Gator Country

HALLGATOR · 02-09-2013, 08:25 PM

Are two very important cogs to how this Gator team will fare from here on out. With Will on the sideline for at least the rest of the season (although there is hope he will make it back for the last game against Kentucky) their play cannot be overstated. In this evening's game the scored 23 points and pulled down 11 boards between them. Add in 3 assists by MF II and only 2 TOs between them and you have the makings of key contributors on the road to post-season play.

Three things I mentioned in the game thread I thought were important in this game were team attitude after the loss, how Prather would play and the possibility of another freshman stepping forward. I feel like two of those three were answered in the positive and the last really could not be determined due to lack of more playing time.

rserina · 02-09-2013, 08:54 PM

Donovan didn't sound too thrilled about the energy, but that is sort of too be expected coming off the Arky game and playing someone you drilled just two weeks earlier.

But I agree that in terms of the rotation additional minutes will go to Frazier and Prather and their production will be key at both ends of the floor. The real challenge, and this is something Donovan sounds very concerned about, is dealing with foul trouble at the five. Yeguete could give you decent minutes there because of his defense and offensive rebounding. Prather and Frazier just can't.

**exiledgator** · 02-09-2013, 08:59 PM

I only caught glimpses on my phone here and there. Did Walker get many minutes? Contribute?

gatorbogey · 02-09-2013, 09:01 PM

gators looked fresh and energized to me.

but i was worried when i heard about scottie's attitude issues during practice. is that what BD was referring to? lack of energy from SW? or was that something else?

last year, prather and beal stepped up after WY went down. this year it will be Frazier in that role - w/ prather again.

going to likely be a little bumpy - like last season, but by the time the ncaa's came around, i think the team and coaches had a pretty good idea of what to do and how to use the players properly.

HALLGATOR · 02-09-2013, 09:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by exiledgator

I only caught glimpses on my phone here and there. Did Walker get many minutes? Contribute?

Walker got 8 minutes most of them coming at the end. He scored 2 points and had 1 block but the block might have come against their player who looked to be about 5'5".

GatorPlanet · 02-09-2013, 09:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HALLGATOR

Walker got 8 minutes most of them coming at the end. He scored 2 points and had 1 block but the block might have come against their player who looked to be about 5'5".

He played okay, but he also did exactly what I did not want to see from him...he jacked up a quick, contested 3, missed badly, and then complained that he was fouled. He needs to understand his role...and it ain't being the scorer.

NorthCaptivaGator · 02-09-2013, 09:20 PM

Casey had been getting in early foul trouble with the limited minutes he played since coming back from his injuries. I was glad to see them play extended minutes without sloppy fouls tonight.

Gatorphilly · 02-09-2013, 09:58 PM

I really have no idea what to expect out of Prather. He's definitely quick and athletic. I would think he'd be able to rebound, but what does he bring offensively? I've seen him hit a 3, but for some reason it shocks me when he does hit a 3.

HALLGATOR · 02-09-2013, 10:06 PM

I think the biggest problem with Casey this year is he has had a hard time getting into a rhythm due to injuries. Last season ended with it appearing the game had finally slowed down enough for him to come in and play quality minutes. I think most of us were expecting good things our of him this year but he has been snakebit to a degree. His athleticism is apparent and he can shoot but he needs to get in the flow from game to game. He once again looked comfortable out on the floor tonight and if he can stay healthy I feel he will be a solid contributor. In fact I am kind of looking for him to have a breakout type game soon.

rserina · 02-09-2013, 10:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gatorphilly

I really have no idea what to expect out of Prather. He's definitely quick and athletic. I would think he'd be able to rebound, but what does he bring offensively? I've seen him hit a 3, but for some reason it shocks me when he does hit a 3.

I wouldn't expect much from his shot, but where he has been at his best in what limited action we have seen of him this year is on the bounce against fours. He is just too quick on the dribble for most bigs to defend him out at the top of the circle or along then baseline. We don't need much from him in this stretch (maybe a couple of buckets when isolated on a slower big, maybe something in transition or off the weakside glass), but he can't turn the ball over. That has been his biggest problem at times.

HALLGATOR · 02-09-2013, 11:01 PM

Casey is not bad in the scoring department. He may not be prolific but he is definitely a threat to score close in.

