCAA high-wire, so the more that fall off, the better UF's chances will be to make a 10th consecutive Big Dance appearance if it can reach the SEC semifinals or finals.
It would appear the Gators need a minimum of two wins at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta to get into the NCAAs because they could use the leverage of a quality win over Mississippi State, UF's second-round opponent if it knocks off Alabama. Even with two wins, there's no guarantee of reaching the NCAAs because it depends on how many other bubble teams fare in their tournaments.
Two fellow SEC members -- Arkansas and Mississippi -- must avoid a one-and-done scenario in the SEC tournament, and the Rebels probably need two or three wins to help offsets their 7-9 conference record. Kentucky looks fairly safe, but the Wildcats wouldn't want to tempt fate by losing to the Georgia-Ole Miss winner on Friday.
Beyond the SEC, tournament losses early on Thursday by UAB (to Tulsa in Conference USA), Dayton (to Xavier in the Atlantic 10), Arizona State (to Southern Cal in the Pac-10) and Baylor (to Colorado in the Big 12) will greatly benefit Florida if it takes advantage by winning a couple games in Atlanta.
On the down side for the Gators, West Virginia got off its tenuous position by upsetting Connecticut, so the Mountaineers look to be comfortably in the NCAA field. St. Joseph's, whose star player is Pat Calathes, older brother of UF freshman, Nick Calathes, kept its NCAA hopes alive by advancing over Richmond in the A-10 tournament.
Here are some other bubble teams whose tournament results will impact Florida's chances of getting into the NCAAs -- Kansas State, Texas A&M, Arizona, Ohio State, Oregon, New Mexico, UNLV, Virginia Tech and Maryland.
In addition, it would help the Gators if top seeds Memphis and BYU win their respective tournaments. All this scoreboard watching, of course, is a moot point if Florida doesn't take care of business Thursday night against Alabama. And follows up with a win against Mississippi State on Friday.
Without at least two wins at the Georgia Dome -- the same venue where UF cut down the national championship nets last year -- Florida will be dancing at the NIT. The Gators' resume simply doesn't have enough juice to squeeze into the NCAA field.
Check out Friday's Times-Union for my column from the SEC tournament and complete game coverage by Mike DiRocco.
Unless John Daly gets some help for his obvious off-the-course demons, it's becoming more apparent that his golf career is dangerously close to being over. Daly's partying lifestyle and lack of desire to work at his game, which coach Butch Harmon cited this week as the reason why he's no longer working with him, is something he can no longer overcome with natural talent.
Harmon's public criticism of Daly's work ethic, coupled with him being disqualified from the Arnold Palmer Invitational for missing his pro-am tee time, is a double whammy for a man who achieved incredible popularity despite his abusive history and consistent marital problems.
The goodwill that Daly built up for winning the PGA Championship and a British Open well over a decade ago has pretty much evaporated as his professional and personal difficulties keep rising. He obviously needs someone to intervene on his behalf.
If John Daly doesn't turn things around pretty soon, it will be last call.
Going into tonight's opening-round game in the Southeastern Conference tournament against Alabama, the bubble-residing Florida Gators received some assistance today when other teams living on that NCAA tournament edge fell off and out of Big Dance consideration.
Florida (21-10, 8-8 in the SEC) caught a huge break in the Big East tournament when Villanova, after knocking Syracuse into the NIT, followed up with a 19-point loss to Georgetown, which likely means that two Big East teams needing a little bit of a tournament run are out of NCAA consideration.
There were approximately 20-25 teams like the Gators who are walking that NCAA high-wire, so the more that fall off, the better UF's chances will be to make a 10th consecutive Big Dance appearance if it can reach the SEC semifinals or finals.
It would appear the Gators need a minimum of two wins at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta to get into the NCAAs because they could use the leverage of a quality win over Mississippi State, UF's second-round opponent if it knocks off Alabama. Even with two wins, there's no guarantee of reaching the NCAAs because it depends on how many other bubble teams fare in their tournaments.
Two fellow SEC members -- Arkansas and Mississippi -- must avoid a one-and-done scenario in the SEC tournament, and the Rebels probably need two or three wins to help offsets their 7-9 conference record. Kentucky looks fairly safe, but the Wildcats wouldn't want to tempt fate by losing to the Georgia-Ole Miss winner on Friday.
