Gators End Season With Same Problems

mlmintampa — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 06:45:05 -0000

It was really no different than previous Gator losses this season. But Florida's 71-62 loss to Penn State in the NIT Quarterfinals ended the Gators' season. In UF's 11 losses, there are been several themes. Among them; a shorthanded lineup, poor shooting, and being shoved around by a tougher team. All of those factors killed UF last night and every night.

Next season, Florida should have Kenny Kadji (out with a concussion Tuesday), Eloy Vargas (out with fitness), Allan Chaney (out with suspension), Adam Allen (out with a knee) and Vernon Macklin (out with a transfer) all on opening night. Florida's front court consisted of Alex Tyus and two guys who never belonged there; Dan Werner and Chandler Parsons. Maybe that is what Billy Donovan meant after saying UF overachieved. He realizes the quality of his bigs never matched Calathes-Hodge-Walker. The man won two National Championships with a front line of three first round draft picks. He knows what the recipe is, but doesn't have the ingredients.

It will be decision time now for Nick Calathes. He can roll the dice and enter the draft or roll the dice and hope Florida's big men will contribute next season. He can only go as far as the other four guys on the floor.

This team finished one game worse than last year's team that got to Madison Square Garden. Hopefully, next year's team won't finish the same way.

Gamecock Man's Hoops SEC East Power Rankings

Gamecock Man — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 16:03:39 -0000

Ready for another run to the title?

The hoops season is soon upon us. Here are is my pre-season power rankings for the East. As many have recognized, the East probably features the three best teams--Florida, Tennessee, and Kentucky--so expect one of these teams to win the title come tourney time.

1. Florida

Although they faded down the stretch last year before making a run to the NIT finals, where they lost to UMass, the Gators have a number of skilled players and should be conference and maybe national contenders. They lost talented big man Mareese Speights to the NBA, but they return several sophomores that should gel better after a year of playing together. Among them: Jai Lucas, Chandler Parsons, and Nick Calathes. As usual, they also signed a powerful incoming freshman class, and players like Kenny Kadji and Eloy Vargas will contribute immediately. Senior hustler Walter Hodge completes a core group of players that is talented and deep.

2. Tennessee

The Vols look to be solid but probably not as good as last year's regular season SEC champion squad. They lose a number of players and will have to rely on their highly recruited class of freshmen along with upperclassmen Tyler Smith, Wayne Chism, and J. P. Prince. This should be another exciting, high-scoring team, but you have to think that the lack of experience and lingering defensive issues are going to cost them against elite competition.

3. Kentucky

The Cats won't lose to Gardner-Webb again this year, but they're likely still a year or two away from being able to challenge the Gators and Vols. Joe Crawford and Ramel Bradley are gone, so Kentucky will have to rely on Patrick Patterson quite a bit. That's not a bad situation to be in, because Patterson will likely be the best big fella in the conference. However, he won't be enough to get the Cats past the first or second round of the NCAA tourney.

4. South Carolina

The Gamecocks return almost every significant player from a team that lost a lot of close games and could have just as well finished 18-14 as 14-18. With added experience and an exciting new coach, this group should be ready to win a few more games this year, although they'll likely do no better than play spoiler in terms of the big picture. Devan Downey may be the conference's best player.

5. Vanderbilt

Vandy returns all-conference center A. J. Ogilvy but loses the rest of its team, including a number of sharpshooters that opened things up for Ogilvy on the post. This means that the Commodores will likely struggle a bit this year until they find a combination that works for them.

6. Georgia

The Dawgs concluded last year with a surprise championship run in the SEC tourney, probably saving coach Dennis Felton's job. It's going to take another unlikely turn of events for the Dawgs to go anywhere this year, as they lose most of the core group of players that composed a pretty mediocre team last year.

SB Nation - Eloy Vargas

Gators End Season With Same Problems

Gamecock Man's Hoops SEC East Power Rankings