GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The UF men’s basketball team on Friday starts arguably its most-anticipated season since the Gators opened the 2006-07 campaign as defending national champions. From his perch on the bench, Gators coach Billy Donovan will keep a close eye on how the Gators finish.
Florida hosts UNC-Wilmington in Donovan’s 15th season opener at UF. He is ready to see if a team that returns all five starters and features a talented class of true freshmen led by center Patric Young can maintain its intensity for 40 minutes.
In the Gators’ final exhibition game against NAIA Georgetown (Ky.) College, they cruised to a 25-point halftime lead. However, Georgetown played evenly with the Gators in the second half of an 88-62 loss.
“Can you play with the lead? Can you play when it’s 44-19?’’ Donovan asked rhetorically on Wednesday. “It’s a mentality that you have to have where the first four minutes start in the second half and you send a message to that team: ‘You know what, we’re not letting you back into the game.’
“It’s something they have to address. They have to change their mentality and their perspective. We have to get better at that. We don’t have that at the level that I’d like for us to have.’’
The Gators open the season ranked ninth in the AP Top 25 in large part due to a veteran cast of returners featuring seniors Chandler Parsons, Alex Tyus and Vernon Macklin in the front court, and junior guard Erving Walker and sophomore guard Kenny Boynton.
The 6-foot-9, 245-pound Young, a McDonald’s High School All-American last year, has drawn top billing among the newcomers. Young’s physical presence and defensive-minded approach adds some much-needed muscle and toughness to the roster.
The Gators, coming off a 21-13 season in which they made the NCAA Tournament for the first time in three seasons, have enough talent that they were picked to win the Southeastern Conference by members of the media at SEC Media Day.
Donovan wants them to prove it on the court.
“It’s not so much the handling of expectations as much as it is the handling of prosperity – when you get recognized, when you get attention, when people talk favorably about you,’’ he said. “It’s the handling of prosperity.’’
Parsons is the centerpiece of the lineup, a versatile 6-9 forward who is athletic enough to play point guard if needed. He has also embraced his role as team leader and the most visible player on the roster thanks to two game-winning baskets at the buzzer as a junior.
Parsons expects the Gators to be able to live up to the preseason hype from what he has seen during preseason camp.
“I plan on making this year my best,’’ Parsons said Wednesday.
The veteran roster fuels his optimism.
“I think it makes a world of difference,’’ Parsons said. “That’s one thing [experience] that you can’t teach. We have a combination of players who have really been in every single situation possible to help these younger guys if they ever have to go through that.’’
UNC-Wilmington offers the first challenge tonight at the O’Connell Center. The Seahawks are led by first-year coach Buzz Peterson, the former Tennessee coach and backcourt teammate of Michael Jordan at North Carolina.
The Seahawks are a heavy underdog, but they should offer more of a challenge than exhibition opponents Florida Tech and NAIA Georgetown.
“He has always been very creative on offense,’’ Donovan said of facing Peterson at Tennessee. “They are the kind of team that you can see certain sets and certain things that maybe you would not see during the course of the year. They are playing a little bit of a Princeton style right now.’’
Young can’t wait to hit the court for his first regular-season game. The Jacksonville product has quickly earned a reputation among his teammates as the team’s most physical player.
Young’s offense continues to evolve, but it’s his defense and ability to rebound that the Gators need most.
“I know that I’ll get an adequate amount (of playing time) just because I go in there and play hard and do all the dirty work. Coach loves that,’’ Young said. “I just feel like it’s time to play basketball.’’
Parsons is ready, too. And after tip-off, he’ll be reminding his teammates that Donovan will be watching all 40 minutes closely.
“We don’t want to let up – up 20, down 20 – we want to come out and play our game full of energy,’’ Parsons said. “Especially when we have a team (down) at home, we don’t want to take our foot off the gas.’’
What does the freshman Young hope to see in his college debut?
“I’d like to see a couple of dunks here and there,’’ he said. “I’d like to see KB [Boynton] go for about 20, 25 points, and Erv [Walker] leave the game with about 15 assists.’’
That would be fine with Donovan.
However, as he enters his 15th season, Donovan knows what season openers and the early portion of the schedule are about.
“These games early are more to find out where you’re at and where you’ve got to get better,’’ Donovan said. “They are anxious to play.’’
NOTES:
Donovan said he expects freshman point guard Scottie Wilbekin to play. Wilbekin suffered a strained neck in the exhibition opener and missed several days of practice … Florida has won 19 consecutive season openers, including a 14-0 record under Donovan … Peterson was 3-5 against UF during his four seasons at Tennessee … Third all-time meeting between the schools; Florida won both previous meetings, the last an 80-53 win at home on Dec. 23, 1999.