Beyond the SEC, tournament losses early on Thursday by UAB (to Tulsa in Conference USA), Dayton (to Xavier in the Atlantic 10), Arizona State (to Southern Cal in the Pac-10) and Baylor (to Colorado in the Big 12) will greatly benefit Florida if it takes advantage by winning a couple games in Atlanta.
On the down side for the Gators, West Virginia got off its tenuous position by upsetting Connecticut, so the Mountaineers look to be comfortably in the NCAA field. St. Joseph's, whose star player is Pat Calathes, older brother of UF freshman, Nick Calathes, kept its NCAA hopes alive by advancing over Richmond in the A-10 tournament.
Here are some other bubble teams whose tournament results will impact Florida's chances of getting into the NCAAs -- Kansas State, Texas A&M, Arizona, Ohio State, Oregon, New Mexico, UNLV, Virginia Tech and Maryland.
In addition, it would help the Gators if top seeds Memphis and BYU win their respective tournaments. All this scoreboard watching, of course, is a moot point if Florida doesn't take care of business Thursday night against Alabama. And follows up with a win against Mississippi State on Friday.
Without at least two wins at the Georgia Dome -- the same venue where UF cut down the national championship nets last year -- Florida will be dancing at the NIT. The Gators' resume simply doesn't have enough juice to squeeze into the NCAA field.
Check out Friday's Times-Union for my column from the SEC tournament and complete game coverage by Mike DiRocco.
Unless John Daly gets some help for his obvious off-the-course demons, it's becoming more apparent that his golf career is dangerously close to being over. Daly's partying lifestyle and lack of desire to work at his game, which coach Butch Harmon cited this week as the reason why he's no longer working with him, is something he can no longer overcome with natural talent.
Harmon's public criticism of Daly's work ethic, coupled with him being disqualified from the Arnold Palmer Invitational for missing his pro-am tee time, is a double whammy for a man who achieved incredible popularity despite his abusive history and consistent marital problems.
The goodwill that Daly built up for winning the PGA Championship and a British Open well over a decade ago has pretty much evaporated as his professional and personal difficulties keep rising. He obviously needs someone to intervene on his behalf.
If John Daly doesn't turn things around pretty soon, it will be last call.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Can Gator heartbreak lay future foundation?
Florida Times-Union sports columnist Gene Frenette offers his perspective on a variety of topics for jacksonville.com This is his entry for Thursday March 6.
An hour into the post-mortem of Florida's devastating 89-86 loss Wednesday night to Tennessee, coach Billy Donovan kept talking about what the fallout would be for his Gators in the wake of such crushing disappointment.
He wasn't referring to the "who's in, who's out" rammifications for the NCAA tournament -- which now seems more of a long-shot than 50-50 -- but his team's personal growth from an experience that left several players teary-eyed in the locker room.
"To me, it was a great growing experience," said Donovan. "They could really grow from this. When you have pain and hurt in that locker room, there's a chance to bond from that. Sometimes, pain and heartache brings you closer together than the wins. You cannot become a team until you go through some of these experiences."
No doubt, a large segment of Gator nation is feeling downcast about losing a game that could have put Florida (21-9 overall, 8-7 in Southeastern Conference)in good position for an NCAA at-large bid had they finished off the No. 4-ranked Volunteers. The Gators just didn't have the experience to put the clamps on UT guards JaJuan Smith and Chris Lofton, who hit critical shots during a 14-0 second half run that enabled the Vols to overcome a 55-42 halftime deficit.
But there's a potentially huge consolation for the Gators, providing that this bitter loss helps them become a team in the true sense of the word. After the game, Donovan rattled off some disappointing losses that his previous UF squad went through before it blossomed into a back-to-back NCAA champion.
It was clearly Donovan's way of sending a message to his current players, hoping they might take an emotional defeat and allow it to speed up their growth process.
"You're trying to strive to be the best possible team," said Donovan. "We were a team tonight. There was no team passion against Mississippi State [in last Saturday's loss]."
Given that over 85 percent of Florida's production is coming from freshmen or sophomores, taking the outright SEC champion right to the wire is a positive step. And with all the beef in UF's next incoming class -- 6-foot-9 Kenny Kadji, 6-9 Eloy Vargas and 6-8 Allan Chaney -- the Gators should be able to win playing more of a halfcourt game in the future than relying so heavily on three-point shots and transition basketball.