UFreak · 02-09-2013, 11:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rserina

I wouldn't expect much from his shot, but where he has been at his best in what limited action we have seen of him this year is on the bounce against fours. He is just too quick on the dribble for most bigs to defend him out at the top of the circle or along then baseline. We don't need much from him in this stretch (maybe a couple of buckets when isolated on a slower big, maybe something in transition or off the weakside glass), but he can't turn the ball over. That has been his biggest problem at times.

Agreed on the turnover part. And he has to make the bunnies. He had a nice game today. But he did miss an easy one underneath the bucket.
But as much as anything we need his D. He can't lag behind on switches like he did a number of times today and can't get lost chasing shooters against good teams. I like Prather, but sometimes he doesn't have the notch turned all the way up. We need him now more than ever.

rounds · 02-09-2013, 11:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rserina

Donovan didn't sound too thrilled about the energy, but that is sort of too be expected coming off the Arky game and playing someone you drilled just two weeks earlier.

But I agree that in terms of the rotation additional minutes will go to Frazier and Prather and their production will be key at both ends of the floor. The real challenge, and this is something Donovan sounds very concerned about, is dealing with foul trouble at the five. Yeguete could give you decent minutes there because of his defense and offensive rebounding. Prather and Frazier just can't.

Prather can play the 5 if he has to, and probably better than Yeguete would. 6'6" vs 6'7", but Prather has better bkb I.Q. & offense skills and is JR.
Prather also seems to play better when Frazier is in the game, due to familiarity of playing 2nd team together I would guess.

**regurgigator** · 02-09-2013, 11:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rserina

Donovan didn't sound too thrilled about the energy, but that is sort of too be expected coming off the Arky game and playing someone you drilled just two weeks earlier.

But I agree that in terms of the rotation additional minutes will go to Frazier and Prather and their production will be key at both ends of the floor. The real challenge, and this is something Donovan sounds very concerned about, is dealing with foul trouble at the five. Yeguete could give you decent minutes there because of his defense and offensive rebounding. Prather and Frazier just can't.

Their big man Ware was tossing our small lineup around like ragdolls

As I mentioned in another thread, Frazier is turning into a 1-man zone-breaker. When he has time to really line up a 3-point shot, he's about as automatic as it gets.

rserina · 02-10-2013, 12:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rounds

Prather can play the 5 if he has to, and probably better than Yeguete would. 6'6" vs 6'7", but Prather has better bkb I.Q. & offense skills and is JR.
Prather also seems to play better when Frazier is in the game, due to familiarity of playing 2nd team together I would guess.

Wait, is this one sarcastic or not? If it isn't, I would say that Yegeute's post defense is significantly better than Prather's.

akaGatorhoops · 02-10-2013, 12:14 AM

Though it is not a huge height difference, there is a very obvious strength difference between cp and wy. Casey can not defend the 5. He got killed on the post a few times today. I am not knocking the kid, but there is no comparing interior defense of he and yeguete.

HALLGATOR · 02-10-2013, 12:21 AM

Will outweighs CP by quite a lot and you can see the difference when they are both battling underneath the basket.

GatorsGators · 02-10-2013, 12:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rounds

Prather can play the 5 if he has to, and probably better than Yeguete would. 6'6" vs 6'7", but Prather has better bkb I.Q. & offense skills and is JR.
Prather also seems to play better when Frazier is in the game, due to familiarity of playing 2nd team together I would guess.

Yeguete is a great post defender and has had success both defending and rebounding against other centers... Prather hasn't. He's slightly more skilled than Yeguete and is quicker off the bounce, but Yeguete is a far more traditional big and is far more suited to play the five.

bearshark · 02-10-2013, 12:49 AM

Agree with Coach Donovan that the energy level seemed down and at times the players appeared not interested i.e. KB with horrible passing. The team may have still been reeling from Arkansas game. Kentucky is improving each game as is Missouri which will make it very interesting from here thru the SEC Tournament.

MichaelJoeWilliamson · 02-10-2013, 01:10 AM

Both had important minutes. They rebounded and they scored. Both only had 1 TO. Frazier had three assists.

I hate it that we lost Will. But I think we can be successful without him, as long as these two guys continue to have valuable minutes.