GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Billy Donovan was furious with his starters
during Saturday’s practice. He didn’t like their effort, intensity or
commitment to defense and rebounding, so he stopped the workout and told
the team to come back at 8 p.m. to try again.
Frankly, that
practice wasn’t that great either, as Donovan and his assistants pointed
out more than once. The coaches couldn’t believe after Friday’s
experience on the battleship -- being around all those determined
soldiers and that remarkably inspiring environment -- how they could be
so flat, especially after playing only half a game. And they couldn't
understand how UF's four-man freshmen class, despite their mistakes,
out-hustled the older guys.
Then came Sunday’s shoot-around six hours before the season opener against Alabama State.
And the message.
“You get four minutes to show me something,” Donovan told his first five. “If I don’t get what I want, you’re all coming out.”
The
10th-Gators scored the game’s first eight points, allowed just one
field goal through the first 16-plus minutes and stomped the outmanned
Hornets 84-35 to run away with a “second” season opener before 8,047 at
the O’Connell Center.
Senior Kenny Boynton, forced to play point
guard with the suspension of Scottie Wilbekin, scored 22 points on
8-for-10 shooting (making all four 3-point attempts) to go with six
rebounds and five assists. Senior forward Erik Murphy had 15 points,
junior center Patric Young added 12 points and a game-high 12 rebounds
for his fifth-career double-double.
While on the subject of those
upperclassmen starters: guard Mike Rosario had 14 points and three
steals, while Will Yeguete had seven rebounds and five assists.
Meanwhile,
those freshmen who wowed the home crowd 10 days ago by scoring 50 of
101 points in a blowout exhibition game, well, they had in a reality
check in combining to score 17 points on 6-for-20 shooting, with guard
Michael Frazier II going 0-for-6 from the floor.
No, this game -- this day -- was about the veterans and how they would respond to being challenged.
“[The
coaches] were mad at us all day [Saturday],” said Boynton, adding the
players met in the locker room after the evening practice and vowed to
take the court Sunday with more passion and fire. “It was our first
game. We needed to come out and provide intensity and get defensive
stops.”
“Some days, you come to practice and you won’t be great
-- and practice yesterday wasn’t too great,” Murphy said. “Coach knew
what he was doing. He always knows what he’s doing. Sure enough, we came
out today and sustained a defensive effort.”
Suffice to say, 8
percent shooting (Alabama State went 2-for-25 in the first half) would
qualify as a "sustained defensive effort" -- even if the Hornets (0-2)
did manage to make 10 of its 31 shots after intermission (32.3 percent).
It wasn’t good enough to erase the 47-9 deficit, though. Florida
shot 60 percent in the first half, won the glass 50-30 and took 30 free
throws.
The nine first-half points by the Hornets were the
fewest scored in a half by a UF opponents since the NCAA implemented its
shot clock for the 1984-85 season.
“I think it kind of speaks
for itself,” Alabama State coach Lewis Jackson said. “With the energy
they brought defensively, it kind of took us out of everything we wanted
to do.”
With the Gators challenging every shot, the Hornets
turned the ball over 19 times, did not hit their 20th point until 6:24
remained in the game and trailed as many as 57 points in the second
half.
Message sent, message received.
“I really understand
what Coach Donovan does,” Young said. “He’s trying to motivate us
psychologically. You may want to think, ‘This guy is not going to take
my spot,’ so it gets you to play harder. We all came out with great
energy, great focus and got the job done.”
Donovan saw the Gators
exhibit all those traits in Friday night’s one half against Georgetown,
before the game on the USS Bataan was canceled at halftime due to
condensation on the floor.
When he didn’t see it at practice yesterday, he demanded to see it Sunday.
Immediately.
Or else.
“If
you love basketball, it shouldn’t matter who you’re playing; it should
matter that you’re playing,” Donovan said. “It’s very, very easy to get
jacked up on a ship with 3,000 sailors and national TV. The
circumstances and surroundings have an impact on your emotions. You’ve
got to have a competitive maturity to move from one game to the next.”
Next up: No. 23 Wisconsin at home Wednesday night.
The Badgers should have UF's attention; for the game and the practices before.
“This was a good game to get everyone in and get a feel for the game,” Boynton said. “And we’ll be ready for the next one.”