Providing, of course, that these Gators find a way to use their greatest disappointment of the season as motivation to become a team to be reckoned with.
With NCAA Selection Sunday just 10 days away, there's still considerable speculation about Florida's chances of extending their NCAA tournament streak to 10 consecutive years.
Right now, the chances are probably somewhere in the 10-20 percent range because there's simply too many teams on the bubble with better overall resumes than the Gators. They can help their cause immensely by beating Kentucky on the road Sunday, which would give UF a sweep over another bubble team.
The problem is, Florida has only one quality win (Vanderbilt) and even a win over Kentucky, which is three games ahead of UF in the SEC East standings, wouldn't be enough to put Donovan's team in the tournament.
Here's the numerical logjam that makes it hard to imagine Florida getting an NCAA bid without going to the SEC tournament finals, or maybe the semifinals -- there are currently 19 leagues that will send just one team to the Big Dance, 30 teams that are considered locks no matter what happens and another 8 schools (Oklahoma, Miami, Baylor, etc.) that look pretty safe as long as they don't collapse.
That's 57 out of 65 spots already reserved. For the last eight berths, there's about 20-25 schools with a chance to secure them, and a lot of them currently have better credentials than Florida, which is 1-7 against teams in the RPI Top 50.
And another factor to consider when you're looking at all these mock brackets from ESPN's Joe Lunardi and everyone else: none of these projections include conference tournament upsets that, every year, take away another two or three of those at-large bids.
So in addition to Florida needing to beat Kentucky and make an SEC tournament run, they have to root for teams like Memphis, Butler, Drake and Davidson -- all with solid at-large credentials -- to win their league tournaments and gain the automatic bid.
It comes down to a numbers game, specifically who you played, who you beat and how well your team performed in the last 10-12 games. Right now, none of those factors are in Florida's favor.
So far, NFL free agency from the Jaguars' perspective has shown that coach Jack Del Rio and the front office isn't afraid to spend money or shake up the roster.
The addition of wide receiver Jerry Porter from the Oakland Raiders and cornerback Drayton Florence from the San Diego Chargers are the most significant additions, but it's clear the Jaguars aren't shy about severing ties with major contributors.
Who would have thought midway through the 2007 season that three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Marcus Stroud would be traded or veteran guard Chris Naeole cut? The team also let popular receiver Ernest Wilford become a free agent (he signed with the Miami Dolphins), as well as backup quarterback Quinn Gray and productive safety Sammy Knight.
So what's the message? It's that the Jaguars feel this is their time to be a Super Bowl contender and with $35 million in salary cap room, they were going to do everything possible to close the gap on the Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots.
Time will tell if they succeeded. Porter is a talented receiver who had mixed results in Oakland. Florence should definitely upgrade the secondary either as a nickel back or possibly a starter if the Jags move Brian Williams to safety. Either way, his presence gives the defense greater flexibility.
Now it's time for the Jaguars to go back into the film room and see if the April draft can bring them the player they'll need to beef up the pass rush. With the third and fifth-round picks they received from the Buffalo Bills for Stroud, it wouldn't be at all surprising to see the Jaguars trade up from the No. 26 spot in the first round to land a coveted pass-rusher.
An hour into the post-mortem of Florida's devastating 89-86 loss Wednesday night to Tennessee, coach Billy Donovan kept talking about what the fallout would be for his Gators in the wake of such crushing disappointment.
He wasn't referring to the "who's in, who's out" rammifications for the NCAA tournament -- which now seems more of a long-shot than 50-50 -- but his team's personal growth from an experience that left several players teary-eyed in the locker room.
"To me, it was a great growing experience," said Donovan. "They could really grow from this. When you have pain and hurt in that locker room, there's a chance to bond from that. Sometimes, pain and heartache brings you closer together than the wins. You cannot become a team until you go through some of these experiences."
No doubt, a large segment of Gator nation is feeling downcast about losing a game that could have put Florida (21-9 overall, 8-7 in Southeastern Conference)in good position for an NCAA at-large bid had they finished off the No. 4-ranked Volunteers. The Gators just didn't have the experience to put the clamps on UT guards JaJuan Smith and Chris Lofton, who hit critical shots during a 14-0 second half run that enabled the Vols to overcome a 55-42 halftime deficit.
