This is going to be the toughest coaching job Todd will ever have. Expectations will be through the roof. I'm sure he can lean on Billy for advice. How to keep everyone playing for the team and not the NBA is the key. I bet he isn't complaining, though. A nice problem to have.
He is a clever guy and I think that he gets players that buy into his style of play. It is pretty much what the Moneyball Oakland team would be facing if they actually won the World Series. I expected that with an analytics approach and not having 5 star recruits he could make noise and make an Elite Eight or with luck a Final Four early on. Winning the Natty in year three was way beyond my expectations when he was hired.
September. You can sign up for the presale. HERE The Jimmy V Classic Presented by Corona will return to New York City on December 9! Join us at Madison Square Garden for one of the most iconic nights of the college basketball season. Matchups will be announced soon, and tickets will go on sale in September.
Gary Parrish ranks Florida as #6 for next year after Condon announces his return (though Parrish said he was already assuming as much). Tops in the SEC with UK coming in second at #12. College basketball rankings: St. John's jumps Houston for No. 1 spot in way-too-early preseason Top 25 And 1
The height is there and taller than this past season. Clayton was 6'-2", and Fland is 6'-2", so that's a wash. Martin is 6'-2", and Lee is 6'-4". Richard is 6'-4", and this Haugh kid is 6'-9". Off the bench, Aberdeen is 6'-5", and Isaiah is 6'-4", and A.J. is 6'-4". I'm not even looking at Lloyd and Ingram. Clayton, by the way, told Golden after Fland became a Gator that Fland was one of the best defenders he'd faced all year.
Let me find out; I know the screen printers were working 24/7 printing 40-0 NC tee shirts for Kentucky. But, they have a lot of experience inasmuch as they have been printing these shirts for UK for the past 23 years!
Under CMW, we routinely got bullied on the boards. Now we're the bullies. Remarkable turnaround in 3 years (2 actually, because we were a very good rebounding team last year as well). CTG said it when he took the job, that he was going to turn us into a rebounding team. And damned if he didn't exceed expectations.
I don’t worry about that. I just want this team to play as a team and play hard every play and never let up, unrelentless. Our superior depth should allow us to run teams down. If we can integrate well with the new frontcourt, we can be lethal. A good goal would be to play as hard and well as we did this year.
It is EXTREMELY hard to win a championship. Extremely x10 to win back to back. We still need an alpha. I don’t know that we have one.
it makes sense to focus on dominating the boards. It's a numbers game. Offensive rebounds increase number of possessions for us and defensive rebounds limit their possessions - a double whammy. Last year we would have a bad shooting night and still win, often because we had significantly more possessions. Turnovers almost killed us in the tournament, but we took care of the ball when it mattered. Golden has done a great job recruiting and coaching up guys who do the little things to win those possession battles.
interesting. my thoughts were that both Fland and Lee are on the skinny side, but good to know he thought that. He does have a knack for stealing the ball and is no doubt quick.
Coming off a magical NC winning season and seeing the effect of the guards, unless they came for an NBA audition tape (that isn't our type of program, Kansas, Duke, etc. is) and Todd missed their motivation (not very likely), they came to be a part of something big. This year, the remnants of last year will assist them in what is "the Gator Way" and get them focused, tougher mentally, and hopefully embrace getting stronger. And in my way of thinking, after next year and history being made (at least for UF), all the major pieces that contributed to the B-t-B will effectively be lost and then it will have to be rebuilt from the ground up. Not that we won't have some good pieces, just that the champion-caliber mentality dynamic will be missing and we will need some youngsters to find it on their own. But still, it is going to be one heck of a ride!
Well, I was thinking about buying either a private jet or a helicopter. The jet is faster but the prep time is longer and it has to land at the airport and so I would have to take Uber from there to the Arena. A heli is slower and likely I would have to refuel at least once along the way but I could land it on top of the football practice facility and then it is an easy walk. And prep time, both going there and heading home, would be a breeze. Kind of a tough decision. But then I looked at my finances and realized it is actually going to be an easy decision. I will buy a bigger TV for my cave! I just need to make sure I go to Costco and stock up on batteries for the remote. Oh, and a better quality of beer. Gotta have that also!
