By: Jenna Ladd
Could Tuesday’s win against Alabama mark a turnaround for the Florida Gators? While that remains to be seen, the Gators were desperate for a win according to head coach Billy Donovan.
“In this league and at the level of competition we’ve played against in our schedule you have to have desperation,” head coach Billy Donovan said. “That’s not being afraid or fearful, but you got to be so desperate to play at a high level. I think that’s what he’s (Frazier) referencing.”
Coach Donovan said that whether their team has won three games in a row or lost three games in a row, the same sense of desperation for the victory should be prevalent. He knew that this year would not have the same outcome as last year’s team, and they came into this season prepared for adversity.
Despite the struggles the team has been experiencing, Donovan felt that in the first half of the Alabama game the team played both efficiently and effectively.
The Gators took advantage of the Crimson Tide’s 12 turnovers in the half that allowed them to get out on the break and put some points on the board. However, the second half of the game rang true to the Gator’s track record of inconsistency.
Florida gave up the ball, struggled with putting pressure on the offense and missed valuable, easy shots. The struggle of keeping the momentum in their favor is one that has brought the Gators to have two overtime games (1-1), with four other games being decided by five points or less (2-4).
However, one thing that Donovan repeated over and over was the fact that he saw a lot of growth in his players recently. Eli Carter agreed that there has been a lot of development on their team, specifically with freshman Chris Chiozza in the game against Alabama.
“He’s (Chiozza) gotten a lot better,” Carter said. “He’s grown. He’s not a freshman anymore. Him and D-Rob have both grown up. That’s helped the team a lot.”
With the quartet of seniors leaving after last sesonon, the Gators were left with a lot of young players. These players lack experience, but definitely not talent or willingness to step up to the plate.
Carter commented on their inconsistency saying that they “just got to continue to put a 40-minutes game together.” He said they haven’t seen much of that this year, but they just have to keep fighting through the hardships to get where they want to be.
“This team’s got to carve out its own way; it’s own life of itself.” coach Donovan said.
Florida’s defense will be challenged this week when Arkansas’ explosive defense comes to town. Both teams have a strong identity, and the Gators will have to execute effectively and efficiently.
“We’re playing a very, very good team on Saturday at one o’clock it doesn’t really make a difference to me if it’s home or away we’re gonna have to play well to give ourselves a chance to win because…Arkansas’ been without question one of the best teams in league.”