tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53014552798307822222024-03-12T16:37:21.819-07:00The Daily GatorFranz Beardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16590128135126872279noreply@blogger.comBlogger33125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5301455279830782222.post-54292403729593542992010-08-13T10:58:00.000-07:002010-08-13T19:12:32.326-07:00Meyer ready to see Gators in first scrimmage<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">On the eve of Florida's first full contact scrimmage, Urban Meyer likes what he sees of his team in terms of effort and enthusiasm but it won't be until he's seen the Gators in real game-like situations that he knows what kind of ball club he's got.<br />
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</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"I love the team so far," Meyer said Friday morning. "I like what's going on right now. I get to stand back and watch practice and I see a lot of effort. We're not very good right now but I like what's going on."</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Meyer calls this upcoming season a year of accountability and development. He calls the 2009 season a "year of maintenance" since the Gators had almost the entire two deep roster on both sides of the ball returning. This year there will be plenty of new faces on both sides of the ball, so it's up to the coaching staff to bring out the best in the young players and get them ready to play football at the highest level in the toughest conference in the nation.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"This year we have to develop," Meyer said. "We didn't do a good job in '07. I'm not saying that as coaches we did a bad job, but we weren't prepared. We're prepared now. Now it's just how do you get those guys game ready? We better be on our game as far as coaches. Jelani Jenkins, when you take the first snap, is going to be out there somewhere and he's never played before so (linebackers coach D.J.) Durkin better have him ready to go."</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The goal for Saturday's scrimmage will be to identify playmakers as well as solidify the starters on the offensive line. Defensively, the Gators have to get into a workable rotation on the line and figure out who the starters will be at linebacker.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Offense is going to be playmakers and defense is going to be establishing a rotation up front," Meyer said. "I can't tell you who our starting linebackers are right now."</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Meyer got good news Friday on the offensive side of the ball with the return to practice by slot receiver/tailback Chris Rainey, who missed a few practices due to a racing heartbeat. Rainey will participate in full contact drills either in Saturday's scrimmage or at the latest, Monday.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">There was further good news when it comes to the offensive line. Matt Patchan, who suffered a hairline fracture of his wrist, got the cast off and will start running once again. </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
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</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">When spring practice ended Meyer was extremely pleased with the way the new members of his coaching staff meshed together. Now that they've had the spring and summer to bond, he's seeing the results on the practice field. </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"</span>I'm really impressed with what's going on with our staff," Meyer said. "It's a year of development and accountability and development is going on. We've only got a couple of weeks left to do it, though. That's the problem."</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Meyer thinks this coaching staff could be the equal of the staff he put together from 2005-07. </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"We've had arguably as fine a staffs as there are in college history in '05, '06, '07," Meyer said. "Those were terrific staffs. I'd put these guys so far in that category."</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">* * * </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Along with Alabama coach Nick Saban, Meyer has been one of the more vocal critics of rogue agents who are casting a rather dark shadow on college football. At SEC Media Days, Meyer called for accountability for all agents and punishment for those who cross the line and break the rules. A couple of weeks ago, Meyer participated in conference call that was designed to get to the heart of the problem that has been a plague this summer and he couldn't have been happier with the level of concern from all parties. </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"I loved the fact that you have everybody involved and everybody wanting to do right," Meyer said. "There were actually some agents on the phone, there was NFLPA on the phone, there was the commissioner and some college football coaches. It was about as positive as you can get because everybody wants to do right."</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Meyer said that most of the agents want to do the right thing but there is a problem with those who continue to break the rules by offering illegal inducements to players. Players who get caught taking money or benefits from agents before their eligibility is complete are punished by the NCAA, but presently there is no system in place to punish the rogue agents. That is the area where Meyer says something has to change.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"There are obviously a lot of people who don't want to do it right but the majority want to do it right," Meyer said. "You don't have to be a brain surgeon to figure this thing out now. You want to stop some unethical, illegal activity. How do you do it? You punish them. The players get punished and you want to stop the other side too because one is going to be punished and deservedly so and the other side should get punished."<br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Meyer said there has to be the threat of punishment for offering illegal benefits and money to players or else the the agents will continue to do it. Meyer said there are also some things going on to clean up recruiting as well, moves that can only help college football.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"Recruiting ... there's some things going on too and then this agent relations so there are a lot of positives going on for college football," he said. "We can't lose college football. We just can't lose college football."</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
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</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Meyer was pleased that freshman Robert Clark was the first freshman to lose his stripe. All freshmen at Florida have a stripe on their practice helmet when practice begins. When they lose their stripe, it's a sign that they have become real Gators. </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Clark is a freshman from Palm Beach Dwyer who was early enrolled in the spring. Clark could crack into the rotation both at wide receiver and on special teams where he could see action on both punt and kickoff teams. Meyer loves the constant level of energy that Clark brings to every practice.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"He's the Energizer Bunny," Meyer said. "He goes as hard as he can. Wish he was a little taller, wish he was a little faster but he's tough as nails and making plays and he'll hit you. He's the first guy to get his stripe off. That was kind of cool to see that."</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The other two freshmen who have had their stripes removed are linebackers Michael Taylor and Neiron Ball. Taylor has been particularly impressive. </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"He strikes you and he loves the game," Meyer said. "I'm hoping he's our Stamper. He doesn't look like the physical, imposing guy but he strikes you."</div><br />
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</div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span>Franz Beardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16590128135126872279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5301455279830782222.post-23757990573027275662010-08-12T22:42:00.000-07:002010-08-12T22:42:54.552-07:00How much pain can one man endure? Antwine just won't quit<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Brandon Antwine has this love affair with football. It must be love. Otherwise, why would he go through so much pain trying to play the game? In his five years at the University of Florida, he's had a mysterious back ailment that hospitalized him and had even the doctors at Shands thinking he might not walk again much less play football, a torn ACL and a torn up shoulder that required surgery. Pain? He could write a book about it. Rehab? Been there and done that so many times that he knows all the routines by heart. </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">If he were to walk away from football today, who could blame him? Yet, giving up the game has never once entered the mind of this 300-pound nose tackle, a fifth-year senior from Garland, Texas.</span><br />
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<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"I never really thought about that," Antwine said Thursday. "I have a really strong family support system behind me. I never thought about giving up."</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The back injury, he says, was the worst. That happened late in 2007, his redshirt freshman season. The medical term for the condition, he says, is too complicated to pronounce but in layman's terms, the muscles in his back were literally dying. Doctors and coaches alike wondered if he would walk again, but Antwine beat that and came back to play in 2008. Urban Meyer still says that it's a medical miracle.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Just when things started going well for Antwine in the 2008 season, he popped his ACL on the wet, slick Doak Campbell Stadium turf.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"It was the Florida State game, the last game of the season and my first start that year," Antwine said. "It was raining on the field really bad. My foot got planted and stuck in the ground. My body wanted to go another way and my knee stayed one way. I got hurt just like that."</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Considering all he had gone through just to play football again, he didn't want to think that his season was over. He remembers sitting on the sideline after the injury thinking "I'm all right ... I'm all right" but he wasn't all right. </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"I wanted to get back out there but when they told me I had tore it up I was like, this should be easy," he said. "My back injury ... I feel like that was the hardest thing I ever went through in my life. I thought the knee was going to be easy."</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So he had the surgery, did the rehab and pushed himself in the weight room to get back on the field in 2009. He played in the first six games of the 2009 season before tearing up his shoulder. He missed the last five regular season games before seeing the field against Alabama in the SEC Championship Game. </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Then came more surgery and more rehab. More pain, too. </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">But it never occurred to him to give it up. He was willing to do whatever it takes to make it back for his senior season and there was no lack of support or encouragement from those who understand just how important football is to Antwine.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"The coaches, my family my teammates ... everyone around me was telling me you can get back to the game and do what you love to do," Antwine said. "I love doing it."</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">That he loves it so much inspires teammates and coaches alike. </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
"Most guys in the country and most guys that I have known would have done that [quit] and gotten the scholarship and the degree --- which he will do in December and not have to go through the pain and the heartache and frustration of trying to come back and trying to be a quality player," Florida defensive line coach Dan McCarney said. "I just love the kid. If he gets back on the field it's a huge plus and a bonus. He means so much to our team just being out there."</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Considering all that he's been through, it's unlikely that Antwine could give the Gators 40-50 snaps per game at nose tackle but the good news is that he won't have to. The Gators have 16 scholarship defensive linemen so there's plenty of depth. McCarney wants to have six ends and six tackles ready to rotate in and out every game so Antwine will be able to pace himself.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Even with limited snaps, however, he knows there will be pain. How much can one man endure?</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"I don't want to find out but I'm willing to," he said, later adding that he simply wakes up every day and "I thank God for another day."</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">One more day to do what he loves to do, even if it means more pain and possibly one more injury.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><br />
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</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">McCarney said the number one defensive line has Justin Trattou and Duke Lemmens at the ends with Jaye Howard and Omar Hunter at the tackles. Howard, McCarney says, has a chance to have a special season. </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"He (Howard) is between 305 and 310 and he has to get in game condition but he's working well and he was one of the most improved guys in Mickey Marotti's [weight] room," McCarney said. "It appears right now that he has a chance to be one of the most improved guys on our defense."</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">McCarney said that freshmen Ronald Powell, Dominique Easley and Shariff Floyd are picking up the defense and starting to make some plays. </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">TRASH TALKING: </span></b>When Hunter lines up at nose tackle he knows he's going against the best center in the country in Mike Pouncey. He also knows he's in for a verbal assault that's not the kind of thing you'd repeat in polite company and with Pouncey, no topic or relative is off limits.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"When it comes to Mike, there's nothing off guard," Hunter said. "Everything is a go. I've heard about my mom, my dad, my brother ... everything."</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Asked if he could repeat any of Pouncey's trash talk at the line of scrimmage, Hunter thought for a moment, then replied, "There's not a lot ... I can't think of anything actually."</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Another of the trash talkers is senior defensive end Duke Lemmens, who Hunter says is "the funniest guy on the team."</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Lemmens might make everyone laugh, but like Pouncey, what's said on the field needs to stay on the field.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"Funniest thing [Lemmens has said]?" Hunter asked rhetorically. "I can't repeat that."</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>DE-STRIPINGS:</b> Three freshmen have lost the stripe on their helmet, the symbol that they're officially Gators. Wide receiver Robert Clark was the first followed by linebackers Michael Taylor and Neiron Ball. </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">McCarney said he was proud of the three freshmen, adding that, "There have been guys who had theirs for three years in the past!" </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
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</div>Franz Beardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16590128135126872279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5301455279830782222.post-65353065285464059702010-08-10T22:39:00.000-07:002010-08-10T22:39:33.904-07:00Highlights from Florida's Media Day<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">After a rather refreshing spring and summer in which he got took time away from football for the first time in his coaching career, Urban Meyer seems refreshed and enthused, ready to coach again. At Tuesday's Media Day, Meyer really didn't give away any trade secrets but he couldn't hide his enthusiasm to be back on the field coaching again. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It's a new year with plenty of new challenges and the first time in four years that Meyer has had to coach without the benefit of Tim Tebow and Brandon Spikes, not to mention seven other players who were drafted by the NFL and several who signed free agent contracts with a pro team. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">For some teams, losses like that would represent a step backward but it's still Florida and it's still Urban Meyer pulling the strings for the Gators, which means the cupboard is far from bare. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"Other than '07 this has been one of the newest [teams] but I will tell you what, there is a lot of talent running around on that field," Meyer said Tuesday. "I think you will be excited to see what that Florida team looks like ... not now. They're awful right now but in a couple of weeks they will be pretty good."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A good reason for the excitement is fourth-year junior quarterback Johnny Brantley, who just might have the best and most accurate arm of any quarterback in UF history. Brantley has paid his dues and waited his turn to take over the position he's been dreaming about playing at the University of Florida since he was six years old. Now that he's the starter and the team leader, Brantley said can look back on the last three years and realize the benefits of taking a redshirt season (2007) before a two-year apprenticeship behind Tim Tebow.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"When I look back I'm happy that I redshirted," Brantley said. "Taking that year and two more years helped me to mature and grow up and learn this game. I got to learn from one of the best quarterbacks that will ever play. When I look back I'm just happy sat back I'm happy that I took those years off I guess you'd say, or just sat back and watched the game of football."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Asked if he's ready to take over, Brantley sounded assured when he replied, "I believe so."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Quarterbacks coach Scot Loeffler, whose pupils who play in the NFL include Tom Brady, Chad Henne and Brian Griese, couldn't agree more. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"He's the starting quarterback of the Florida Gators," Loeffler said. "He understands that the responsibility of being confident and poised under pressure is really important around here. He's developing into it and he's right where we want him. He's ready to lead this team." </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">* * * </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This is the deepest Florida roster in the Meyer era. While the Gators have enormous reservoirs of talent at most positions, Meyer says the Gators are close but still not in a perpetual reload mode. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"A junior can leave for the pros and it sets you back a little bit bit but it's as close probably as you can get," Meyer said. "I'm pleased with where we are but you never really have enough." </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Meyer used the safety position as an example.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"We're thin right there," Meyer said, adding that if Major Wright (third round draft pick of the Chicago Bears) had stayed for his senior year, safety might be one position where the Gators are considered as deep and talented as there is in the country.