The Florida women’s basketball team held its first practice of the 2010-11 season Monday. A youthful squad featuring just one senior and six newcomers joined head coach Amanda Butler, whose 58 wins through three years are the most by any previous coach in program history.
“I was very pleased with practice. I thought we showed a high level of intensity and did a great job of setting the tone for the type of team we hope to be,” said Butler, who is the first Gator women’s basketball coach to lead the team to the postseason in each of her initial three years. “In terms of tempo and our defensive intensity, I thought we did a really good job. We need to stay eager and keep pushing one another.”
All 12 Gators comprising the 2010-11 roster were on the court for the two-hour practice, as Butler made defense the focus of the day. Florida returns five letterwinners from last year’s team that earned the Southeastern Conference’s automatic berth into the postseason WNIT. Six newcomers in addition to redshirt freshman Lily Svete, who sat out most of last season following knee surgery, caught on to the drills quickly.
Junior Jordan Jones, Florida’s leading returning scorer from last season, is the lone perimeter player with Division I experience, but that didn’t cause Butler to alter practice plans. In fact, Butler praised the entire squad and singled out newcomers Lanita Bartley and Jaterra Bonds for their display.
“At moments it was very evident that we have a lot of new players, but there were more moments when it wasn’t as apparent,” Butler continued. “Lanita was our team award winner for today and I thought JT (Bonds) did a great job of setting the tone for her team that she led during a scrimmage at the end of practice today. We still have a lot to learn, but we have a lot of people establishing themselves right now.”
The Gators are off today but return to practice Wednesday. A new NCAA rule allows a team to conduct its first practice 40 days from the team’s first regular-season game.
The Gators launch their 2010-11 season on Saturday, Nov. 13 when they play host to UCF in the first round of the WNIT. The start time for that game will be determined once the kickoff for the Florida-South Carolina football game has been set.