GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Since a 13-point home win over Kent State on Dec. 9, the Florida men’s basketball team has been in study hall – on and off the court.
Senior forward Chandler Parsons arrived at practice on Thursday after studying much of the night for his last final exam of the semester. Parsons’ exam Thursday afternoon was the final one for the No. 24-ranked Gators (7-2).
On the court, the extended break from games finally gave UF coach Billy Donovan an opportunity to renew his role as teacher with some much-needed practice time. He’ll get to see if the Gators pass the test on Saturday when they face No. 6-ranked Kansas State (9-1) in the Orange Bowl Classic in Sunrise.
“It’s been pretty productive,’’ Donovan said. “The practice time has been good for our team. This is an opportunity for our basketball team to play against clearly one of the best teams in the country. But you’ve got to win some of these games, too. That’s what you want to be able to do.’’
In Florida’s biggest test of the young season so far, the Gators suffered an 18-point home loss to Ohio State on Nov. 16. The game was close for 30 minutes, but the Buckeyes pulled away impressively late in the second half.
Florida rebounded to win four in a row, including a victory at Florida State, before suffering a deflating loss to UCF in Orlando on Dec. 1.
Following the loss to the Knights, Florida beat American and Kent State prior to final exams and extra practice time taking over the schedule. In Sunrise on Saturday, the Gators are prepared to face a Kansas State team that features senior guard Jacob Pullen, one of the best in the country, and senior forward Curtis Kelly, whose versatility often presents problems for opponents.
Parsons is ready to kick off a stretch of three games in five days. He can’t think of a better test than the Wildcats, who are led by former Miami High coach Frank Martin. While at Miami High, Martin coached former UF players Udonis Haslem and Brent Wright.
“It’s a big chance,’’ Parsons said. “Why wouldn’t we want to play them and prove to everyone we can play with anybody. They are a great team. It’s going to be a good challenge. They’ve got a whole bunch of pieces.’’
The Wildcats feature a deep roster that Martin likes to use from top to bottom. He’ll often rotate 10 or 11 players in his system of defensive disruption. Donovan sees some of his team in the way Kansas State plays defense.
He also sees a huge challenge for Parsons and guards Erving Walker and Kenny Boynton – the players bringing the ball up the court most of the time – against the Wildcats’ pressure defense.
“They really do it with all-out denial all over the court,’’ Donovan said. “They don’t want you to be able to make one pass. They are really a complete team. When you look at the 10 best teams (in the country), they are one of those teams, there’s no question.’’
While Donovan still doesn’t think his team has played near its potential offensively, a plus of late has been the resurgence of senior center Vernon Macklin. There was a stretch last month where Donovan talked with Macklin about possibly taking a few games off to rest his sore knee plagued by tendinitis and bone spurs.
Instead, Macklin played on and has been the Gators’ most dangerous threat the past three games, averaging 17 points, 6.7 rebounds and shooting 75 percent over that span.
“Our guys have done a much better job of finding him,’’ Donovan said. “We've got him the ball in areas of the floor where he's been able to do something with it. Vernon Macklin is not a shot creator off the dribble. He’s got to have someone to get the ball to him. There was probably a lot of times during the course of early games that he's standing in the post with a guy on his back and our guy's not even looking.’’
With the Gators’ outside shooting below average – Florida is shooting 31.8 percent from 3-point range – Macklin’s production has been even more valuable.
“I don’t even know if his knee is 100 percent. He is just playing with a lot of confidence,’’ Walker said. “He’s getting that hook shot off all the time and he’s hitting it right now. That’s what we expect from him. He is a huge part of [our team]. At the rate he is scoring, teams are going to start double-teaming him.’’
A win over Kansas State on Saturday would be big on many levels for the Gators. To leave South Florida with a win, they will have to play their best game of the season thus far. In Donovan’s view, that means executing much of what they have worked on in practice the past week.
They need to play with more cohesiveness on offense, they must move the ball around more, they need to take better shots and play great defense.
“I think the next step is: can we put it all together?’’ Donovan said. “The biggest thing for our team right now is getting them to see and understand that when you play against these kinds of teams – when you play this kind of schedule – your issues as a team are going to flower, they are going to get exposed.’’
The players sound ready for the test. The scoreboard will hand out the final grade sometime late Saturday afternoon.
“There is no reason why we shouldn’t go out and be the aggressor,’’ Parsons said. “We are going to have a good amount of fans there. It’s going to be exciting to play a team of their caliber.’’
GATOR GAMEBOX
No. 24 Florida vs. No. 6 Kansas State
Tip-off: Saturday, 3:30 p.m.
Where: BankAtlantic Center, Sunrise
Television: FOX Sports Florida, FS South, FS Midwest, FS Ohio, FS North, FS Arizona, FS Carolinas, FS Tennessee, FS Houston Plus, FS Prime Ticket
Radio: Gator Radio Network
Records: Florida 7-2; Kansas State 9-1
Notes: First meeting between the schools … This game is part of the MetroPCS Orange Bowl Basketball Classic … Gators have appeared in event 10 of last 11 years, going 7-2 … Florida has averaged 15.1 assists and 11.6 turnovers in seven wins and 10 assists and 15.5 turnovers in two losses … Gators junior G Erving Walker played against Kansas State senior F Curtis Kelly in high school growing up in New York … Gators senior F Alex Tyus has scored 24 of his 34 points the last two games in the second half … Senior G Jacob Pullen leads Kansas State in scoring at 16.3 points a game … Game is somewhat of a homecoming for Gators sophomore G Kenny Boynton, who grew up in nearby Pompano Beach.