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">* * *</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">While twin brother Maurkice Pouncey left a year early for the NFL (first round draft pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers), Mike Pouncey elected to come back to switch from right guard to Maurkice's old center position. By staying the extra year, Mike's NFL draft status should soar (centers are usually drafted higher and make more money than guards) not only because of the position switch but because he has now become what Meyer calls the ultimate team leader. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"There can't be a better leader than Mike Pouncey," Meyer said. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"I'm a vocal leader," Pouncey said. e put me in this position to be a captain and leader of this team and I've been embracing it and taking it head on."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Mike has always been a leader on the field, but he says that now that he has the responsibility of being a senior as well as a team captain, he knows he has to be a leader by example off the field as well.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"Those young guys are always watching," he said. "When you're the leader, you've got to set the right example on the field and off the field. People follow the leader so it's a big responsibility to do the right thing."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">* * * </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Senior safety Ahmad Black admits he wasn't a very good practice player during his freshman season in 2007. Once he changed his attitude about practice, he became a starter (finished second nationally with eight interceptions in 2008; was the team's top tackler in the secondary in 2009) and has become one of the top safeties in the nation. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"I attack practice like a game," Black said. "Therefore, when it's time for the game, it's easier. We try to make the practices harder than the game and that makes the game easier. Once I became a better practice player, things started slowing down for me a little bit more. I saw things that I didn't see before." </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Black credits Gator All-American linebacker Brandon Spikes with teaching him how to be a better leader. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"Me and Spikes would be sitting around playing a video game and I would ask him, 'what do I have to do to get the guys to respect me? What do I need to do to get the guys to listen to me ... we'd just have a lot of small talk," Black said. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">* * * </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Fourth-year junior wide receiver Deonte Thompson is expected to finally blossom and become Florida's go-to guy this year. When he came out of Belle Glade, Thompson was the fastest wide receiver in the nation (10.32 100 meters) and considered a can't miss prospect, but he admits it hasn't been an easy road. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"I had a lot of growing up to do," Thompson said, crediting former Gator (now Oakland Raider) Louis Murphy with taking him under his wing and patiently helping him smooth out the rough spots. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"He's like my brother," Thompson said. "He's my man. We talk a lot. When I got here, it seemed we just clicked. Whenever I fell down he was right there for me. He had a lot of stories for me. He went through a lot, too. He didn't have an easy road either."</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Just as Murphy exploded his fourth year at Florida, Thompson is expected to make all those long hours spent on hot summer days catching endless passes from Brantley pay off this year. Brantley and Thompson arrived on campus the same time and have spent so much time pitching and catching that Thompson says he can almost run routes blindfolded and still catch the pass because he and JB are in total synch with each other. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">They have spent so much time together that Thompson says they can communicate without using any words. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"We can ... and we've got signals and stuff, too," Thompson said. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">FRESHMAN NOTES: Tailback Mack Brown says he's 203 pounds now but will probably play this year at around 200. His chronic hamstring problems have been solved, in part, because of a different diet. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"I've eliminated the fried foods from my diet," Brown said. "I'm eating baked, broiled and grilled foods now and that's got a lot to do with it. I'm eating healthier and feeling a lot better."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Defensive tackle Dominique Easley, who hails from Staten Island, New York, says the toughest adjustments for him were getting used to the Florida heat and living somewhere that it isn't wall-to-wall people. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"It took me about a month to get used to the heat and I'm still adjusting," Easley said. "I love it here but it's different ... like a small town compared to New York. It's a lot quieter and a lot more laid back."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Defensive end Ronald Powell, who was considered the number one high school player in the nation, said he went through a mini-football culture shock when he saw all the schemes he had to learn and then realized that every player on the Florida roster is extremely talented. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"That's definitely been a shock here," Powell said. "I have to adjust to everything. We have a lot of great players here. When you compete against great players that work hard every day, that's actually good and you're definitely going to be up for a challenge."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">INJURIES: Slot receiver Chris Rainey had a procedure done to correct what Meyer called a "racing heartbeat." Apparently it sounds more serious than it is because Meyer expected Rainey to be ready to go by Wednesday or Thursday at the latest. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Asked about the seriousness of Rainey's heart problem, Meyer responded, "I asked the same question. It is an accelerated heartbeat. Our guys (doctors) do a very thorough job here so they took care of him and everything is fine."</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Junior tackle Matt Patchan suffered a hairline fracture of his write, what Meyer called a "10-day to two-week injury." Patchan, who sat out spring practice while rehabbing his knee (ACL last season), is otherwise in good health. Florida's media guide lists Patchan at 6-6 and 292 pounds but a couple of players said the junior from Tampa is pushing 300 for the first time in his career.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"We're just working with him on the sideline and being cautious with him," Meyer said.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Freshman wide receiver Chris Dunkley has chronic hamstring problems that have plagued him since his senior year in high school. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"I was in the meeting room with him yesterday and it is just a 10-day injury so they are going to watch him really closely on a certain program," Meyer said. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">SAVING MONEY AT THE BARBER SHOP: Redshirt freshman Jon Halapio says he hasn't had a haircut since he was a junior in high school. The 6-3, 312-pound guard of Tongan descent, who is fighting for the starter's job on the right side of the offensive line, has a rather bushy mane that he pulls back and ties into a rather thick pony tail that hangs well below the bottom of his helmet. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"I was thinking about getting it cut but my mother wouldn't let me," Halapio said. "She says she might not see my number but she can always tell where I am by looking for my hair."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Halapio, who is the human equivalent of a rather large concrete block, says he can bench press 225 pounds 31 consecutive reps. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</span>Franz Beardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16590128135126872279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5301455279830782222.post-49103724571464713242010-08-09T21:29:00.001-07:002010-08-09T21:29:33.026-07:00Austin won't try to reinvent the wheel<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In the ideal defense that Teryl Austin dreams to put on the field at the University of Florida, the blitz will be used sparingly, needed only for a change of pace because the defensive linemen are spending the entire game in the backfield harassing the opposing quarterback. Having spent most of his coaching career in the National Football League, Austin knows that the more pressure from the defensive line, the less you need the blitz which means more players in position to make plays on the football. </span><br />
<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"I think if everyone could do that they would because then you don’t put yourself in stressful situations and you don‘t put yourself in terms of your team in situations where you might not have the right numbers," Austin said Monday morning after the Gators concluded their first full practice with both the freshmen and returning vets together. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As Florida's new defensive coordinator, Austin isn't bringing a new philosophy to the table or advocating wholesale changes in the way things are done. The Gators won two national championships in the previous five seasons with a dominating defense sculpted by coordinator Charlie Strong, who became Louisville's new head coach after the 2009 season. Obviously, what Strong was doing worked quite well so there is no need to reinvent the wheel.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Instead of turning things upside down, Austin, who coached record-breaking secondaries that got their teams to the Super Bowl in both Seattle and Arizona, will tweak a few things along the way but the philosophy --- get the best players on the field and tailor the defense to what they do best --- will stay the same. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Because he is back in the college game for the first time since 2002 when he coached the secondary at Michigan, Austin is relying heavily on input from Chuck Heater and Dan McCarney, holdovers from the previous staff, and from new linebackers coach D.J. Durkin, who came to Florida after a successful stint at Stanford. Heater has been a part of two national championships at Florida (2006 and 2008) while McCarney was on the 2008 staff. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The 2006 team rarely blitzed, getting almost all of its pressure from a front four that held Ohio State to 83 total yards in Florida's 41-14 national championship win over Ohio State. Ohio State's Heisman Trophy quarterback Troy Smith still hears the footsteps from Derrick Harvey and Jarvis Moss. Florida's 2008 national championship team didn't get near the pass rush from the front four so it needed a variety of zone and corner blitzes to bring the pressure. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Both systems worked well because they were designed to fit the talents of the personnel and that's a philosophy that isn't going to change just because there is a new defensive coordinator. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"The big thing I didn’t want to do is come in here and say I’m changing everything," Austin said. "Really, at the end of the day it’s what can our guys do and do well. So we kind of merged all that together. No egos in our (defensive) room. The bottom line is we want to do what is best for our team. Because I did it someway somewhere else doesn’t make it right and because they did it someway somewhere doesn’t make it right. The big thing is what’s right for this team this year."</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Ideally, he says, what is right is for the pressure to come from the defensive line and he's confident that he will find the right combinations from those 17 scholarship linemen to make it work. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"It's (pressure) going to come our pass rush," he said. "Our guys are going to get it done."</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">If the Gators can get it done up front then the secondary and linebackers can be more aggressive. Austin likes to attack and while he would like to get most of the quarterback pressure from his front four, he's not afraid to blitz. He also knows that game situations sometimes require more of a read and react scheme. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">No matter the scheme, however, the Gators will be aggressive. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><meta content="" name="Title"></meta> <meta content="" name="Keywords"></meta> <meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type"></meta> <meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"></meta> <meta content="Microsoft Word 2008" name="Generator"></meta> <meta content="Microsoft Word 2008" name="Originator"></meta> <link href="file://localhost/Users/fbeard1/Library/Caches/TemporaryItems/msoclip/0/clip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"></link> <style>
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</style> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"We’re going to be aggressive which doesn’t always mean blitzing," Austin said. "I think sometimes people get the idea that if you’re an aggressive team you’re always a blitzing team. That doesn’t mean that. I think we can be aggressive without blitzing. I think we’ll fall somewhere in between but that will be dictated by the game."</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Unlike the NFL whose schemes on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball are often limited by personnel numbers (you can only carry 47 players on an active game day roster), the college game is more wide open due to greater depth (85 scholarship players available. While a majority of NFL teams stick with the West Coast offense, the college game is gravitating toward the spread.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">And, as Alabama proved in last year's SEC Championship Game in Atlanta, it's possible to run power formations and switch to the spread without changing personnel. That puts tremendous pressure on defensive coordinators to have players flexible enough to switch from a 4-3, which is better for rushing the passer, to a 3-4, which is better against the spread.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Austin says the Gators will be flexible enough in their schemes to run both a 4-3 and a 3-4 but because of the spread, you might see more 3-4 this year than you're used to. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><meta content="" name="Title"></meta> <meta content="" name="Keywords"></meta> <meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type"></meta> <meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"></meta> <meta content="Microsoft Word 2008" name="Generator"></meta> <meta content="Microsoft Word 2008" name="Originator"></meta> <style>
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</style> "I think that’s probably what you’re seeing because you can be a little more flexible in some of things you can do with a 4-3 but at the end of the day you have to make sure you have the right personnel on the field," Austin said. "If they’re spreading you out, they usually have a plan why they’re spreading you out and how they’re spreading you out so you have to have figure that out before you change personnel just to change personnel. I think the 3-4 does give you flexibility because you can match up your balance, their balance and we go and we just play from there."</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">From a philosophical standpoint, flexibility is critical. From a practical standpoint, it's all about fitting the scheme to the talent of the personnel.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><meta content="" name="Title"></meta> <meta content="" name="Keywords"></meta> <meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type"></meta> <meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"></meta> <meta content="Microsoft Word 2008" name="Generator"></meta> <meta content="Microsoft Word 2008" name="Originator"></meta> <link href="file://localhost/Users/fbeard1/Library/Caches/TemporaryItems/msoclip/0/clip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"></link> <style>
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</style> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"It all goes back to the same thing: what can our players do, what can they do well, what gives us the best chance to win?" Austin said. "If it is getting into some 3-4 then it’s getting in a 3-4. If it’s staying in a 4-3 and letting our guys hunt off the edge that’s what we’re going to do."</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">* * * </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">If there is one player on the defensive side of the ball who helped himself the most in the offseason, Austin says it is fourth-year junior tackle Jaye Howard. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><meta content="" name="Title"></meta> <meta content="" name="Keywords"></meta> <meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type"></meta> <meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"></meta> <meta content="Microsoft Word 2008" name="Generator"></meta> <meta content="Microsoft Word 2008" name="Originator"></meta> <link href="file://localhost/Users/fbeard1/Library/Caches/TemporaryItems/msoclip/0/clip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"></link> <style>
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</style> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"The one guy Coach Mick (strength and conditioning coach Mickey Marotti) talked about a bunch who really had a heckuva summer is Jaye Howard," Austin said. "Jaye Howard, from what I understand in the past, hasn’t been that guy but he really has kind of turned the corner and he is one guy that kept coming up that Mick was saying ‘boy he really had an outstanding summer for him’ in addition to numerous guys but he is one guy that kind of turned the corner that we’re counting on."</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">* * *</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Florida's 2010 defense will be led by a strong group of veterans. The Gators have starters or experienced players at every position except one and that is the corner opposite two-year starter Janoris Jenkins. When spring practice ended, the open corner position was a two-way battle between senior Moses Jenkins, who has distinguished himself as a special teams standout but not as part of the regular defense, and Jeremy Brown, whose back issues have caused him to miss the last two seasons since he early enrolled in January of 2008. Brown is healthy now and ready to compete with Jenkins for the starters job, but Austin warns that several freshmen will also be given a chance to compete for the job.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Janoris Jenkins is secure as one starter, but the second spot will go to whoever proves to be the second best player at the corner position. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><meta content="" name="Title"></meta> <meta content="" name="Keywords"></meta> <meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type"></meta> <meta content="Word.Document" name="ProgId"></meta> <meta content="Microsoft Word 2008" name="Generator"></meta> <meta content="Microsoft Word 2008" name="Originator"></meta> <link href="file://localhost/Users/fbeard1/Library/Caches/TemporaryItems/msoclip/0/clip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"></link> <style>