But there's a potentially huge consolation for the Gators, providing that this bitter loss helps them become a team in the true sense of the word. After the game, Donovan rattled off some disappointing losses that his previous UF squad went through before it blossomed into a back-to-back NCAA champion.
It was clearly Donovan's way of sending a message to his current players, hoping they might take an emotional defeat and allow it to speed up their growth process.
"You're trying to strive to be the best possible team," said Donovan. "We were a team tonight. There was no team passion against Mississippi State [in last Saturday's loss]."
Given that over 85 percent of Florida's production is coming from freshmen or sophomores, taking the outright SEC champion right to the wire is a positive step. And with all the beef in UF's next incoming class -- 6-foot-9 Kenny Kadji, 6-9 Eloy Vargas and 6-8 Allan Chaney -- the Gators should be able to win playing more of a halfcourt game in the future than relying so heavily on three-point shots and transition basketball.
Providing, of course, that these Gators find a way to use their greatest disappointment of the season as motivation to become a team to be reckoned with.
With NCAA Selection Sunday just 10 days away, there's still considerable speculation about Florida's chances of extending their NCAA tournament streak to 10 consecutive years.
Right now, the chances are probably somewhere in the 10-20 percent range because there's simply too many teams on the bubble with better overall resumes than the Gators. They can help their cause immensely by beating Kentucky on the road Sunday, which would give UF a sweep over another bubble team.
The problem is, Florida has only one quality win (Vanderbilt) and even a win over Kentucky, which is three games ahead of UF in the SEC East standings, wouldn't be enough to put Donovan's team in the tournament.
Here's the numerical logjam that makes it hard to imagine Florida getting an NCAA bid without going to the SEC tournament finals, or maybe the semifinals -- there are currently 19 leagues that will send just one team to the Big Dance, 30 teams that are considered locks no matter what happens and another 8 schools (Oklahoma, Miami, Baylor, etc.) that look pretty safe as long as they don't collapse.
That's 57 out of 65 spots already reserved. For the last eight berths, there's about 20-25 schools with a chance to secure them, and a lot of them currently have better credentials than Florida, which is 1-7 against teams in the RPI Top 50.
And another factor to consider when you're looking at all these mock brackets from ESPN's Joe Lunardi and everyone else: none of these projections include conference tournament upsets that, every year, take away another two or three of those at-large bids.
So in addition to Florida needing to beat Kentucky and make an SEC tournament run, they have to root for teams like Memphis, Butler, Drake and Davidson -- all with solid at-large credentials -- to win their league tournaments and gain the automatic bid.
It comes down to a numbers game, specifically who you played, who you beat and how well your team performed in the last 10-12 games. Right now, none of those factors are in Florida's favor.
So far, NFL free agency from the Jaguars' perspective has shown that coach Jack Del Rio and the front office isn't afraid to spend money or shake up the roster.
The addition of wide receiver Jerry Porter from the Oakland Raiders and cornerback Drayton Florence from the San Diego Chargers are the most significant additions, but it's clear the Jaguars aren't shy about severing ties with major contributors.
Who would have thought midway through the 2007 season that three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Marcus Stroud would be traded or veteran guard Chris Naeole cut? The team also let popular receiver Ernest Wilford become a free agent (he signed with the Miami Dolphins), as well as backup quarterback Quinn Gray and productive safety Sammy Knight.
So what's the message? It's that the Jaguars feel this is their time to be a Super Bowl contender and with $35 million in salary cap room, they were going to do everything possible to close the gap on the Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots.
Time will tell if they succeeded. Porter is a talented receiver who had mixed results in Oakland. Florence should definitely upgrade the secondary either as a nickel back or possibly a starter if the Jags move Brian Williams to safety. Either way, his presence gives the defense greater flexibility.
Now it's time for the Jaguars to go back into the film room and see if the April draft can bring them the player they'll need to beef up the pass rush. With the third and fifth-round picks they received from the Buffalo Bills for Stroud, it wouldn't be at all surprising to see the Jaguars trade up from the No. 26 spot in the first round to land a coveted pass-rusher.
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