Give me a history lesson

[dailydoublecat]

In Gator hoops when was the last time your team looked this good in November and what was the seasons result? I am so impressed with the Gators this year. A great mixture of talent. Also my little girl has a crush on Frazier so I can't help but cheer harder for you guys!
Jeff

[gatorbogey]

to me - '06.
they were off the radar, though going into the season, then we just kept winning, beating teams like syracuse. caught my eye and they were fun to watch. i think haven't little or reduced expectations going into the season helps and just let the players play and forge their own destinies. much more fun that way. higher expectations, though, help to engage the fans more - especially the casual ones.

before that, almost have to go back to '00?

then maybe '94.

[GatorPlanet]

We were better than this in Fall '06 and everyone knew we were the team to beat, but we didn't look as good as this... a couple of guys had the flu, Jo had mono, Al had a leg injury...so we were a bit shaky. As soon as they all got well, we started dominating on our way to the 2nd national title.

The last time we actually looked this good in November was the previous season, when we were picked 5th or 6th in the SEC East. It was obvious to me after a handful of games that we had a team that could compete for the national championship.

[gatorbogey]

yeah, i meant the season before our 2nd title....when we were completely off the radar. i think some pundits had us 74th in the nation in the preseason.

[rserina]

Not entirely sure about 2006. We beat Wake and Syracuse in MSG, but both games wound up moderately close and neither team was very good in the end. Our early season schedule wasn't daunting at all, though we skipped through it rather easily. Heck, we looked pretty good early in 2007 against terrible competition, too, even early in league play. 2002-03 was probably our best start, getting all the way up to the top spot in the polls before UK dismantled us in Lexington.

[ufgator4ever]

The better question is when was last time the team's defense has looked so stifling? But its early and other teams will improve, so must this one (which could be scary if they do much). Not the first 10, but last 10 that fans will remember.

[GatorLurker]

Originally Posted by ufgator4ever

The better question is when was last time the team's defense has looked so stifling?

I can only go back to 1982-83 for watching a lot of Gator hoops. From then til now I'd say 1993-94 was comparable on D. 2005-06 was really good, too.

[rserina]

I agree that the defensive question is the real important one. I can't recall that, to be honest with you. Because of the style of ball we play, between transition offense and the press and in general our willingness to take shots early in the clock within the framework of the offense, our defensive statistics are always going to look a little average under Donovan as compared to Kruger or Sloan. But I don't think we've been this solid defensively at this stage of the season during his tenure. The 2006-07 season was probably the best before this one.

[GatorPlanet]

Syracuse won the Big East tournament that year.

[rserina]

Originally Posted by GatorPlanet

Syracuse won the Big East tournament that year.

And they needed that or they would not have made the NCAA field. They had a losing record in league play.

[InstiGATOR1]

A few additions:

1. As I remember it was Brewer who had mono early in the 2006-07 season notably against KU.

2. I agree 'Cuse and particularly Wake were not good in 2005-06 and I think that could be a similarity if one of Wisconsin and Marquette end up pretty bad this year.

3. The 2010-11 SEC champion Gators were a good defensive team that in early season games held opponents to 60, 55, 55, 66, 51, 57 in a loss, 48, 52, 44 points. They might have been view similarly but were not because of a the score I omitted, the 93 pinned on them by Ohio State in the second game which was a home loss.

[dailydoublecat]

Appreciate all the knowledge!! The bottom line you are going to have a fun ride this year---enjoy every second.

[themistocles]

2005, without a doubt.

The 2006 team, as bogey noted, lost two games (they may have been a bit later), due to illness (Kansas and FSU), that team had only ONLY Brewer at Small Forward (Werner was a joke), so, when he missed a game (FSU) and was sick (Kansas), the Gators lost.

The 2005 team won 11 games to start the season. This team has 2 tough games ahead, and so far has only won 6, so, right now, 2005 was the team that looked most like this one, although they actually had a couple of reasonably close games, whereas, only UCF has come within 13 points of this team at the end.

[LoyalGatorFan]

I can't recall any season where we have beaten teams this convincingly to start the season...nor can I recall a better defensive start to the season..the 04's with Noah and Horford obviously had more of a knack for shot blocking than this team does, but this team just seems to play better on ball defense...one thing I like as well is that our rebounding is spread out and can come from any 5 guys on the court...

[regurgigator]

With apologies to Chris Matthews, I don't remember a team in the Donovan era (and maybe back to '78 when I first arrived on campus, but I won't vouch for my memory) sending such a tingle up my leg this early in the season


I'm debating whether I should trust my instincts (which are often pretty good, but certainly not infallible) and try to put some money down on the Gators going far this season. I've never made one of those bets in my life, but the time could be right - particularly before the nation at large gets a chance to jump on the bandwagon (if I'm seeing what I think I'm seeing).

[themistocles]

Originally Posted by regurgigator

I'm debating whether I should trust my instincts (which are often pretty good, but certainly not infallible) and try to put some money down on the Gators going far this season. I've never made one of those bets in my life, but the time could be right - particularly before the nation at large gets a chance to jump on the bandwagon (if I'm seeing what I think I'm seeing).

When you have a feeling, you always get better odds before the season begins, when teams like Kentucky ware highly ranked, and such.

Personally, I only ever did that once, but I was sure, and correct. About this, I would not yet be sure.

[regurgigator]

Originally Posted by themistocles

When you have a feeling, you always get better odds before the season begins, when teams like Kentucky ware highly ranked, and such.

Personally, I only ever did that once, but I was sure, and correct. About this, I would not yet be sure.

Unfortunately, I didn't get the feeling before the season - only after watching the guys play a few games this season.

But, I wouldn't think there's a mad rush to bet on the Gators yet as our games probably don't look that "pretty" to most fans who love the high-scoring offensive displays.

[InstiGATOR1]

Originally Posted by GatorLurker

I can only go back to 1982-83 for watching a lot of Gator hoops. From then til now I'd say 1993-94 was comparable on D. 2005-06 was really good, too.

Yeah, I remember watching Al Bonner too. Was UF's overall D good back in Dwayne Schintzius' Frosh year when he obliterated the then UF blocks record or was it just him.