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</style> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"I think Jeremy Brown and Moses Jenkins are involved at that position in addition to any of our freshmen," Austin said. "At the end of the day we know Janoris is one corner. What we’re trying to do is develop our next corner --- if it’s Moses, if it’s Jeremy, if it’s one of the young guys --- and what we’ll do as we get going through the next two weeks will determine who our second best corner is. If it happens to be a guy that’s in the boundary we’ll move him to the field. If it happens to be that guy that’s out there, hey we’re going to move ahead and go full speed but we’re going to put our best players on the field. We owe that to our team." </div><br />
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</div>Franz Beardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16590128135126872279noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5301455279830782222.post-39284942449557220042010-08-05T20:39:00.000-07:002010-08-05T20:39:26.495-07:00Meyer, agents talking about reforms<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> In the midst of what seems to be an epidemic of agents making illegal contact with college football players, Florida coach Urban Meyer says he's involved in some discussions that could lead to some much-needed reform. Speaking to the media following Thursday afternoon's freshman practice, Meyer said it's not just college coaches who are concerned about the problems but plenty of good agents who want to put an end to the illegal practices of agents who want to skirt the rules.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"</span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">There's a lot of discussion that I've been involved with with agents," Meyer said. "We actually had a great discussion --- I can't go into detail yet --- but a group of us have gotten together and we're trying to make some changes from anything from signing balls and getting them sold on the internet to practice where people are just showing up."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">During the height of Tebow-mania, huge crowds gathered to catch a glimpse of and perhaps an autograph from Florida's charismatic Heisman Trophy quarterback. But not all the fans were there with good intentions. Every day the same old folks were showing up outside the Sanders Practice Field with helmets, footballs and other things to be signed that were later sold on the internet. It has created enough of a distraction that Meyer says things will be different from here on out.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Meyer can't do anything about the long walk from the Florida locker rooms in the South End Zone of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium to the Sanders Practice Facility but he can do something to police the crowds that have become a distraction to his players. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"People are showing up and who are you and why are you here?" Meyer said. "We can't live the players' lives but we can do the best we can and you should have the right as a player to walk from here to there without being bothered and practice and come back without being bothered. Now if you get bothered on your own ... but that's my fault. For five years ... that's crazy. When I tell that to my colleagues that you get dressed and you walk across and people just maul you and bother you and internet people grabbing helmets ...sign this and all this ... and we don't have security saying 'get the heck out of here.' So you'll see a lot of 'get the heck out of here' from now on. Let the kids go practice and concentrate on football which is what our job is." </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Meyer is also aware that the crowds of fans also open the door for agents and their runners, another reason why he's making changes with security and why there are these ongoing discussions with a group of reform-minded agents. There will also be a concerted effort to educate his players so they can better deal with the distractions and temptations. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"We're going to have a lot of discussions around here and continual non-stop education," Meyer said. "It's an epidemic. You flip on a TV and you hear someone talk and it's this school, this school, this school. That's nuts. The good thing is the other side of this wants to help and when I say that I mean they really want to help. There are going to be some positive things that come out of this."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>CAPTAINS:</b> Meyer said that senior center Mike Pouncey and senior defensive end Justin Trattou have been named team captains. Usually, captains aren't announced until later during August practice but Meyer said he wanted to address leadership immediately and this is one way to handle it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"Mike Pouncey and (Justin) Trattou have been named captains," Meyer said. "There will be more to come but we made a decision --- Coach Mick (Marotti), myself and Steve (Addazio) --- that we're going to announce captains right now to take charge of this team. Ahmad Black is going to be involved in that. Lawrence Marsh is a leader on our team now. He's done a great job and there will be more that will show up soon." </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>GREAT EXPECTATIONS:</b> Just because Tim Tebow, Brandon Spikes and a whole host of seniors and juniors who left early for the NFL are gone doesn't mean expectations won't be high for the Gators. Last year the Gators fell short of their goal of repeating as national champions but they still finished 13-1 and ranked third nationally. This year's group may not have the marquee names but it's still a very talented team with plenty of great players so the expectations will be high once again. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"I don't know if pressure is the right word but the expectation level within our team of what we expected with all those kids coming back last year with Tim (Tebow) and (Brandon) Spikes and Joe (Haden) and all those guys ... it's a little bit different feeling but it's still Florida," Meyer said. "It's still a bunch of good athletes --- not good, probably great --- running around on that field. It's a year of accountability and development and if that happens we'll have a good team. If it doesn't, we won't."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Following the 2006 season, the Gators lost several key seniors as well as some juniors to the NFL who would have made a huge difference in the outcome of the 2007 season. The Gators lost a lot of players after last season but Meyer says the situation is different now because the Gators have recruited well enough that talented players are ready to step in and play.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"It's a little bit like '07 but we have better players," he said. "In '07 we took a hit because to be quite honest, guys were playing who shouldn't have been on the field. Now you have guys who should be on the field but you have to develop them pretty quick which is a huge difference. This is part of the game. When guys leave early you have to replace them. Like John Brantley ... you don't replace Tim with a guy who's been here one year. He (Brantley) has been here three years. You've got some other positions that guys have been here and it's time for them to play.</span>"<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>ON BRANTLEY BECOMING A LEADER:</b> Now that Tebow has gone to the NFL, it's Johnny Brantley's show which means he assumes the key role in directing the offense as well as leading the team. Meyer says Brantley should be ready to take the next step. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"You have no choice but to be a leader if you're a quarterback," Meyer said. "Now Chris Leak is probably one of the greatest stories of all time on how to develop a leader. He was not a leader and as a result was not a good quarterback. Now someone said he threw for a lot of yards but if you lose five games a year you're not a good quarterback and then he flipped a switch and he became not only a good leader but a great leader and we won a national championship. As a leader of the team, Johnny has to be and he's taken that step. These next 28 practices will be a good indication of where he's at."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>ON DEPTH ON THE DEFENSIVE LINE: </b>The Gators will start the season with more defensive line depth than they've had at any time since Meyer has been Florida's coach. With 17 scholarship linemen, the Gators are deep and talented which should lead to the kind of rotation that is conducive to a high level of play. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> "This is as good a depth as we've had and that's going to be a key," Meyer said. "There's a lot of guys ... Brandon Antwine (knee) --- how long is he going to hold up? (Lawrence) Marsh (high ankle sprain) has had injuries. (Terron) Sanders (knee) has had injuries ... significant injuries. At the beginning of '06 we had a group playing 25-30 snaps a game. If you do that you can play with the effort we expect you to play at. If you're playing 70-80 plays your body can't hold up."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Meyer also mentioned that freshman defensive linemen Lynden Trail (6-7, 217), Ronald Powell (6-4, 248), Shariff Floyd (6-3, 301), Dominique Easley (6-1, 280) and Leon Orr (6-4, 315) are an outstanding group of physical specimens who, when they broke the huddle at Thursday's practice and stood by graduate assistant Tony Weaver, who played nine years in the NFL, caused Meyer to day, "They all kind of look alike over there." </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>LAWRENCE TRANSFERS; PARKS OUT FOR 2-3 WEEKS:</b> Third-year sophomore wide receiver T.J. Lawrence has opted to transfer to another school in search of more playing time. Redshirt freshman tight end Desmond Parks will be out 2-3 weeks after a surgical procedure on his wrist. </span>Franz Beardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16590128135126872279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5301455279830782222.post-26641930064629299302010-08-05T13:04:00.000-07:002010-08-05T13:48:43.078-07:00Rainey haunted by loss to Alabama<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Chris Rainey keeps watching the DVD of the Alabama debacle in last year's Southeastern Conference Championship Game. Sometimes it's with teammates and sometimes it's when he's all alone but always, it's a bit of self-induced torture, a necessary pain that serves as a constant reminder of the worst loss he's ever been a part of since he started playing football. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"We got embarrassed," Rainey said Thursday morning after the Florida Gators had finished their first preseason practice for their September 4 debut against Miami of Florida. "We looked like a high school team out there."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">When Rainey was in high school at Lakeland, the mighty Dreadnaughts turned winning into an art form, taking their last 45 straight games --- most in convincing fashion --- as they won three straight Florida state championships and two mythical high school national championships. At Florida, Rainey took a medical redshirt his freshman year and then won a national championship ring as a redshirt freshman in 2008. Throughout the first 12 games of the 2009 season, the Gators maintained their winning ways but then came the week of the SEC Championship Game and the wheels started coming off early for Florida. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It began with the arrest of All-SEC defensive end Carlos Dunlap for DUI following a Monday night birthday party attended by a sizable group of players. The Dunlap incident and the subsequent questions about why so many Gators were partying on the Monday night before the most important game of the season created enough distraction that the Florida team that took the field Saturday night bore very little resemblance to the Gators who had won their previous 22 games. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"Every time they show the video, it's like is that us ... for real?" Rainey asks. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It was the Gators and it was real to the tune of 32-13. Alabama went on to win the national championship and while the Gators regrouped to blow Cincinnati's doors off 51-24 in the Sugar Bowl, it was little consolation for a team that went through 12 games hoping to become the first repeat national champion since Nebraska did the trick in 1994-95. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The memory of that Alabama game has everything to do with an offseason regimen that Rainey says "was ridiculous." Some of the offseason work, which Rainey says "seems like they were trying to kill us with punishment," was the handiwork of strength and conditioning coach Mickey Marotti. Outsiders looking in might think Marotti has a sadistic streak but there is method to his madness. Players who endure an offseason of his training end up bigger, stronger, faster and more importantly, tougher. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">But Marotti wasn't the only one motivating the team and getting everyone to work harder in the gym and put forth the effort in the sweltering summer heat in the afternoons. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"We did it on our own," Rainey said. "That's the good thing about it. We did it on our own and we didn't have to use the coaches to tell us what to do and all that."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The end result of a motivated offseason is a team from diverse backgrounds and circumstances that has become more like a band of brothers. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"This is the closest team I've ever been around," Rainey said.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The difficulty of the offseason workouts, the collective embarrassment of that loss to Alabama and the tireless efforts of team leaders has produced a motivated the team that has closed ranks and bonded. Rainey says everybody is friendly, accountable and always looking for ways to have fun together as a team.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"There's just a bond this year like I've never seen since I've been here," he said.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Rainey and no one else would ever question Tim Tebow's dedication, determination or leadership abilities, but by the time Tebow reached his senior season at Florida, he had become a living legend and bigger than life personality who required around the clock monitoring to keep him safe from overzealous fans. And, Florida was so loaded with draftable talent that NFL distractions grew stronger with each passing week. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Add to those factors the mounting pressure of a 22-game winning streak and the weight of high expectations and the recipe was there for cracks in the team armor. Rainey says there were definitely some self-centered and divisive elements.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"You could say cliques ... [guys] worrying about themselves, worrying about trying to get to the NFL and stuff like that," Rainey said. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Tebow graduated and went to the NFL to the Denver Broncos in the first round. Nine other Gators were drafted and several others signed free agent agreements. For most teams, that kind of personnel attrition would be devastating. At Florida, it's what is expected. Graduation and the NFL will always be a part of the Gator landscape but Urban Meyer has the recruiting machine going so well that the holes are filled instantly by players of equal or perhaps even greater talent. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">While this year's team might not have marquee names like Tim Tebow and Brandon Spikes, there is no shortage of talent. Unlike last year's team which had to deal with the mega personalities and all the baggage that accompanied them, this group has bonded together, determined to move the Florida football program forward.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"I guess we got rid of all the prima donnas and selfish cats," Rainey said. "That's probably it this year. No rock stars this year."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">There aren't any rock stars, but this team oozes with talent. Rainey, who has rushed for 1,278 yards (7.1 per carry) in his two seasons splitting time at tailback with Jeff Demps, moves to the slot this year where his speed and elusiveness should provide home run capability to a position which slumped to 350 total yards (rushing and receiving) and only one touchdown last year after averaging 1,450 and 14 touchdowns the previous three seasons. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Rainey got his first start at the slot in the Sugar Bowl where he gave the Gators more than 200 all-purpose yards rushing, receiving and returning kicks against Cincinnati. His four pass receptions for 71 yards were indicative of the kind of production that he'll be expected to give this year. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It's a new position for Rainey, who has always played tailback, but it's a change he has embraced with determination. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"Since I've been growing up I never thought I was going to be a receiver," Rainey said. "Every time I look on You Tube the receiver goes across the middle and gets the big hits and now that's not going to be me [getting hit]. I'm going to keep myself from doing that but receiver is fun. You don't get many injuries from it. A lot of running ... it's harder than running back, but I'm good at it."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In addition to learning pass routes and how to make all the catches, Rainey has also had to learn how to read defenses to adjust routes based on the coverage in the secondary.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"At receiver you have to know everything," he said. "What they call a running back you just know one thing and you're done. A receiver ... details like if on the ball or off the ball ... everything."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Everything also includes blocking. When he first came to Florida, Rainey didn't have a clue about blocking. At Lakeland, he lined up in the I-formation, took a handoff or a pitchout and let his speed and elusiveness take over. At Florida, where the offense is the spread option, a tailback has to be as much a blocker as he does runner or receiver.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">That took some adjusting but Rainey discovered that blocking cornerbacks and safeties is a tad easier than taking on a defensive end or blitzing linebacker.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"Way easier, too ... somebody coming at you full speed about 250 pounds," he said with an infectious laugh. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Armed with a new position, a leadership role on the team --- he says Mike Pouncey, John Brantley, Justin Trattou, Deonte Thompson, Carl Moore and Ahmad Black are the other leaders --- and the determination to erase the memory of that Alabama game, Rainey is ready to get the season started. Like all the other Gators, that Alabama game has created a rather hefty chip on his shoulder and a searing need to prove that one game was a fluke, not the norm at Florida.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"We've got a lot to prove," he said. "The only thing we can do is get to Atlanta [for the SEC Championship Game in December]. That's all we can do. I can't stop thinking about it. I think about it every day."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span>Franz Beardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16590128135126872279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5301455279830782222.post-42844878457240573932010-08-04T22:41:00.000-07:002010-08-04T22:41:56.080-07:00Practice begins which means a new season has arrived<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Florida Gators start practice this morning in what just might be the most anticipated August since Urban Meyer took over in 2005. There are so many question marks for the Gators, but there is no denying that Meyer has stocked the roster with talent. The Gators are two and three-deep --- or more --- at every single position and there are players who could be starting at other schools in the Southeastern Conference who will have to patiently wait their turn to get on the field at Florida. