Florida State entered Wednesday night’s game against sixth-ranked Florida hoping to give its fans something to celebrate after two straight losses, including a 61-56 home defeat at the hands of Mercer. Instead, it was the visiting Gators who stormed the Seminoles and jubilantly celebrated in their Tucker Center locker room.
In a video released by GatorVision, an excited and boisterous group of Florida players danced, chomped and cheered following their dominating 72-47 victory over state rival Florida State. The victory moved the surging Gators to 7-0 and perched high among national rankings. The Seminoles (4-4) meanwhile, dropped its third straight and face a season on the skids.
The post game celebration is led by a dancing Patric Young, who had another impressive game following a benching versus Marquette. Young, a junior center, finished the contest with 10 points and eight rebounds.
His victory dance is joined by teammates, who then cheer senior guard Mike Rosario as he enters the room. The excited group is also surprisingly led by a typically reserved Kenny Boynton, who seems to be relishing his role as a senior leader. Freshman guard Michael Frazier II displayed not only his shooting prowess Wednesday night, but also a post-game enthusiasm his teammates thoroughly enjoyed.
Though Florida is just entering the thick of its non-conference schedule, the video gave glimpse of a Gator group the appears excited, driven and focused.
Coach Billy Donovan enters the celebration and delivers a short speech, lauding those very traits. “Great job. The thing that is great about it is I thought you guys brought passion. You brought energy; you brought toughness”.
Donovan seemed especially proud of his team’s mindset, one that did not allow a slumping FSU team to be taken lightly.
“I appreciate more than anything else, coming out of Marquette, your guys’ focus level,” he said.
Courtesy of UF Communications