Its been a long, hard road for Gator fans these past few seasons...well sort of. Ever since the 2009 SEC Title game where we were embarrassed by Alabama, who not only cut short our undefeated season as well a a shot at back to back titles, but also sent Urban Meyer to a hospital because he stressed so hard, we have yet to taste even remote glory. I know what all you non-Gator fans are thinking: Shut up! You won four national titles in four years (2 basketball, 2 football in case you didn't know...), stop your whining, and to an extent, you might be right. The fact of the matter is, Gator fans had become accustomed to winning, maybe a little too much (Some people didn't even bother to watch the 2007 NCAA Basketball Championship because they assumed the outcome would be favorable). As a result, the sting of defeat was extra hard to take as the red carpet was so quickly pulled out from underneath the feet of our entitled fan base.
Since that fateful football game in 2009 against Bama, I think it's safe to say that we have not had a significant win in football OR basketball. We won (most) of the games we should have won, but whenever the Gators were faced with a marquee game, they always seemed to come up a little short. This was evidenced ten-fold in basketball over the last few seasons. After the departure of the "Oh Fours" (Noah, Horford, Green and Brewer for those of you who care) UF Basketball found itself back at square one with a complete rebuilding job in store for Billy Donovan. You have to give this guy credit, he turned down a lucrative NBA deal with a contending team to come back and start over at Florida (I'd like to overlook the fact that he flip-flopped on the Orlando Magic, leaving them high and dry). Gator fans hardly even blinked. We had the #1 recruiting class coming in and the swag of winning back to back titles, who really cared if we were starting four true freshman? We were the Gators and winning was in our blood. Think again...
After beginning the 2007-08 season with a cupcake non-conference schedule, the Gators began conference play with an inflated record and the inflated egos of its' young players. These guys expected to walk out of the season unscathed, with at least an NCAA tournament bid, but all that changed once the competition got a little more real. The young Gators (recruiting class that included NBA draft pick Nick Calathes, Chanlder Parsons, Alex Tyus and eventual transfer Jai Lucas) finished with a losing conference record (7-9) including losses the final four conference games, punching their ticket to the NIT for the first time since the mid 1990s and ending Donovan's impressive streak of consecutive tournament appearances. Things didn't get any better the next two seasons (a second NIT appearance in 2009 and a first round NCAA exit in 2010 at the hands of BYU and Jimmer Fredette in a double-OT thriller), but finally, this 2010-11 Gator team, full of experienced players that have felt the ache of defeat for the last couple of seasons, has started to give Gator fans something to be excited about again.
This year's Gator basketball team has been impressive all season, winning big games at home (Kentucky, Tennessee, Vandy), on the road (Tennessee, Georgia, Florida State), and on a neutral court (Kansas State) and rarely losing when they are supposed to win...we can let that overtime loss in January to Jacksonville slide, I suppose. Not only has Florida(22-5, 11-2 SEC) locked up its first SEC regular season division title since the "Oh Four's" era (and one win shy of clinching the SEC regular season title outright), but they are poised to be a top seed in this year's tournament. Yes, the Gators have been winning games again, and they have been doing so in exciting fashion. Six of the team's wins have come by five points or less and four games have gone into overtime this season, including a double overtime barn-burner at Georgia where Erving Walker sent the game into a 2nd overtime by hitting a half-court shot as time expired. They are also winning games because of solid defensive play. Florida is among the top teams in the conference defensively, allowing a paltry 61.1ppg. No longer are they living and dying on the three-point line (although that's still a big part of their game). Battle-tested would be an understatement, these guys are battle-proof, and the experience that comes with winning close games is what deep tournament runs are made of.
Head coach Billy Donovan deserves a ton of credit for the transformation of this team. You look at his recruiting approach and he never goes for the flashy one-and-done types like Derrick Rose and John Wall. Instead, Donovan wants recruits who buy into his coaching philosophy and are willing to stay multiple seasons for a chance to really develop and fit into his system. It doesn't always pay off initially (as we saw in the first 2-3 seasons of his rebuilding process) but now Billy D's Gators are one of the most experienced units heading into March Madness.
When you look at the starting lineup this year, you begin to see the synergy and camaraderie that had been lacking since our 2006-07 Championship team. Chandler Parsons, Alex Tyus, and Vernon Macklin, all seniors, have really matured and Parsons is shoring up his NBA draft stock every game. This kid is a triple-double threat every night, like a larger, more athletic Evan Turner. He stretches out defenses like Corey Brewer once did with his outside shooting and hustles to the rim after every shot, often times flying from beyond the arc to grab an important game-changing rebound. He is the heart of this team (and front-runner for SEC conference player of the year), and the guy whose hands you want with the ball in a big game moment (as evidenced by his two game winning shots last season, one of which was a 3/4-court buzzer beater against NC State). Then you look at the two underclassmen in the lineup, the sharp shooting duo of junior Erving Walker, and sophomore Kenny Boynton, who can score in flurries at any given time. These guys have been together for two years now and are finally starting to gel, to understand each others' strengths and weaknesses and to trust each other in close games.
I know it isn't even March yet, but I see big things in store for this Gator team. They have the experience and a great coach to guide them through the rest of the regular season. The next stop may prove to be the most difficult. This Saturday the team is off to Rupp Arena to take on a struggling Kentucky team that's hungry for a signature win. The Wildcats has won 32 straight at Rupp and have no intentions of losing on Saturday. This would be yet another huge statement game for the Gators. A win would effectively say to the rest of the Nation, "We are here, and we aren't going anywhere." If healthy, expect those Gator boys' to do some serious damage both in the SEC and NCAA tournaments, and don't be surprised if they are the one's holding up the crystal basketball in April.
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