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Most of the attention will center on Johnny Brantley, who is in the unenviable position of having to step in and replace a legend. How will Brantley fill Tim Tebow's enormous shoes?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The answer is simple. He won't.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Instead of trying to fill Tebow's shoes, Brantley needs to carve out his own niche. If he concentrates on being the first Johnny Brantley rather than the next Tim Tebow, he will do just fine. He's got the arm, the smarts and the command of the offense, plus he's got a stockpile of offensive weapons second to none in the SEC. There isn't a team other than Florida in the SEC capable of going five wide with sprinters who have all turned in a 10.5 or faster in the 100 meters. And, Brantley has four very capable tailbacks who can run the football so he doesn't have to take on that role of the battering ram on third and short.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">With Florida's offensive weapons at the skill positions, something tells us that the Gators probably aren't going to have many third and shorts this year. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It's been a good summer for Brantley. He's worked all the receivers hard during the dog days when the sun scorches the practice field and everyone willing to brave the heat but in particular, he's on the same page with Deonte Thompson, Carl Moore, Chris Rainey and Omarius Hines. Watch for those four to emerge during August as go-to guys in the passing game.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Rainey can catch the ball and he can give that Percy dimension by sliding back into the backfield and taking handoffs or pitchouts on the option. He's going to be dynamic.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Thompson is the consummate deep threat while Moore and Hines have the size and brute strength to wear our folks in the middle of the field.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Watch what's going on with the offensive line, too. Matt Patchan's leg has healed and he's really huge, which means there is a solid three-man rotation at tackle. If Mo Hurt, James Wilson or Jon Halapio have a great August to solidify the right guard position, then the Gators will have the best line in the SEC and maybe one that's as good as there is anywhere in the country.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Anytime the line is mentioned, it's a requirement to mention Mike Pouncey. He's in the best shape of his life, and ready to be the best center in the country. And, Carl Johnson is also in great shape. At 6-6, 355, he's going to crush people at left guard.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Over on defense, the two names to track are William Green and Ronald Powell. Green has bulked up and will play in the 255-260 range. With that explosive first step, now that he's got the size and strength, he will terrorize quarterbacks. Powell has a chance to be special from day one. He can be that hybrid defensive end linebacker. I've compared him to Lawrence Taylor at the same age. I saw Taylor in high school and as a freshman at North Carolina, and I see the same qualities and strengths in Powell. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">There's plenty of leadership on the defensive side, too, with Brandon Hicks, Ahmad Black and Justin Trattou. It only seems like they've been here forever. They've earned their stripes and they are solid on the field and unchallenged in the locker room. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We'll have media availability twice today: returning veterans at 11 a.m. and Urban Meyer at 6:30. I'll be posting here with quotes and other goodies from day one. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span>Franz Beardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16590128135126872279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5301455279830782222.post-30601737987791903172010-08-03T20:51:00.000-07:002010-08-03T20:51:00.524-07:00Time is running out for these five players<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Satchel Paige once said, "Don't look back. Something might be gaining on you." For these five Florida Gators, the start of football practice on Thursday is a chance for them to make amends for shortcomings in the past. If they take a look back, they'll see lots of young, motivated talent that wants to be on the field hot on their heels. For these five guys, time is running out and it's time to prove something. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1. EMMANUEL MOODY: I'm always reminded of that line by Roseanne Rosanadana from Saturday Night Live: "It just goes to show you it's always something. If it isn't one thing, it's always something else." That's Emmanuel Moody's Florida football career. There is no question that he has the size, the speed and the talent to be a great one but it seems that every time he gets going he dings an ankle or a shoulder or a toe ... something. He's a senior and this is a contract year. If he comes up big, he can get a big NFL contract. Even better, if he comes up big, the Gators have a back who can put the fear of God into defensive coordinators. If he spends the year nursing one injury after another, he won't get drafted. The Gators will do fine, however. They're loaded at tailback and maybe the fact that there is so much competition will motivate Moody to have the year we've been expecting since he transferred from Southern Cal. His numbers for two years in and out of the lineup with injuries are pretty darn good --- 195 carries, 1,254 yards (6.4 per carry) and six touchdowns.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2. EARL OKINE: He's got the size (6-7, 284), the body and the speed to be a great player. He got mono as a freshman and took a redshirt. Last season, he just never got it all together and wound up with two (count'em) tackles for the whole season. Now that Carlos Dunlap has moved on to the NFL, Okine could be that big, imposing defensive end whose mere presence is a nightmare for quarterbacks simply because he keeps his feet moving and his arms high. There have been whispers that Okine doesn't play with a lot of energy. With all these high profile youngsters on the defensive line, Okine needs to (a) play with a lot of energy and (b) make a move up the depth chart or else risk being buried forever. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">3. JUSTIN WILLIAMS: If you don't watch what goes on with the kickoff team, you've probably missed Justin Williams. He's a valuable contributor on the special teams, but he's never gotten into the regular rotation as a receiver. Now that he's a fifth year senior, it's time for him to make his presence known. He's another one with outstanding speed and good size (6-1, 205). He showed last fall in mopup duty (six catches, 50 yards, two touchdowns) and again in the spring that he can catch the ball and do something with it after he makes the catch. It will be hard for him to become Florida's go-to receiver this year but he's good enough to become a contributor. He needs to catch at least 20 passes this season.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">4. LORENZO EDWARDS: He's a fine leader, a great teammate and a terrific special teams player. This year, he's got to become a serious contributor in the linebacker rotation. He's a senior with only 43 tackles in his career. He's got the kind of size (6-1, 240) and strength to be a serious player against the run and enough speed to cover a tight end, but it's time to put it all together. He's had three years of special teams while watching the defense from the sideline. This year, it's time to get in the game and make some plays. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">5. DUKE LEMMENS: He hustles. Lord, the guy hustles. Any time he's in the game, just watch and you'll see he's running hard to the football on every single play. The problem is, he arrives right after the play is made. The knock on Lemmens is that he doesn't get to the football often enough to make a play. His numbers for three years on the job are 23 tackles. He's a senior this year and the Gators are inexperienced at defensive end. It's time for him to show up and make some plays. </span>Franz Beardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16590128135126872279noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5301455279830782222.post-88857577846472361962010-08-02T13:57:00.000-07:002010-08-02T19:56:32.269-07:00Five burning questions about Florida's defense<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In three days, the post-Tim Tebow era of Florida football begins as the Gators begin their preprations for their September 4 season opener with Miami of Ohio. Here are five burning questions about the defense that have to be answered before the Gators take the field for game one. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>1. WILL THIS BE A TRANSITION YEAR FOR THE FLORIDA DEFENSE?:</b> Any time you lose an outstanding coordinator such as Charlie Strong, there is going to be a certain amount of transition. Charlie had his way of doing things and it was quite successful. Due to his extensive pro background, Teryl Austin's way of doing things will be different, so there is going to be a certain amount of transition but judging from what we saw this spring, it's hard to imagine there will be too many bumps in the road. Austin has the benefit of working with Dan McCarney (defensive line) and Chuck Heater (co-defensive coordinator/safeties), coaches who are grounded in the college game and who know Florida's personnel inside and out. Austin isn't very vocal but he has a way of getting his point across. Don't expect any wholesale changes but look for a gradual integration of his new ideas to go with some of the old ones, and look for McCarney and Heater to perhaps have a little more input into the way things are done. Also, watch at how the linebackers respond to D.J. Durkin, another new staffer. In the spring, I really liked the energy I saw from this position.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>2. ARE THE GATORS MOVING FROM A 4-3 TO A 3-4 BASE DEFENSE?: </b>With teams like Alabama going from a power-I to a spread without changing personnel, it puts a tremendous amount of heat on opposing coordinators to have the right personnel in the game at all times. That's why you're seeing more and more teams gravitate to a 3-4 base using strong, fast, athletic guys on the outside who are as comfortable with their hand on the ground as a defensive end as they are playing in coverage as a linebacker. Timeouts are precious and you can't burn one every time a team shifts from a conventional formation to something exotic so you better have the players in the game who can handle multiple responsibilities. I believe one of the reasons Urban Meyer hired Teryl Austin from the Arizona Cardinals was his familiarity with adjusting the 3-4 to go against any formation or scheme. In the NFL, you've got a 47-man roster so it's impossible to make wholesale substitutions. Therefore, you better have a scheme and personnel that can adapt on the fly. The Gators will still run their share of 4-3 this year, but I think by midseason, we'll see more 3-4 than 4-3.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>3. WHO'S GOING TO PLAY THE CORNER OPPOSITE JANORIS JENKINS?:</b> Judging by what I saw in the spring, I think we'll see a lot of Moses Jenkins and Jeremy Brown. Moses Jenkins is an experienced and valuable special teamer without a lot of experience on the field with the defensive unit while Brown has missed two seasons because of a back injury. Before he was hurt, Brown was ahead of Janoris Jenkins on the depth chart (spring of 2008) and Janoris went on to start at corner for a national championship team. Moses Jenkins is that big corner (6-2, 188) that you need to go against the big wide receivers that are so abundant in the SEC like A.J. Green, Julio Jones and Alshon Jeffery. Moses is also a senior and I would love to see him rewarded for his patience by turning the opportunity for playing time into a stellar season. I've got similar feelings about Brown, who has to be so frustrated that he's been unable to contribute his first two years on campus. If he can stay healthy, he's got a chance to be really good. Watch out for freshmen Jaylen Watkins and Joshua Shaw. Although they often looked like a lost ball in the tall grass during the spring, they've had the entire summer to get used to the scheme and speed of the athletes they'll be defending in the college game. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>4. WILL THE GATORS FIND A WAY TO GET JON BOSTIC AND JELANI JENKINS ON THE FIELD AT THE SAME TIME?:</b> If and when the Gators are in a 3-4, we'll see a lot of Jenkins and Bostic on the field at the same time. Jenkins has such speed that in the 3-4, he could slide to the outside and stay with tight ends and most running backs. Bostic is a beast against the run, so he's going to be on the field a lot. Bostic is a prototypical middle linebacker but he has the range to play the weak side, too. Jelani Jenkins is a plug and play guy. Plug him in and he'll find a place to play. I like Florida's situation at linebacker with Brandon Hicks, A.J. Jones and Lorenzo Edwards providing veteran leadership for youngsters with speed and talent such as Neiron Ball, Michael Taylor, Darrin Kitchens and Gideon Ajagbe.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>5. CAN RONALD POWELL BE AN IMPACT PLAYER FROM DAY ONE?: </b>I saw Lawrence Taylor in high school and then watched him make an almost effortless transition from defensive tackle to defensive end as a freshman at North Carolina. When I see the film on Ronald Powell, I see a player of comparable size (6-4, 248) and speed along with that instinctive ability to find the football and destroy whoever has it. Powell is the perfect fit for that hybrid end/linebacker that the Gators will need to run the 3-4. I think Powell and William Green are going to be perfect fits for that role and I think they will provide the kind of pass rush that will make life hell for opposing quarterbacks. Even though there is tremendous pressure on him to produce from the beginning, I think Powell has the right skills and mindset to make it happen instantly. </span>Franz Beardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16590128135126872279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5301455279830782222.post-50192870138423022762010-08-01T21:14:00.000-07:002010-08-01T21:14:58.798-07:00Five burning questions about Florida's offense<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The post-Tim Tebow era of Florida football begins Thursday when the Gators begin the countdown to the September 4 season opener with Miami of Ohio. Here are five burning questions about the offense that have to be answered before the Gators take the field for game one. </span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1. WHAT KIND OF SUMMER DID JOHNNY BRANTLEY HAVE?:</span></b> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It's the Johnny Brantley Show now and the Gators will only go as far as he can take them. He's got the arm and the smarts to be a truly gifted quarterback, but if he's going to be the next big thing in Gainesville he has to be <b>THE</b> man when he steps in the huddle. That means JB needs to be coming off a summer in which he not only led by example but showed the moxie to get in the face of a teammate who's dogging it on a hot afternoon if necessary. If he's made that stride from quiet leader to one who when he speaks everybody listens, then he will have total command of the huddle and that means you can expect a truly explosive Florida offense. </span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2. IS DEONTE THOMPSON READY TO BECOME THE GO-TO GUY ON THE OUTSIDE?: </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Deonte has the speed (sub 10.3 in the 100 meters) to go with the size and strength it takes to be one of the most feared receivers in the country and now is his time to take the next big step by showing what he can do on the field. We've seen glimpses of what he can do in the past two years when he's played a secondary role but now the expectations are different. Now he is expected to be the leader of the receiving corps. He's got a lot of young guys looking up to him to set the example so if he shows up primed and ready to go from day one, the entire receiving corps will follow his lead. </span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">3. WHO'S GOING TO PLAY RIGHT GUARD?: </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Four of the five positions on the offensive line are set with Mike Pouncey at center, Carl Johnson at left guard, Xavier Nixon at left tackle and Marcus Gilbert at right tackle. That leaves right guard as the only unsettled position and we can expect a three-way battle for the starting job in August. Mo Hurt and James Wilson have starting experience and they've been in the system long enough (this is Hurt's fifth year; fourth for Wilson) but both of them have a history of injuries. Can they hold up for an entire season? And then there is Jon Halapio, the big sophomore of Tongan descent. He's built like a concrete block and he has that nasty streak that offensive coordinator/line coach Steve Addazio likes. There's no question these three guys have the talent to play the position well, but line play goes beyond talent. It's all about the chemistry and for that to happen, one of the three has to distinguish himself as the starter in August. If that happens, the Gators will have the best offensive line in the Southeastern Conference.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>4. CAN JORDAN REED TO A REASONABLE IMITATION OF AARON HERNANDEZ?: </b>The Gators are going to use the tight end, particularly now that they're transitioning from an option-first team to a pass-first team. Aaron Hernandez gave the Gators tremendous production last year and while it might be unreasonable to expect redshirt freshman Jordan Reed to equal those numbers (68 catches, 850 yards, five touchdowns), he needs to give the Gators something in the neighborhood of 35-40 catches for 500-600 yards. If he can do that, then the Gators will be able to do some serious damage in the middle of the field. When Reed is on the field, he can also take wildcat snaps and from what we saw of him in the spring, he's a real threat to pick up big yardage any time he has the ball in his hands. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>5. CAN CHRIS RAINEY GIVE THE GATORS A PERCY-LIKE THREAT IN THE SLOT?: </b>The Gators went from an average of 1,400 yards and 12 touchdowns in the slot the previous three seasons with Percy Harvin to 350 yards and one touchdown last year when Brandon James had to play the position by default due to the injury to Andre Debose. James was a great return guy but just not cut out for every play duty. Rainey, who has a half-dozen runs of 50-plus yards in his two years at tailback, moves to the slot where he has the ability to be that hybrid running back/receiver who drives defensive coordinators nuts. We got a glimpse of Chris in the Sugar Bowl when he produced more than 200 all-purpose yards. If he can catch the ball consistently, he could put up All-American numbers. And, if Debose is back 100 percent after missing all of last year, the Gators could do some serious damage with a double slot. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span>Franz Beardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16590128135126872279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5301455279830782222.post-18255047293907225092010-07-30T15:30:00.000-07:002010-07-30T15:30:39.715-07:00Kadji leaving changes the dynamics for UF hoops recruiting class<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With Kenny Kadji electing to transfer from the University of Florida, one more scholarship has been freed up, changing the dynamics of Florida's 2011 recruiting class. With Mike Rosario sitting out due to transfer rules and Bradley Beal (6-4, 190, St. Louis, MO Chaminade Prep) solidly committed, the Gators now have room for three more in the class. Ideally, the Gators would take one big, one long wing and one combo guard, but the versatility of Dorian Finney-Smith (6-8, 185, Portsmouth, VA IC Norcum) could change that equation.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Finney-Smith, who is playing with Boo Williams Summer League at the AAU Nationals in Lake Buena Vista, is the most versatile player in the country. He plays the point on offense for his high school team and when he does a turn with BWSL as the lead guard, the offense simply takes off. Defensively, he can play either the small or power forward and despite his skinny frame, he's a terrific rebounder and doesn't get pushed around.