TAMPA, Fla. – Gators center Vernon Macklin, no small man himself at 6-foot-10 and 245 pounds, stood in Florida’s locker room on Friday afternoon and pondered the question.
Had Macklin ever played against anyone as big as UCLA freshman center Joshua Smith? Smith is the same height as Macklin but seemingly about twice as wide, listed at a modest 305 pounds.
“I’d say it’s more like 325 right now,’’ Smith said Friday.
Macklin tossed a few names out such as Mississippi State’s Renardo Sidney (6-10, 270), Tennessee’s Brian Williams (6-10, 270) and Vanderbilt’s Festus Ezeli (6-11, 255). Finally, he gave up.
“No, he’ll be the biggest,’’ Macklin said. “It will be a new experience.’’
As the Gators prepared to face UCLA on Saturday with a berth in the Sweet 16 on the line, most of the buzz on Friday at the St. Pete Times Forum focused on two topics: Smith’s size and UF’s recent history against the tradition-rich Bruins.
The Gators (27-7) defeated UCLA (23-10) in the Final Four in each of its back-to-back national title seasons in 2006 and 2007. In the 2006 national championship game, Florida beat the Bruins 73-57 to win its first national title while preventing UCLA from winning its NCAA-record 12th title. The next season, the Gators beat UCLA 76-66 in the Final Four before knocking off Ohio State and becoming the first school since Duke 15 years earlier to win back-to-back national titles.
“We were beaten by two very good teams both years,’’ UCLA coach Ben Howland said. “Those were both disappointing losses.’’
The Gators hope for a three-peat on Saturday afternoon over the Bruins. But Florida coach Billy Donovan expects a difficult challenge in part due to Smith, a huge inside presence who scored 14 points and grabbed three rebounds in UCLA’s 78-76 win over Michigan State on Thursday in his first NCAA Tournament game.
Smith is averaging 10.7 points and 6.3 rebounds and led the Bruins by a wide margin – no pun intended – by taking 16 charges during the regular season, showing unusual athletic ability for a player who ballooned to as much as 360 pounds coming out of Kentwood (Wash.) High.
“We’ve not seen anything like him,’’ Donovan said. “He’s a unique player. It’s not just Vern’s job [to defend him]; it’s going to take our whole team.’’
Smith has quick feet, soft hands and an affable personality. Surrounded by reporters inside UCLA’s locker room on Friday, Smith cracked the group up when he talked about playing baseball growing up. He said that’s where he figures he developed some of his athleticism.
What position did he play? “Shortstop,’’ he said.
He is used to questions about his size, especially after making an immediate impact with the Bruins. Opposing fans usually give him an earful.
At Oregon, he heard, “Hey Smith, have another pizza.” At USC, they shouted, “Josh, why don’t you have another cheeseburger?’’ His personal favorite was a sign he saw at Washington.
“The Josh Smith Pyramid of Success,’’ he said. “It was a food pyramid upside down.’’
Smith laughed at the memory.
“I think it’s funny,’’ he said, adding you’ve got to admire the creativity of some fans.
Smith may get teased, but there’s no doubt he can play and is an important building block for the Bruins. UCLA’s Tyler Honeycutt watched him evolve as the season progressed and has confidence in Smith at any time in the game.
“Usually whenever we play five on five, whoever's team he's on usually wins because you get two points for offensive rebounds, and he's getting about two or three or those,’’ Honeycutt said. “And once he gets deep [on the block] … you've got to pretty much foul him.’’
Macklin will get his shot to stop Smith, as will Gators freshman forward/center Patric Young. Like his veteran teammate, Young has never had to defend a player as big as Smith.
He has an idea what the Gators must do, though.
“You’ve got to keep him from getting deep-post position,’’ Young said. “You’ve got to do whatever you can to tire him out – put him in a lot of pick-and-rolls, make him run the floor, whatever you can to get him out of the game.’’
Young could be onto something. If Smith has a weakness, it’s his propensity to get into foul trouble. Smith has fouled out of three games this season and picked up at least four fouls 13 times.
Smith was in the eighth grade when Florida beat UCLA for the 2006 title and a freshman in high school when the Bruins lost to the Gators in the 2007 national semifinals.
Still, he understands the significance of Round 3 between the schools.
“A lot of UCLA fans are texting me to get revenge on the Gators for what they did to us,’’ he said. “We’re going to be aggressive. We’re going to use that as motivation.’’
Donovan was around for the previous two meetings between the schools and counts them as two of his most meaningful wins. He sees a different UCLA team than the previous two, more versatile and with more weapons.
Needless to say, Smith is a large reason why.
“He’s a real, real deceptive mover,’’ Donovan said. “I also think the other thing that makes him a special player is he's got great hands. I think when balls are up on the glass, he's going to grab it.
“With all the contact he plays with, he can catch, but he's got terrific hands, he's a good passer, and he's got a great touch. You add those ingredients with a guy that big, you know, it's very, very difficult to handle him.’’
GATOR GAMEBOX
Florida vs. UCLA
Tip-off: Approximately 2:45 p.m., St. Pete Times Forum (Tampa)
Records: Florida 27-7; UCLA 23-10