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Finney-Smith has seven or eight schools on his radar but insiders say it's a decision that will come down to Virginia Tech and Florida. In Virginia Tech's favor is that Finney-Smith is a Virginian. In Florida's favor is the fact that Finney-Smith and his older brother (who plays at Old Dominion) are long time pals of Gator center Vernon Macklin.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If Finney-Smith chose to be a Gator, UF could still elect to take a long wing such as Adonis Thomas (6-6, 211, Memphis, TN Melrose) or Sam Thompson (6-7, 190, Chicago, IL Whitney Young). Thomas is a take it to the rack wing who can take the contact, finish and get the free throws. Thompson is the best wing defender in the country not to mention the best leaper (50 inch vertical). Thomas has Florida, Memphis, Arkansas and Mississippi State on his radar. Thompson has it down to Florida, Oregon State, Ohio State, Kansas and Georgetown.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The combo guard that the Gators have been following closely is Kedren Johnson (6-4, 215, Lewisburg, TN Marshall County). He's got a streaky outside game but he handles, distributes and plays lights out on the defensive end. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With Cody Zeller (6-10, 210, Warsaw, IN) more or less out of the Florida picture (he's pretty much down to Indiana, Butler and North Carolina), Florida's big man recruiting efforts center around these four: Johnny O'Bryant (6-10, 248, Cleveland, MS), Rakeem Christmas (6-9, 225, Philadelphia, PA Academy of the New Church), Mikael Hopkins (6-9, 215, Hyattsville, MD DeMatha Catholic) and Amir Williams (6-10, 225, Beverly Hills, MI Detroit Country Day).</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">O'Bryant and Adonis Thomas are determined to play together in college. The one school they seem to agree on is Florida so it is a distinct possibility the Gators could come up big with this dynamic duo.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Florida was the first to offer Christmas, who also has Texas, Oklahoma and FIU on his radar with Kentucky trying to elbow its way in. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Florida trails Syracuse and Maryland for Hopkins and the Gators are having to make up an incredible amount of ground with Williams, who was once thought to be a lock for Michigan or Michigan State. </span></div>Franz Beardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16590128135126872279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5301455279830782222.post-26537541475381274712010-07-27T21:01:00.000-07:002010-07-27T21:01:59.064-07:00Beal says he's solidly Gator; Rivers says he's still wide open<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">LAKE BUENA VISTA --- The shootout of superstars Bradley Beal (6-4, 190, St. Louis, MO Chaminade Prep) and Austin Rivers (6-4, 198, Winter Park, FL) never materialized Tuesday night in the championship game of the AAU Super Showcase. Beal never could get into any kind of an offensive rhythm and Rivers was all to content to be a contributor and not the one carrying the weight of his team's expectations on his shoulders.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">ESPN had the marquee matchup it wanted with Beal and Rivers, the top two shooting guards in the country, but it was clear almost from the beginning that Rivers' Each One Teach One team had energy to spare while Beal's St. Louis Eagles seemed to be playing on dead legs as they played their eighth game in four days. Rivers scored 24 points, 10 from the foul line, and actually played a secondary role in the second half as he spent most of his time handling the ball and distributing to teammates. The scoring load was taken up by Trevor Lacey (6-3, 215, Huntsville, AL Butler) who hit his first 10 shots en route to a 24-point performance as Each One Teach One routed the Eagles, 77-60.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Beal missed his first six shots before he got one to fall and finished the game 5-15 from the field for 12 points.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"This was the worst game I've ever played," Beal said. He admitted his legs were a bit dead after playing a non-stop schedule the past two months that included three weeks overseas while winning the MVP and leading the USA team to the FIBA 17-and-Under World Championship, but quickly added, "That's not a good excuse. I just didn't play very well and I needed to for us to win."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Beal, who is committed to the University of Florida, has been the subject of one rumor after another in recent weeks, most of them claiming he is waffling on his Florida commitment and seriously thinking about switching to Kansas. Nothing could be further from the truth, Beal said following the loss to Each One Teach One.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"I'm a Gator, it's solid," he said, adding that he hears "</span><span class="status-body" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="status-content"><span class="entry-content">a new rumor every week. I guess people don't have anything better to do than start a rumor about me I'm a Gator."</span></span></span><br />
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<span class="status-body" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="status-content"><span class="entry-content">Rivers, the one-time Florida commitment who has opened up things to include five schools --- Florida, Duke, North Carolina, Kentucky and Kansas --- seems to be at the center of attention for the Duke recruiting effort. In addition to two Duke assistants at the Tuesday night game, former Dookie Grant Hill was there in a Duke pullover shirt. He was seen chatting with Rivers post-game.</span></span></span><br />
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<span class="status-body" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="status-content"><span class="entry-content">Yet for all the efforts by Duke, Rivers said he's not close to making a commitment to anyone and that he's going to give all five schools on his list careful consideration before he makes his final choice. </span></span></span><br />
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<span class="status-body" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="status-content"><span class="entry-content">"It's still the same five schools," he said. "I like all five of them and I'm going to take my time before I make up my mind. You only go through this one time in your life so you really should think it over pretty good before you make up your mind."</span></span></span><br />
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<span class="status-body" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="status-content"><span class="entry-content">Florida coach Billy Donovan and assistant Rob Lanier were at the Beal-Rivers matchup game. Prior to that, they were seen taking in Omar Calhoun (6-4, 185, Middle Village, NY Christ the King), a 2012 combo guard who is playing for the New York Gauchos, and Michael Frazier (6-3, 185, Tampa, FL Plant), a scoring guard with serious elevation, who is playing for Florida Elite, coached by Buchholz head coach Bob Horydoski.</span></span></span><br />
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<span class="status-body" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="status-content"><span class="entry-content">Wednesday, the Florida coaches will be looking at Dorian Finney-Smith (6-8, 185, Portsmouth, VA IC Norcum), who is playing for Boo Williams Summer League, and Johnny O'Bryant (6-10, 248, Cleveland, MS), who plays for the Jackson Tigers. </span></span></span><br />
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<span class="status-body" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="status-content"><span class="entry-content">With the transfer of Kenny Kadji, the Gators have one more scholarship to give for 2011. That could open the door for the Gators to sign one big, one tall athletic wing and perhaps a combo guard. The Florida class could perhaps look like this: O'Bryant or Amir Williams (6-10, 225, Beverly Hills, MI Detroit Country Day), Adonis Thomas (6-6, 211, Memphis, TN Melrose) or Finney-Smith, and Kedren Johnson (6-4, 215, Lewisburg, TN Marshall County). </span></span></span><br />
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<span class="status-body" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="status-content"><span class="entry-content"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span>Franz Beardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16590128135126872279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5301455279830782222.post-56857985393612140092010-07-21T18:43:00.000-07:002010-07-21T18:43:25.485-07:00Meyer and Saban agree: something must be done about agents<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">HOOVER, AL --- Urban Meyer and Nick Saban might be as different as night and day when it comes to football philosophy, but the two most powerful football coaches in the Southeastern Conference stand in total agreement when it comes to unscrupulous agents using cash, cars, gifts and promises to lure college football players into signing representation agreements before their eligibility has expired. Speaking at SEC Media Days at the Wynfrey Hotel Wednesday afternoon, both Meyer and Saban agreed that something has to be done to halt this gathering storm that threatens to shake college football by its collective lapels.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Meyer calls the problem "an epidemic" after a week in which allegations have been flying, first from Chapel Hill where North Carolina coach Butch Davis is dealing with a firestorm that involves the mainstays of his outstanding defense, to South Carolina, where Steve Spurrier has to deal with allegations that his all-star tight end might have gotten some illegal benefits and then to Georgia, Alabama and Florida. Then there is the aftermath of the Southern Cal NCAA probation brought on by 2004 Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush receiving illegal benefits from an agent while he was still playing football at USC. Just Tuesday, USC fired athletic director Mike Garrett and returned its copy of Bush's Heisman Trophy. The Heisman Foundation is contemplating the possibility of stripping Bush of his 2004 award. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There is little question that these are not just isolated incidents but instead a foretaste of problems to come unless the NCAA and the NFL work hand-in-hand to bring about significant changes. Both Meyer and Saban believe there has to be some form of punishment for agents that cross the line although they disagreed on who should handle it.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Meyer, whose All-American center Maurkice Pouncey, was accused of accepting $100,000 in cash from an agent-runner back in December before the Sugar Bowl, believes uniform laws that are enforced in all 50 states would be a good place to begin.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"I understand there's 36 to 38 states in the country that have a significant penalty out there for a predator that's out there waiting to get involved," Meyer said. "Obviously, that has to happen. There's no plea bargaining or anything. If someone violates that law, they need to be punished to the extent of the law. Or the NFL --- like Coach Saban mentioned --- has to get involved and not allow them to be agents."</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Saban, who has coached in the NFL, believes that the way to deal with the problem is to hit the agents who break the rules where it hurts the most --- in the wallet. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"If you make these guys do what they're supposed to do or they can't get paid in that profession, it's going to change what he does," Saban said. "I'd change. I can't speak for what you'd do, but I certainly would."</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Saban believes the NFL Players Association, which empowers agents and determines which ones can work, is the agency that has to take action immediately.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"They could fix it," Saban said. "It could get fixed. You have a standard of behavior and conduct that we have as coaches --- that you have as professionals in what you do --- and they should have as professionals in what they do. If they don't meet that conduct they can't make a living doing that. It would straighten it out now. The NFL can do that."</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Whatever is done, Meyer says there has to be punishment for the rules breakers and that includes both agents and those who willingly break NCAA rules.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"If you're allowed to go do things that you're not supposed to do without punishment, you're going to continue doing it," Meyer said. "As a matter of fact, you're rewarded for it. That's not just talking about agents. It's talking about violations of NCAA rules. If there's a law or rule in place, you punish it to the full extent if you can. That has to happen with the agents."</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not all agents are bad. Most, in fact, follow the rules and maintain a standard of ethics. As Florida basketball coach Billy Donovan has stated several times in the past, a good agent is worth his weight in gold because that agent is about educating his client and going about his business the right way. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Saban praised the good agents Wednesday, saying that it's not fair to the ones that follow the rules when unethical types break the rules. And what drives agents to unethical behavior?</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"I don't think it's anything but greed that is creating it right now on behalf of the agents," he said. "Agents that do this --- I hate to say this --- but how are they anything better than a pimp? I have no respect for people who do that to young people ... NONE. I really mean, none. How would you feel if they did that to your child?"</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Meyer said that redshirt sophomore wide receiver Frankie Hammond Jr. is no longer on scholarship. Hammond, who was arrested for DUI, will have a chance to come back to the Florida football team, but he will have to pay his way and earn a spot on the team as a walk-on.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"There will be playing time taken away from him," Meyer said. "He'll be on probation like other players that have made mistakes. If he does something again, it will be probable dismissal."</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Meyer said that his chief lieutenants --- Steve Addazio and Chuck Heater --- will continue to assume a greater role in the day-to-day football operations. Addazio, in particular, will have a greater role as the associate head coach. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Meyer, who said he is "recharged and ready to go," said it was a little bit strange to take time away during the spring, something he's never done before. However, the time away from football was productive.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"You know, you get very humbled when you realize your oldest kid is in college --- she's not home any longer --- and you have another one getting ready to go [to college]," Meyer said. "You want to spend as much time with them as you can. I'm at that age when you want to spend as much time as you can with them and we did that. It was a great offseason."</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Asked if he celebrated when Lane Kiffin and USC were hit with probation by the NCAA, Meyer just grinned and said, "I'll let the commissioner (Mike Slive) handle that one."</span><br />
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</span>Franz Beardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16590128135126872279noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5301455279830782222.post-66267154244087331942010-07-21T14:15:00.000-07:002010-07-21T14:15:35.444-07:00Dan Mullen zings Nick Saban<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">HOOVER, AL --- Dan Mullen bristled Wednesday afternoon at SEC Media Days when he was asked a question regarding an earlier comment by Alabama head coach Nick Saban that the spread offense has its drawbacks when preparing players --- quarterbacks in particular --- to play in the National Football League.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Here is the question and the transcript of Mullen's response:</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">You're one of the leading practitioners in the SEC of the spread offense. Coach Saban referred to it being both difficult to defend, but also it had drawbacks when it comes to preparing people for the NFL. How do you counter those when you were recruiting? How do you keep that offense evolving?</span></b><br />
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COACH DAN MULLEN: I'm not going to knock him. I don't know his personal record. I've coached the spread offense and I have a lot of more first-round quarterbacks drafted than he has in his career as a head coach. Develop them for the NFL, I don't know. In the last six years, I've had two of mine get drafted in the first round. </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
I think it does develop those players pretty well to get there. Amazing, one was a five star recruit and one was a one star recruit. When you develop players as a coach, you develop players. One came to me, I guess, somebody in here probably rated him a five star, a superstar player. Somebody rated him as a one star. When I got him, I must have done a great job of coaching him to be a first pick in the draft. </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
I think that's very overrated for that. I coached the NFL Rookie-of-the-Year, I think, last year, too, was in the spread offense, Percy Harvin. So I don't know. I guess statistically a lot of coaches like to say that. But factually, if you check the facts, I think the spread offense is developing the players for the NFL at a little higher rate than other offenses. </div>Franz Beardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16590128135126872279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5301455279830782222.post-1822868163446280272010-07-20T18:02:00.000-07:002010-07-20T18:02:38.565-07:00From a good source regarding Mike Pouncey<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">HOOVER, AL --- SEC Media Days are already buzzing with talk about players having illegal contact with agents in the offseason. Florida is currently investigating both Maurkice Pouncey, who left school a year early and was taken in the first round of the NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers, and twin brother Mike, who remained at UF to finish his senior year. Both are alleged in an unsigned letter to the UF athletic department to have received a large amount of cash ($100,000 is the figure being thrown around) and other gifts from an agent runner in the period of time between the SEC Championship Game and the Sugar Bowl. Florida self-reported to the NCAA and both the NCAA and Florida compliance have been investigating since early June. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">While it appears unlikely that Maurkice took cash, there is a possibility that he and Mike attended some parties thrown by agents. Attending the party while still eligible to play a sport is a minor NCAA violation for Mike but the NCAA is investigating to see if Mike took any gifts or presents from the agents. If he did, those are more serious allegations. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The NCAA considers it suspicious that photos taken in Orlando at the College Football Awards Show and at some parties before the Sugar Bowl show the same person over and over again --- an "agent-runner" who works for the agent that Maurkice Pouncey eventually signed with. Apparently, the investigation so far has not turned up anything that would indicate that neither Maurkice or twin brother Mike took any cash but the NCAA is investigating to see if any gifts were received or improper favors given.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">There have been plenty of rumors that in light of the allegations that Mike Pouncey would not be attending SEC Media Days Wednesday morning as scheduled, but an extremely good and well connected source told me Tuesday evening that Mike will be here. His appearance would seem to indicate that investigations have not turned up anything that would implicate Mike in any serious wrong doing.</span>Franz Beardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16590128135126872279noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5301455279830782222.post-12151151649541866762010-07-19T20:37:00.000-07:002010-07-19T20:37:57.822-07:00Thoughts of the day: July 19, 2010<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">SEC Media Days begin Wednesday morning in Hoover, Alabama at the Wynfrey Hotel and that means two-a-days are about 10 days away. Here are a few thoughts to keep you occupied until I start blogging from Hoover when the first coach takes the podium Wednesday morning.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1. THE POUNCEY SITUATION: The NCAA and the University of Florida are cooperating in an investigation to determine if allegations that Maurkice Pouncey took a reported $100,000 from an "agent-runner" sometime between the SEC Championship Game and the Sugar Bowl. If Pouncey took the money, he would have been ineligible to play in the Sugar Bowl and it could force UF to vacate the win over Cincinnati. Considering the investigation has been ongoing since early June and UF self-reported the allegations as a possibility, there is no need to worry that the Florida football program is in any deep trouble. I'm quite confident that UF will investigate this thoroughly and my hope is that Maurkice didn't take the money. I've known Maurkice since his junior year at Lakeland High School and he's always been a straight up kid. I just can't see him jumping the gun on agent money by a couple of weeks and jeopardizing his own reputation and that of UF. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2. THE POUNCEY SITUATION, PART II: With ongoing investigations into agent involvement at both North Carolina and South Carolina, isn't it time for the NCAA to take some action to give back some of the control they have taken away from coaches over the past few years. The NCAA and institutions hold their coaches accountable for the off-the-field actions of their players yet they continue to make it more and more difficult for the coaches to be involved in the lives of their players. They've taken away athletic dorms and training tables, limited coach-player contact and they make it increasingly more difficult for coaches to get a good measure of a kid's character in the recruiting process by more and more insanely petty rules. If the NCAA wants to get a grip on the situation, then it's time to re-visit some of these very stupid rules and let the coaches take charge once again.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">3. AN INTERIM AD AT GEORGIA: I was really saddened when I saw Damon Evans step down as the athletic director at the University of Georgia. Damon was really one of the good guys in the business. He got to know writers by name and always made it a point to ask if there was anything he could do to make the stay in Athens more comfortable. I really thought he was on his way to a long, prosperous career as the athletic director when he was arrested for DUI and had a woman (not his wife) in the car with him. It just goes to show that it takes a lifetime to build a good reputation and only one stupid decision to ruin everything that it took years to create. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">4. AND AN INTERIM COACH AT VANDY: I was quite shocked when Bobby Johnson stepped down as the head coach at Vanderbilt last week. He said he couldn't make the commitment to coach in the manner in which he's accustomed, but I do think that beating his head against a concrete wall finally got to him and that's what it's like to coach football at Vanderbilt. I don't know if anyone could do a better job than Bobby Johnson did. It's an impossible situation particularly with an administration that doesn't have a serious commitment to football. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">5. THE PRESSURE IS ON ... : Alabama and Nick Saban. Alabama is the national champion and the expectation is that the Crimson Tide will repeat in 2010. Of course, Florida was expected to repeat last year and lost to Alabama in the SEC Championship Game. The weight of expectations finally got the best of the Gators in Atlanta. This year, the 800-pound gorilla is squarely on Alabama's shoulders. Nick Saban has been there and done that with national championships. He won his first one at LSU in 2003. The next season, with a team that was more talented and expected to repeat, Saban went 9-3. Now, I don't expect Alabama to lose three games this year, but I do believe that the pressure is going to take a heavy toll at some point in the season.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">6. THE COACHING HOT SEAT: It doesn't get any hotter than Baton Rouge where Les Miles has lost nine games in the two seasons since he won the 2007 national championship. In talking to some insiders at LSU, I'm told that Miles could be in big trouble even if he goes 10-2 this season if the two losses are to Florida and Alabama. I can't see LSU winning either of those two games and I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if the Tigers go 8-4 in the regular season. I can't see them winning big with Jordan Jefferson at quarterback. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">7. THE COACHING HOT SEAT, PART II: I think Mark Richt is a fine football coach, but tell that to the folks at Georgia. If the Poodles finish below Florida and South Carolina this year, Richt will have a whole lot of explaining to do to the Georgia faithful. I don't think anyone in the SEC East can touch Florida and if South Carolina gets any kind of decent play at quarterback the Gamecocks could easily go 9-3 or 10-2. Watch the second game of the season. If South Carolina beats Georgia, then there is every good chance the Poodles will struggle to finish 8-4. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">8. THESE GUYS COULD ALSO FLOP: Everybody seems to think Arkansas could actually challenge Alabama to win the SEC West but we'll find out quickly what the Razorbacks are all about. They've got Georgia and Alabama on the SEC schedule right out of the chute and if they tank those two games, it's going to be very hard to win more than 7-8 games. A 7-5 or 8-4 regular season would be a major disappointment in Fayetteville.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">9. THESE GUYS COULD SURPRISE: I think both Ole Miss is going to be dangerous. Last year, everyone expected the Rebels to contend with Alabama for the top spot in the West but as we've learned in following Houston Nutt-coached teams over the years, there is every chance for a flop when the expectations are high and every reason to fear when expectations are lowered and the talent seems just a notch above average. Nutt seems to always do his best coaching jobs when he has a bunch of over-achievers and somehow seems to have problems coaching a team to its potential when he's got the horses to do some damage. Ole Miss doesn't have great talent this year. I think they're going to sneak up on some folks.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">10. SOME BASKETBALL RECRUITING TIDBITS: Why is Billy Donovan smiling? That's because Bradley Beal (6-4, 190, St. Louis, MO Chaminade) has earned the right to be considered one of the top two or three players in the country. Beal is working Adonis Thomas (6-6, 211, Memphis, TN Melrose) and Johnny O'Bryant (6-10, 248, Cleveland, MS) really hard, too. Brad seems to think those two end up in Gainesville ... The Gators are already looking good for 2012 with Tony Parker (6-10, 260, Lithonia, GA Miller Grove) and Rob Carter (6-7, 255, Thomasville, GA Central) ... Kedren Johnson (6-4, 215, Lewisburg, TN Marshall County) is going to take an unofficial to Florida next week. Even though he's more of a combo guard, he's so skilled in every phase of the game that he's definitely getting a good solid look by the Florida staff ... If the Gators can't get the big man they want this year, they could redshirt one of the freshman bigs (Cody Larson or Will Yeguette) and save the scholarship for next year when they could very definitely land two outstanding bigs ... Georgia got a huge commitment Sunday night from Kentavious Caldwell (6-6, 190, Greenville, GA). He's one of the best long range shooters in the country and definitely a top 20 talent ... Everybody was turned off by Kentucky commit Marquis Teague (6-2, 175, Indianapolis, IN Pike) at Nike Peach Jam. In the semi-finals, Teague was throwing one bad pass after another and then berating teammates. With four minutes left in the game against Team Takeover, Teague was lifted after he air-mailed a pass about 10 feet over the head of a teammate and then tore into the poor guy for not being 12 feet tall with Michael Jordan hops. That's what it would have taken to catch that pass. If this is the best point guard in the country, then we're all in trouble. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I'll be blogging live from Hoover on Wednesday. Also look for a big announcement from the new 24/7 sports network coming very soon. </span>Franz Beardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16590128135126872279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5301455279830782222.post-15343458850811931432010-07-15T07:56:00.000-07:002010-07-15T07:56:32.559-07:00Nike Peach Jam: Brad Beal wins the personal and team battle<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">NORTH AUGUSTA, SC --- This was the battle of the best --- Florida commitment Brad Beal (6-4, 190, St. Louis, MO Chaminade Prep), who was the MVP of the FIBA 17-and-Under World Championships last week in Germany, and Kentucky commitment Michael Gilchrist (6-7, 190, Somerdale, NJ St. Patrick's), billed as the best rising senior in the country by at least three recruiting services. If you go by end results, score it a TKO for Beal, who scored 28 points including a clutch layup with 34.5 seconds to go to lead the St. Louis Eagles past Gilchrist and Philadelphia-based Team Final, 73-70, Thursday morning in the semifinals of the Nike Peach Jam at the Riverview Center. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">While Beal was money down the stretch, Gilchrist came up short in the clutch, missing two of three free throws with 1.8 seconds left when he had a chance to tie the game at 72-72. Overall, Gilchrist had great numbers --- 26 points, 12 rebounds and four assists --- but he came up empty in the final three minutes when he was stripped of the ball twice, both times leading to layups by the Eagles, missed a chippie from five feet and then bricked at the foul line.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Beal got a layup with 1:44 when he tipped the ball away from Gilchrist into the hands of Roosevelt Jones (6-4, 210, O'Fallon, IL), who then flipped a nice lead pass that Beal tracked down for the score that put the Eagles ahead for good, 70-68.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Gilchrist was hot early the second half when he hit three shots in a row to take Team Final to a 45-38 lead but St. Louis battled back to tie the game at 47-47 on a three-ball by Beal with 10:10 to go. It was a three-ball by Beal with 5:53 to go that gave the Eagles their first lead since early in the first half at 59-58.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">For St. Louis, it was a matter of quickness, great team defense and good passing that enabled the Eagles to overcome a serious height advantage by Team Final. Jones, a Butler commit who will be a wing guard in college, scored 17 points and hauled down nine rebounds while serving as the inside presence. He got help on the boards from Aaron Adeoye (6-6, 210, Marion, IL), who didn't score but grabbed nine rebounds and did an extraordinary defensive job on Team Final's Rakeem Christmas (6-9, 225, Philadelphia, PA Academy of the New Church), the tournament's shot blocking leader who finished with eight points, six rebounds and four blocked shots before fouling out in the final seconds. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Beal attributed the St. Louis win to teamwork and a never panic mentality.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"We've been playing together as a team for three years now so we all know each other and there aren't any surprises when we're out there," Beal said. "We know what we can and can't do and we don't panic when we're behind or playing taller teams. We've been there before so we know what to do. There wasn't any panic. We knew when we were down that we were coming back."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">After his MVP performance for the gold medal-winning USA team in Germany, Beal said a championship Wednesday afternoon in the Peach Jam would be a fitting way to close out the week.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"Personal honors are great but nothing beats winning championships," he said. "That's what we came here to do. We made the semifinals last year. This year we came here to win it."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">* * * </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">There is a new big man on the Florida recruiting horizon. Surprisingly, the Gators are now a major player for Amir Williams (6-10, 220, Beverly Hills, MI Detroit Country Day), who plays on the Nike AAU circuit for Detroit-based The Family. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Williams has been in regular contact with the Florida coaching staff recently and he's indicated that the Gators have a legitimate chance to land him. Other big men that the Gators are after include Christmas, Johnny O'Bryant (6-10, 245, Cleveland, MS), Cody Zeller (6-10, 210 Washington, IN) and Mikael Hopkins (6-9, 215, Hyattsville, MD DeMatha Catholic).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span>Franz Beardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16590128135126872279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5301455279830782222.post-28598830675940052202010-07-14T19:58:00.000-07:002010-07-14T19:58:24.230-07:00Nike Peach Jam: The best players<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">NORTH AUGUSTA, SC --- If nothing else, the Nike Peach Jam has re-opened the debate about who is the number one rising senior basketball player in the nation. As the tournament winds down to the final day and the crowning of a Nike national championship travel team, five different players have used their time in North Augusta to state their case as the nation's best.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">When June turned into July, Michael Gilchrist (6-7, 190, Somerdale, NJ St. Patrick's) was thought to be the best player but Bradley Beal (6-4, 190, St. Louis, MO Chaminade Prep), Austin Rivers (6-4, 192, Winter Park, FL), Marquise Teague (6-2, 175, Indianapolis, IN Pike) and James McAdoo (6-8, 210, Norfolk, VA Norfolk Christian) have all made a case for the number one position.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Gilchrist, who has put together three exceptional games since returning from Germany, where he played on the gold medal USA team at the FIBA 17-and-Under World Championships, has helped Philadelphia-based Team Final make it to the semifinals. The Kentucky commitment scored 27 points and grabbed 15 rebounds Wednesday night to lead Team Final past Boston-based BABC, 70-63. Team Final will face the St. Louis Eagles in Wednesday morning's first semifinal at 9. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Beal, who was the MVP at the FIBA championships, has had a decisive role in four consecutive wins by the St. Louis Eagles, who made it to the semifinals Wednesday night with an 82-76 win over the Oakland Soldiers. Beal, who is committed to Florida, scored 24 points, hitting 4-9 on three-pointers. After his scintillating performance in Hamburg and his outstanding play at both ends of the floor in North Augusta, Beal has earned the right to be considered for the top spot in the individual player rankings.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Austin Rivers couldn't shoot Each One Teach One into the Peach Jam playoffs but he's certainly had a July to remember. Rivers shot lights out at the FIBA Americas 18-and-under tournament in San Antonio at the end of June. Playing with a less than able supporting cast at Peach Jam, Rivers was forced to carry the entire scoring load for his team, delivering 27 points in his final game of pool play Wednesday morning. Rivers has a list of five schools --- Duke, Florida, North Carolina, Kansas and Kentucky.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Teague, like Gilchrist and Beal a member of the USA gold medal team in Germany, came up big with 30 points Wednesday night to lead Spiece Indy Heat to an 80-76 overtime win over Tidewater Virginia's Boo Williams Summer League. A Kentucky commitment, Teague is thought to be the top pure point guard in the country.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">McAdoo, who is committed to North Carolina, was the best big man for the USA team in Germany. He showed tremendous ball skills and great timing as a shot blocker for BWSL in his four games at Peach Jam. McAdoo scored 20 points and grabbed nine rebounds in the loss to Spiece Indy Heat. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So what's the answer? Which one of these guys is the best?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Maybe there is no answer.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"There are several kids who are all right there," said Paul Biancardi, the former Boston Celtics assistant who scouts high school kids for ESPN. "I'm not sure you could say that there is one player better than everyone else, but you can say there are four or five who are a cut above the rest."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So consider Beal, Gilchrist, McAdoo, Rivers and Teague the five elite players at Peach Jam. Are they the best five players in the country? You could make a case for each one that would be very difficult to argue.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">THE NEXT FIVE: In no certain order, the next group of five players would include Dorian Finney Smith (6-8, 185, Portsmouth, VA IC Norcum), Michael Gbinjie (6-6, 200, Chester, VA Benedictine), Ben McLemore (6-4, 180, St. Louis, MO Erskine), Kyle Wiltjer (6-9, 210, West Lake, OR Jesuit) and Rakeem Christmas (6-9, 225, Philadelphia, PA Academy of the New Church). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Gators have a legitimate shot to land both Finney-Smith and Christmas. Finney-Smith is thought to be a Florida-Virginia Tech battle while Christmas seems evenly split between Florida, Oklahoma, Texas and Florida International. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">McLemore, who scored 18 points for St. Louis Eagles against Drew Gooden Soldiers, has a long list of schools he's considering headed by Kansas. Missouri and Arkansas. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Gbinjie is a Duke commitment while Wiltjer has a long list that includes Arizona, Arizona State, Kansas and Kentucky. Christmas lists Florida, Texas, Oklahoma and Florida International on his short list. </span>Franz Beardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16590128135126872279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5301455279830782222.post-27917443587128660472010-07-14T13:29:00.000-07:002010-07-14T13:29:06.281-07:00Nike Peach Jam: Wednesday update with UF recruiting news<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">NORTH AUGUSTA, SC --- The quarter-finals are set for Wednesday evening at the Nike Peach Jam at Riverview Park and the big surprise is that Mac Irvin Fire didn't make the final eight teams that will compete for the Nike AAU travel team national championship. The talented Chicago-based team was thought to be one of the three best teams coming into the tournament, but following a narrow loss to the St. Louis Eagles Tuesday night, the Fire played with dead legs and no energy Wednesday morning, falling in shocking fashion to Louisiana Select, 78-68. That loss and a win by the Metro Hawks over All-Ohio Red ended Mac Irvin Fire's run at the Nike title and propelled the Metro Hawks into the quarter-finals where they will face DC-based Team Takeover, which went unbeaten (5-0) in pool play.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In other quarterfinal games, St. Louis Eagles will face Oakland-based Drew Gooden Soldiers; Boston-based BABC will face Philadelphia's Team Final and Spiece Indy Heat will square off with Tidewater Virginia's Boo Williams Summer League.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The St. Louis Eagles went 4-1 in pool play, 3-0 after Florida commitment Bradley Beal (6-4, 190, St. Louis, MO Chaminade Prep) got back from the FIBA World 17-and-Under Championships in Germany. Beal scored 12 points as part of a balanced Eagles attack that put away Oklahoma City's Athlete's First in the Wednesday morning games. Butler commitment Roosevelt Jones (6-4, 215, O'Fallon, IL) paced the Eagles with 23 points, his most productive game of the tournament.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">BABC lost Wednesday to Albany City Rocks but advanced to the playoffs as the second place team in Pool B. Florida has a strong interest in BABC center Nerlens Noel (6-10, 205, Everett, MA Tilton School) who has been reclassified as a 2013 recruit. Noel has blocked 22 shots in the tournament and deflected or altered at least three times that number. In other Pool B action Wednesday, Florida-based Each One Teach One lost to Detroit-based The Family, 73-71, despite 27 points from former Florida commitment Austin Rivers (6-4, 190, Winter Park, FL). Rivers was 10-27 from the field and only 4-14 from the three-point line. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Team Final went 3-0 once Kentucky commitment Michael Gilchrist returned to the US from Germany, where he was a teammate of Beal, James McAdoo (6-8, 210, Norfolk, VA Norfolk Christian), Marquise Teague (6-2, 175, Indianapolis, In Pike) and Tony Parker (6-9, 260, Lithonia, GA Miller Grove) on the gold medal winning USA team. Gilchrist scored 14 points in Wednesday morning's 87-71 win over California Supreme. Team Final got 14 points, five rebounds and two blocked shots from Rakeem Christmas (6-9, 225, Philadelphia, PA Academy of the New Church), who lists Florida, Oklahoma, Texas and Florida International on his short list.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Kentucky commitment Teague scored 20 points in Spiece Indy Heat's 70-66 win over Chicago's Mean Streets. McAdoo had 13 points, five rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot as part of BWSL's balanced attack that did in Georgia Stars, 61-50. Tony Parker, one of the nation's top bigs for 2012, scored 12 points and had eight rebounds in a losing effort for Georgia Stars. Kedren Johnson (6-4, 215, Lewisburg, TN Marshall County), who is a top prospect for the Gators, scored eight points to go with two assists and a steal in the losing effort. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Team Takeover went through its pool unbeaten with a shockingly easy 82-57 win over the Drew Gooden Soldiers. Mikael Hopkins (6-9, 215, Hyattsville, MD DeMatha Catholic) had five points and four rebounds. Hopkins is a big man prospect who is high on the Gators' list.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">* * * </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Gators have every intention to sign two more to the recruiting class of 2011, but if they can't get the big man they want, they'll hold the scholarship for 2012 where they look extremely good for Parker and a couple other bigs. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Gators plan to sign one wing and one big. Here are the four wings the Gators have prioritized:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1. ADONIS THOMAS (6-6, 211, Memphis, TN Melrose): Great offensive player who has a 4.3 weighted GPA and a strong SAT score. Memphis and Arkansas are the others in the race although Mississippi State is trying to make a move.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2. DORIAN FINNEY-SMITH (6-8, 185, Portsmouth, VA IC Norcum): Plays the point on offense and power forward on defense. The most versatile wing in the country. He's a long time family friend of Gator Vern Macklin. Florida's top competition is Virginia Tech. Has a 3.0 in the classroom and an 860 on his SAT.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">3. SAM THOMPSON (6-6, 190, Chicago, IL Whitney Young): The best perimeter defender in the country with great grades and a 29 on his ACT. Can play three positions well. Offensive game isn't quite there yet but he is a beast on the press and in transition.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">4. KEDREN JOHNSON (6-4, 215, Lewisburg, TN Marshall County): He is a combo guard who can play the point for extended minutes. Fills up the stat sheet. Doesn't do anything great but does a lot of things extremely well.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">* * * </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Gators have narrowed their search for bigs down to four for 2011. The priority list includes:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1. JOHNNY O'BRYANT (6-10, 248, Cleveland, MS): He's got the highest energy level of any big man in the country. Marvelous physical prospect who only needs some coaching to become a true dominator. It's going to come down to Florida and Mississippi State.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2. CODY ZELLER (6-10, 210, Washington, IN): He runs the floor so well and can shoot the ball well on the pick and roll plays. He got an offer from North Carolina earlier in the week and we'll have to see how that plays out. Entering the week he had Butler and Florida as his top two.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">3. RAKEEM CHRISTMAS (6-9, 225, Philadelphia, PA Academy of the New Church): When he plays hard he's something to watch. Doesn't always play hard, though. Florida was the first school to offer and the Gators have a legitimate chance to get him. He's slow playing everyone right now. Texas, Oklahoma and Florida International are on his short list.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">4. MIKAEL HOPKINS (6-9, 225, Hyattsville, MD DeMatha Catholic): He's really leaning toward Syracuse right now but he's planning to attend Florida's elite camp in early August. If you want to press, there is no big man better in the country except for McAdoo, who is going to Carolina.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">* * * </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">BEST GUESS SCENARIO: A week ago, I would have had it another way, but based on the bond that has formed between Beal, O'Bryant and Thomas, I have to think the Gators finish strong by adding O'Bryant and Thomas to finish out their class.</span>Franz Beardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16590128135126872279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5301455279830782222.post-32280189960977784572010-07-13T16:27:00.000-07:002010-07-13T17:21:08.607-07:00Nike Peach Jam: Statement game for Brad Beal<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">NORTH AUGUSTA, SC --- The life returned to Bradley Beal's legs Tuesday evening. After a morning session in which he had trouble elevating after an all-day flight from Germany following the FIBA World 17-and-Under Championships where he was the MVP for the gold medal-winning USA team, Beal scored 25 points while adding eight rebounds and five assists as the St. Louis Eagles held on for dear life to take a 75-69 over Mac Irvin Fire at the Nike Peach Jam.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Eagles led by as many as 18 points in both the first and second halves and they held a 13-point lead with 4:44 to go in the game but the Mac Irvin press forced a barrage of turnovers to cut the margin to one, 70-69, with 28.9 seconds to go. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It was a must win for the Eagles, who suffered a Monday evening loss to the New York-based Metro Hawks while Beal was busy traveling to North Augusta. They go into the final game of pool play Wednesday morning with a 3-1 record, identical to Mac Irvin Fire, which suffered its first loss and the Metro Hawks. St. Louis plays Oklahoma City-based Athletes First Wednesday morning while Mac Irvin Fire will go against Louisiana Select. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">With Florida prospect Sam Thompson (6-6, 190, Chicago, IL Whitney Young) taking the initial assignment to guard Beal, it looked like a classic matchup of the nation's best shooting guard (Beal) and the nation's top perimeter defender (Thompson). It took Beal five minutes to force the Mac Irvin Fire coaches to change their stragegy. The Eagles simply curled Beal off picks at the top of the key and once he turned the corner into the paint, he either scored or got fouled. Thompson picked up his second foul three minutes into the game. Two minutes later, Mac Irvin Fire switched to smaller, quicker point guards. At the eight minute mark, it was time to switch again, this time to a zone.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">For the game, Beal hit 6-13 shots but was just 2-7 from the three-point line. He was 0-4 in the Tuesday morning session and missed his fifrst two threes Tuesday evening before he found the range again. Beal finished 11-12 from the foul line with all his free throws coming in the first half.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"I felt a lot better tonight than I did this morning," Beal said. "I was just too tired this morning and I didn't have any energy. I got some rest this afternoon and felt good again. We got the win and I helped so that was important to me." </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Thompson finished the game with nine points. He had a chance to tie the game with two free throws with 28.9 seconds to go but made the first and missed the second.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">* * * </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Beal's Tuesday night performance coupled with his MVP effort in the FIBA tournament in Germany makes another strong statement that the Florida commitment is the best player in the country regardless of position. Beal is a gifted offensive player and while he is a tremendously gifted shooter, he isn't limited to the offensive end of the court. He's a tenacious defender, a rebounder who relies on great position even though he's got serious springs in his legs, and a court-aware passer who sees the entire floor and gets the ball to open teammates.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Most recruiting services had Beal rated as one of the five or six best prospects for the class of 2011 but after his extraordinary July, you could call him the best player in the country and wouldn't get much argument from anyone who has seen him play.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Without question, Beal is the most important recruit for Billy Donovan and the Florida Gators since Mike Miller. </span>Franz Beardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16590128135126872279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5301455279830782222.post-75225217775764144122010-07-13T13:58:00.000-07:002010-07-13T13:58:14.892-07:00Nike Peach Jam: Morning session, day two<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">NORTH AUGUSTA, SC --- Now that the European adventure is over and done with for Bradley Beal (6-4, 190, St. Louis, MO Chaminade Prep), the St. Louis Eagles can get back to the business of trying to win what is the Nike national travel team championship at the Nike Peach Jam. Beal, the sharpshooting guard and Florida commitment who was selected the Most Valuable Player at the FIBA World 17-and-Under Championships while leading the USA team to the gold medal in Hamburg, Germany, spent all day Monday traveling to get to North Augusta and it was obvious that he didn't have his legs under him, but his presence was essential for the Eagles, who suffered a two-point loss to the New York-based Metro Hawks in the second session Monday.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">With Florida coach Billy Donovan and assistants Rob Lanier and Richard Pitino looking on, Beal scored 10 points, grabbed four rebounds, handed out five assists and had three steals to help the Eagles to a hard fought 63-54 win over Louisiana Select Tuesday morning. Although Beal couldn't get a three-pointer to drop --- he had three of his four attempts do everything but go down --- his presence on the court was a steadying factor when Louisiana Select came back from a 10-point deficit to take the lead with a little over four minutes remaining. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"I couldn't get my shot going," Beal said after the Eagles improved to 2-1 in the pool play section of the tournament. "I never got into any rhythm at all. My legs were a little dead but they'll be okay later on. I'll get some rest this afternoon and I'll be all right tonight."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The top two teams in each of the four pools will advance to the quarter-finals, which will begin Wednesday evening. The Eagles and the Metro Hawks are both chasing the Chicago-based Mac Irvin Fire, which is 3-0 after a tough Tuesday morning win over the Metro Hawks. Mac Irvin Fire arrived late to the North Augusta Recreation Center venue Tuesday morning and played the Metro Hawks without the benefit of any warmups. Players were still arriving two minutes into the first half. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">While Beal struggled in the first game, Florida target Sam Thompson (6-6, 190, Chicago, IL Whitney Young) couldn't get it going at least on the offensive end Chicago-based Mac Irvin Fire's 59-49 win over the Metro Hawks. Thompson arrived barely in time to lace up his shoes and take the floor. After hitting a short jumper off a spin move and nailing a three-ball among his first three shots, Thompson had problems getting the ball to go in the hole the rest of the way. He was 0-6 from the foul line including an 0-3 hat trick with no time left on the clock at the end of the first half, finishing the game with five points, three rebounds and three steals to go with five turnovers. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Thompson was closely watched by Donovan and Pitino while Lanier watched Dorian Finney-Smith (6-8, 185, Portsmouth, VA IC Norcum), who scored 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the Boo Williams Summer League's 71-48 loss to Boston-based BAB on another court. BWSL got 13 points and six rebounds from star center James McAdoo (6-8, 210, Norfolk, VA Norfolk, Christian) who arrived late Monday night from Gerrmany, where he was a member of the USA gold medal team in Germany along with Beal. In that game, 2012 Florida prospect Nerlens Noel (6-10, 205, Everett, MA The Tilton School) scored eight points, grabbed eight rebounds and was credited with three blocked shots although he altered or deflected at least five others. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Donovan also got a good look at Omar Calhoun (6-4, 180, Middle Village, NY Christ the King), who scored 24 points in the New York Gauchos' 53-52 loss to Milwaukee-based Playground Elite, which was led by 2012 stud Cinmeon Bowers (6-7, 240, Milwaukee, WS Rufus King), who scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Bowers, who reclassified from 2011 to 2012, showed impressive ball handling and passing skills along with a nice touch to about 18 feet.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A player of interest for the Gators is 2012 do-it-all Kyle Anderson Jr. (6-8, 200, Paterson, NJ Catholic), who turned in his third straight impressive game in New Jersey Playaz 92-60 rout of Spiece Indy Heat. Anderson's stat line read 13 points, eight rebounds, nine assists and four steals. Marquise Teague, who traveled all day Monday to get back from Germany along with Beal and McAdoo, was ineffective for Spiece. The Kentucky commitment had just three points (1-8 from the field and 1-5 from the foul line) in 16 minutes although he did have seven assists.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">* * *</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">With Beal a strong commitment and Rutgers transfer Mike Rosario already in the house, the Gators have room for two more in the recruiting class of 2011. One of the scholarships will go to a long, lean athletic type and the other to a big man. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The long, lean types are Thompson, Finney-Smith, Adonis Thomas (6-6, 211, Memphis, TN Melrose) and Kedren Johnson (6-4, 215, Lewisburg, TN Marshall County), a combo guard who is playing with the Georgia Stars in North Augusta. Johnson was impressive Tuesday morning, scoring 14 points while grabbing 11 rebounds and handing out seven assists to lead the Georgia Stars to a 74-72 win over Each One Teach One, which got a 35-point effort from Austin Rivers (6-4, 190, Winter Park, FL). Rivers, who was once committed to Florida, was watched for the third consecutive game by Duke Coach Mike Kryzyzewski.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Gators are focused in on four big men: Rakeem Christmas (6-9, 225, Philadelphia, PA Academy of the New Church), Cody Zeller (6-10, 210, Washington, IN), Johnny O'Bryant (6-10, 245, Cleveland, TN) and Mikael Hopkins (6-9, 215, Hyattsville, MD DeMatha Catholic). Christmas, who had two points and no rebounds in 13 minutes Tuesday morning before fouling out after only 13 minutes of play in Team Final's 60-54 win over Mean Streets, has Florida, Texas and Oklahoma at the top of his short list. Zeller has had Butler and Florida at the top of his list but with North Carolina offering recently, the Tar Heels have come into play. Zeller's older brother will be a UNC junior this fall. O'Bryant has Florida on his short list but the team to beat will be Mississippi State. Hopkins, who scored 12 points, grabbed five rebounds and blocked two shots in Team Takeover's 74-61 win over Alabama Challenge Tuesday morning, says Syracuse is his leader but he plans to attend Florida's elite camp in August. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Florida's coaching staff is also considering the option of signing just one long, lean type while redshirting either freshman Will Yeguette (6-8) or Cody Larson (6-9) and holding a scholarship until 2012. If the staff isn't confident it can land one of the four big man targets, consider the redshirt/hold the ship possibility as a likely scenario</span>Franz Beardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16590128135126872279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5301455279830782222.post-15419990662637011142010-07-12T21:02:00.000-07:002010-07-12T21:02:16.668-07:00Nike Peach Jam: Evening session, final wrapup day one<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">NORTH AUGUSTA, SC --- Just call Nerlens Noel (6-10, 205, Everett, MA The Tilton School) the Secretary of Defense. The long, lean big man, who burst onto the national basketball recruiting scene last year at the Nike Peach Jam, returned to the scene of his first nationally-recognized success Monday and turned in two dominating performances to lead BABC to a pair of wins including a stunning 63-51 shocker over Austin Rivers-led Each One Teach One in the evening session.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In a Monday morning win over the Georgia Stars, Noel delivered four points, 14 rebounds and nine blocked shots plus at least 13 deflections. Monday night, he made it impossible for Rivers (6-4, 190, Winter Park, FL) and Trevor Lacey (6-3, 215, Huntsville, AL) to get to the rack with seven more blocked shots and an equal number of deflections. Rivers, who scored 29 points Monday morning, and Lacey, who had 18, managed only 13 and 10 points respectively Monday night.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Noel's best block was a total rejection of an attempted dunk by Each One Teach One's Steve Mondu-Missi (6-6, 215, Montverde, Fl Montverde Academy). Mondu-Missi came flying in from the right wing with the ball held high behind his head for an attempted windmill jam but Noel met him in midair and got all ball.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Noel, a rising junior at The Tilton School in New Hampshire, has a four-school favorite's list headed by Florida. Also on the list are Georgetown, Syracuse and Providence. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"I really like Florida a lot," Noel said. "Coach Donovan is a great coach and they have great academics."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Noel plans to major in communications wherever he lands. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">* * * </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Rivers was relegated to shooting jump shots when Noel took the paint away. He finished with 13 points but only 1-6 on three-pointers as Duke Coach Mike Kryzyzewski watched on along with Kansas coach Bill Self, North Carolina coach Roy Williams and Florida assistant Rob Lanier. Rivers also turned the ball over six times against the BABC press. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Rivers, who has Florida on his list of five favorites along with Kansas, Duke, North Carolina and Kentucky, will stay for his senior year at Winter Park High School even though he could graduate early and start college.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"You're only a high school senior one time," Rivers said, adding that part of the motivation to stay in high school rather than do an early entry in college is because he is planning to make the jump to the NBA after his freshman year in college. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">* * * </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Both Lanier and UF assistant Richard Pitino were on hand for Team Final's stunning 85-82 double overtime win over New Jersey Playaz. The Florida assistants were there to watch Team Final big man Rakeem Christmas (6-9, 225, Philadelphia, PA Academy of the New Church), whose stat line read 11 points, eight rebounds and seven blocked shots. Christmas has Texas, Oklahoma, Florida and Florida International on his short list.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Lanier and Pitino were also on hand to watch New Jersey Playaz all-purpose stud Kyle Anderson Jr. (6-8, 205, Paterson, NJ Catholic), who followed up a 17-point, 11 rebound and six assist performance in the morning session with 20 points, 15 rebounds and three assists in the evening. Anderson is so versatile that he evokes memories of Florida's Chandler Parsons. Anderson plays the point and wing on offense and plays in the post on defense. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">* * * </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Sam "I Am" Thompson (6-6, 190, Chicago, IL Whitney Young) has a connection to Yannick Noah, famous tennis playing dad of former Gator All-American Joakim Noah. Per his mom, when Sam was much younger, he wore his hair in long braids just like Yannick and he got the chance to serve as Yannick's ball boy at a Chicago tournament.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">* * * </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Lanier was on hand to watch Dorian Finney-Smith (6-8, 185, Portsmouth, VA IC Norcum) score eight points and grab eight rebounds in Boo Williams Summer League's 58-53 loss to Albany City Rocks. Earlier in the day, Finney-Smith had 13 points and 14 rebounds in a BWSL win over Detroit-based The Family.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Finney-Smith, who plays power forward on defense and point on offense for his high school team, said after the loss to ACR that he has narrowed his choices to Virginia, Virginia Tech, Maryland, Florida and Wake Forest. Finney-Smith has a 3.0 in the classroom and a qualifying 826 score on the SAT. </span>Franz Beardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16590128135126872279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5301455279830782222.post-55798950413466400502010-07-12T10:37:00.000-07:002010-07-12T10:37:56.854-07:00Nike Peach Jam, Morning Update #2<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">NORTH AUGUSTA, SC --- Sam Thompson (6-6, 190, Chicago, IL Whitney Young) provided the highlight reel dunks for the Monday morning session at the Nike Peach Jam with two gravity-defying throwdowns to help spark Mac Irvin Fire to a relatively easy win over Oklahoma City-based Athletes First. Thompson, who continues to list Florida, Oregon State and Ohio State as his top three schools, had a two-handed dunk back in the first half when he flew down the lane to jam back a missed Wayne Blackshear (6-5, 215, Chicago, IL Morgan Park) that was the best dunk of the day until he topped himself with a one-hander on a breakaway in the final three minutes of the game. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Thompson, who made a qualifying 29 on his ACT on the first try --- "I'm gonna take it again ... I know I can do better than that," he said --- says he is going to take his time before making his final decision.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"Last part of October, first part of November before the signing period," Thompson said. "I'm going to make sure I make the right choice."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">* * * </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Former Florida commitment Austin Rivers (6-4, 190, Winter Park, FL) scored 29 points in Each One Teach One's 85-64 win over Albany City Rocks. Rivers was 5-11 on his three-pointers, 9-20 overall from the field. Post game, Rivers said Florida, Duke and North Carolina have been joined by Kansas and Kentucky.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"Those are the five ... I'll choose one of them," Rivers said, adding that he plans to wait until the college season is under way to make a choice. That means Rivers won't be signing in November but waiting until the spring. </span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"I want to see how people do, how they play and how their players are doing," Rivers said. "I have to make sure I'm getting the right fit."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Rivers' teammate Trevor Lacey (6-3, 215, Huntsville, AL) scored 18 points and grabbed eight rebounds for Each One Teach One. Lacey is thought to be an Alabama lean although Tennessee is making a very strong push. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">* * * </span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A name to keep an eye on for 2012 is Kyle Anderson (6-8, 210, Paterson, NJ Paterson Catholic), whose game reminds everyone of Chandler Parsons. Anderson doesn't do a lot of things great, but he does everything very well. His numbers in New Jersey Playaz 80-49 win over California Supreme were 17 points, 11 rebounds, six assists, two blocked shots and one steal.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">All the SEC, ACC and Big East schools are on him.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">* * * </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Florida commitment Bradley Beal (6-4, 190, St. Louis, MO Chaminade Prep), the MVP of the FIBA World 17-and-Under Championships for the gold medal-winning USA team, will be arriving in Augusta tonight and will be suiting up tomorrow for the St. Louis Eagles, who got a 79-65 win over All-Ohio Red behind 21 points from Ben McLemore (6-5, 200, St. Louis, MO Eskridge) and 20 from Butler commit Roosevelt Jones (6-3, 210, O'Fallon, IL).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">* * * </span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Earlier in the morning, Nerlens Noel (6-10, 210, Everett, MA Tilton School) scored only four points, but he hauled down 14 rebounds and blocked nine shots to lead Boston-based BABC to a 68-60 win over Georgia Stars. Noel has Florida high on his list along with several Big East schools.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Without Tony Parker (6-9, 260, Lithonia, GA Miller Grove) in the middle, the Georgia Stars had no inside presence against Noel's dominating defense. Kedren Johnson (6-4, 215, Lewisburg, TN Marshall County), who has Florida on his short list along with Vanderbilt and Alabama, scored 10 points, grabbed seven rebounds and handed out four assists in defeat. Johnson is expected to choose between Vanderbilt and Alabama in early August.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">* * * </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Rakeem Christmas (6-9, 225, Philadelphia, PA Academy of the New Church), scored 12 points, grabbed nine rebounds and blocked five shots in Team Final's loss to Spiece Indy Heat. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Over on the winning side, Nic Moore (5-10, 170, Lake Winona, IN Warsaw) scored 26 points, grabbed six rebounds and handed out five assists while taking over the point for Marquise Teague (6-2, 175, Indianapolis, IN Pike) who is on his way to Augusta from Germany where he played on the USA team at the FIBA worlds. </span>Franz Beardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16590128135126872279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5301455279830782222.post-76079103325521711312010-07-12T07:53:00.000-07:002010-07-12T07:53:32.406-07:00Nike Peach Jam, Morning Update<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">NORTH AUGUSTA, SC --- Spiece Indy Heat made a real statement in the first session of the Nike Peach Jam Monday morning, scoring a decisive win over Philadephia-based Team Final. Spiece was playing without Marquise Teague (6-2, 175, Indianapolis, IN Pike) while Team Final was without Michael Gilchrist (6-7, 190, Somerdale, NJ St. Patrick's), both of whom are en route from Hamburg, Germany, where they were starters on the USA team that won the gold medal at the FIBA World 17-and-Under Championships.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Even without Teague, Spiece didn't miss a beat thanks to point guard Nic Moore (5-10, 170, Winona Lake, IN Warsaw), who constantly wore out the Team Final guards, beating them off the dribble and showing off as a spot up shooter. Moore, who scored 31 points in the Indiana state championship game back in March, has offers from Butler and a bunch of mid-majors, but his performance at camps in June has plenty of scouts from Big Ten and other high majors looking at him. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Florida was taking another look at Rakeem Christmas (6-9, 225, Philadelphia, PA Academy of the New Church). Christmas had some outstanding moments such as a full sprint down the court to dunk-finish an alley-oop and a couple of nice looking turn arounds in the lane, but he doesn't seem to play hard except in spurts. There's no question he's got the talent but you have to question the desire. He has Florida, Oklahoma and Texas still at the top of his list but there is a strange fascination with Florida International and Isiah Thomas, which I'll never figure out. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Christmas had way too many problems handling 2012 stud center Aaron Hammons (6-11, 260, Carmel, IN), whose offer list is off the charts. Hammons says he's hearing from everyone, particularly Big Ten schools and Xavier. Kentucky is a very visible presence.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Spiece has another 2012 stud in Austin Burgett (6-9, 210, Avon, IN), who plays power forward on defense and small forward on offense. Burgett hit three threes in a row in the second half when Spiece broke the game open. He's got a picture perfect jumper that's so fundamentally sound you know he'll never go into a prolonged shooting slump. He's got Butler and Xavier all over him, but his offer sheet will fill up soon.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">* * * </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Florida assistant Richard Pitino was at an early game watching the Georgia Stars against Boston-based BABC. Florida is very interested in Nerlens Noel (6-10, 210, Everett, MA Tilton), who is perhaps the best shot blocker in this tournament. Noel has a developing offensive game and he's skinny as a rail, but there is no questioning his ability to alter shots and take away the paint. He's got Florida on a short list that includes all the Big East schools.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Gators maintain an interest in Kedren Johnson (6-4, 215, Lewisburg, TN Marshall County) of the Georgia Stars but he's likely deciding between Vanderbilt and Alabama. The Gators have an increasing interest in Malcolm Brogdon (6-4, 190, Norcross, GA Greater Atlanta Christian), but he's a backup for top targets Sam Thompson (6-6, 190, Chicago, IL Whitney Young), Adonis Thomas (6-6, 211, Memphis, TN Melrose) and Dorian Finney-Smith (6-8, 185, Portsmouth, VA IC Norcum).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">When he gets back from Germany (played on the gold medal USA team), the Gators will be looking at Stars big man Tony Parker (6-9, 260, Lithonia, GA Miller Grove). Parker, Gilchrist, Teague and Florida commitment Bradley Beal (6-4, 190, St. Louis, MO Chaminade Prep), the MVP of the world championships, will all be on hand Tuesday.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Florida assistant Rob Lanier is taking a long look at 2012 combo guard Omar Calhoun (6-4, 180, Middle Village, NY Christ the King), who has shown terrific range from beyond the arc playing for the New York Gauchos against Minneapolis-based Howard Pulley All-Stars. </span>Franz Beardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16590128135126872279noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5301455279830782222.post-20087014898436898742010-07-10T05:49:00.000-07:002010-07-10T05:49:32.191-07:00Is Brad Beal the best basketball prospect in the country?<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">While the experts are debating among themselves about Michael Gilchrist (6-7, 190, Somerdale, NJ St. Patrick's), Austin Rivers (6-4, 190, Winter Park, FL), Marquis Teague (6-2, 175, Indianapolis, IN Pike) and Quincy Miller (6-10, 200, High Point, NC Westchester Academy), Florida commitment Bradley Beal (6-4, 190, St. Louis, MO Chaminade Prep) is making a subtle statement that he belongs in the conversation that answers the question who is the top high school senior in the country? Beal is averaging 18.3 points per game for the USA team that has moved into the semifinals of the FIBA World 17-and-Under Championships in Hamburg, Germany but it was his Friday performance against Australia that had everybody buzzing. Beal knocked down 7-9 on his three-point shots as the USA turned what was expected to be their toughest game to date into a 105-70 rout. For the tournament, Brad is hitting 48.9 percent (22-45) on his three-pointers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Beal was always considered an elite shooter but this summer he's shown all the dimensions of his game. He's proven he is a good enough ball handler and distributor to play the point, can rebound with the big guys and play pit bull, shut down defense even when asked to go head to head with opponents who are 3-4 inches taller. The shooting has always drawn a crowd. The other aspects of his game are starting to convince folks that he might just have the best overall game of any prospect in the country.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">What makes Brad so special is that he's never lost sight of the things that are important in life. He's a God first, family second kid who has never been full of himself, a straight A student in the classroom who is popular with teammates and friends because he has this habit of always putting them first. You wonder why he's the unparalleled leader on the USA team in Germany? That's it right there.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I think he's the most important recruit Billy Donovan has landed since Mike Miller.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So Southern Cal athletic director Mike Garrett had to send a letter of apology to Florida AD Jeremy Foley this week because of those erroneous accusations by USC freshman Dillon Baxter, who claimed that Florida coaches contacted him within hours after the NCAA dropped the hammer on the Trojans. The apology letter raises two very serious questions in my mind: (1) Why isn't Lane Kiffin being questioned for his part in this; and (2) how is it that Mike Garrett still has a job?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Personally, I don't think Dillon Baxter is smart enough to accuse Florida, Alabama and several other schools of contacting him illegally. Having spent a year listening to the lies and pompous allegations of Lane Kiffin when he was at Tennessee, I have no doubt that the Baxter allegations were a plot conceived by Kiffin, who has convinced himself that he can say or do anything he wants without consequences. Remember, this is the same Lane Kiffin who made Al Davis seem sane and that takes some doing. Al Davis called Lane a pathological liar. After the year he spent at Tennessee, I'm convinced Al was onto something. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The fact that the University of Southern California hasn't fired Mike Garrett tells me that the school thinks it operates under a separate set of rules from the rest of the schools that make up the NCAA. I find it amazing that USC is appealing the NCAA sanctions. The school administrators should be down on their knees thanking the good Lord that the NCAA didn't serve up the death penalty and eliminate both the football and basketball programs for two or three years as punishment for their involvement with Reggie Bush and O.J. Mayo. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I remain convinced that Bush and Mayo aren't the only ones who took money and ran the rules into the ground at USC. I believe they are simply the two most visible athletes and because of their high profile, they forced the NCAA to act. The fact that Mike Garrett, who was the overseer while all these shenanigans took place, is still employed tells me the NCAA should have offered up harsher penalties. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">When I see what happened at Southern Cal, I'm really thankful that Jeremy Foley is Florida's athletic director. Since Foley became the AD in 1992, Florida is the only athletic program in the Southeastern Conference that hasn't had at least one team hit with NCAA sanctions. Just since Foley has been the AD, Alabama has taken an NCAA hit three times for football and once for basketball. Even Vanderbilt has had probation (women's basketball). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I've been saying for years that Foley is the best in the country when it comes to bottom line and for insisting that every one of his coaches play within the framework of the rules. Florida's second place finish in the Director's Cup this year offers up the perfect example of how you can play by the rules and still win championships. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We're a couple of weeks away from Friday Night Lights, which means get ready for a rash of football commitments. I hear through a few well-placed sources that the Gators have as many as six kids who haven't gone public with their commitments to Urban Meyer and that they're saving them for the days that follow FNL.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">When Urban Meyer conceived the Friday Night Lights concept in the summer of 2005, I remember how the fine folks at the Harvard of the Panhandle ridiculed him and said it was a rather dumb idea by a coach who was going to get his comeuppance in the Southeastern Conference. Well, in the five years since, Urban Meyer has turned Florida into the ultimate recruiting machine and the Gators have won two national championships and produced a Heisman Trophy winner. The Seminoles? They've been to the Emerald Nuts Bowl twice, have had 14 wins stripped from their football program, forcefully retired their icon of a head coach and they've gotten lack of institutional control slapped on their athletic program because of an academic cheating scandal that had its roots in the football program. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Oh, and there is that little matter of imitation is the greatest form of flattery. The Seminoles have tried to copy Friday Night Lights with their own "Seminole Showcase" without a whole lot of success. Meanwhile, Friday Night Lights has become the nation's premier one-night camp that nearly every uncommitted player in the country wants to attend.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I'm off to Augusta today for the Nike Peach Jam. It's a chance to watch the best basketball prospects in the country and an opportunity to hang around with the best coaches in college basketball. I'll be blogging daily, offering up observations of the players and comments from the coaches.</span>Franz Beardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16590128135126872279noreply@blogger.com2