Honestly I am surprised. I don't care who the coach is, when your talent is as superior as our was last night, you just have to win that game. I was disappointed at halftime, but knew (yes, KNEW) we'd come back and win going away in the second half. Instead, we continued to play soft. We continued to make the same mistakes mentally, physically and tactically. All against a winless team from a conference that had NEVER beaten an SEC team. I won't be surprised when we lose a game or two because we slowed down the game with a lead. But last night was a huge surprise to me. Historically surprising
I agree. Seed is more important to me. My point is if he barely gets in and goes on a huge run then he may be safe.
Eh...i don't think that's a relative comparison though. Talent acquisition is a different process in the NBA than in college. Also the Bulls management had major issues and were lucky to have Jordan mask them which is why they have been a joke for the most part since. Look at Arizona for example. Lute Olson established them as a perennial top team. He also had several early tournament exits but they had a great program. Sean miller has kept them winning high 20s to 30games a year. People can say that Florida basketball isn't Arizona but for 20 years florida under Donovan was as consistent a program as anyone in the country early tourney exits and all. Sean Miller had a transitional year that was below their standard and then hit the ground running. White hasn't shown the ability to improve anything since year 2.
I think you actually are making a case in favor of Mike White’s performance. Is Florida not at least equivalent to Arizona in success?
There are similarities but not many. Maybe making the tourney each year but thats about it. The tournament matters to me but not as much as others. I hate to compare us to them because integrity wise I take White over Miller every time but Miller won 30 plus games a year regardless of their tournament performance. The tournament is a one and done crapshoot but if you put in strong teams year after year the damn will burst eventually and you'll make a run. Yeah White gets to the tournament but the teams limp in and our seasons are typically listless with no clear direction. I enjoyed florida basketball under Billy even when we were a yearly early tourney exit because we played exciting basketball, were in contention for the SEC each year, competed in the SEC tourney etc etc. It doesn't have to be a title team to be a good year if there are other intangibles. We at least hoped the damn would burst under Billy because we always knocked on the door. I don't have that confidence in White's teams anymore. I give that white was absolutely cursed with injuries like no one before but we need to see yearly growth and we simply don't.
FTR I'm not jumping off a ledge I just think we will see the same thing we always see. Maybe a couple wins followed by another let down. At this point they have to prove to be able to break the trend they have set several years in a row now. Can't fault fans for expecting the expected
You don’t think the Chiozza breakout year was exciting? This year didn’t start off exciting? Appleby’s buzzer beater? Our defense crushing opponents the first few games? Still a lot of basketball left to be played, but it’s been an exciting season so far. We laid an egg last night no doubt about it, but let’s wait and see before we write off the season.
We're living off the chiozza year. The offense under Muschamp was boring but we lived off of 2012 because the results that year were exciting save for the Georgia debacle. Of course the Appleby shot was exciting but our brand of basketball has not been. This year seemed like it might be based off the strength and agression of the defense but that has disappeared two games in a row now. We shall see...
We were within one possession of the Sweet 16 (or more) after losing our best player in a tragic medical emergency.
Speaking to his post, I share a similar sentiment in that it doesn't ever really feel like we are playing for something and so there's not a whole lot of excitement generated. We get to midway through the SEC season and we are out of contention. We play on Thursdays of the SEC tournament and not a threat to win. We get in the NCAA tournament as a middling seed and not a threat to make a run. We aren't a bad program by any stretch, but we aren't a program competing for anything either. We're just sort of stuck in the middle, out of the national consciousness.
What is it that you want? That others speak about the Gators like we are Alabama football? We are a very good program.
No, I want us to compete. I want us to be in the conversation for SEC championships. I want to get to March and have some hope of making a run.
The problem is exactly as CMW stated, we were: "out-toughed", "they were aggressor", "energy level was bad". We've all repeatedly observed these problems throughout the years & discussed them here. CMW apparently sees them as well. Sitting emotionless on the sideline while this happens leads me to believe that he's the same outside of games, i.e. it's not addressed there either. Knowing what the problem is & failing, or unable, to address it seems to indicate a lack of leadership or aggressiveness in CMW himself. I really thought that, after the covid year & with this group of aggressive players, CMW had found his inner aggressive personality & turned the corner.
I always feel as though we can make a run in March. Does losing KJ last year not figure into your assessment of Coach White?
Of course it does, but I'm not looking at White through a single loss here or there. I too always get excited about the tournament and will hold out hope, but lets be realistic, when you are getting in as a 7 seed you aren't looking at much of a shot to make a run. I like White and will continue to cheer for his success, but we are also 7 years in and keep seeing the same stories play themselves out year after year. I don't feel like I have too high of demands for UF, I want us to compete for SEC championships and get decent seeds in the NCAA tournament. Hopefully this year plays out differently and we can forget about this loss, I just don't have much confidence given our recent history.
Of all the schools who go through coaches trying to find the “right guy”… how many of them suddenly become conference champion contenders and deep run favorites? I just don’t think people are realistic when it comes to success at this level. Coach isn’t some dude who can’t win. It hasn’t lined up exactly for him yet, but it hasn’t at Gonzaga, either. He’s a good coach with principles. He may never win one, but that would be the norm for pretty much any good to great coach. Winning it all is rare. I also don’t get this recent obsession with conference championships. They are a means to and end, period. The big prize is a national championship. I probably receive more negative ratings for this than anything else I post, but it’s how I feel. If we somehow lost our conference championship every year but won the national championship every year, I’d be fine with that.
We just have to agree to disagree. Competitors play for what's in front of them. Spurrier would vehemently disagree with your take on conference championships. Winning coaches don't rationalize losing goals that are set before them. What separates teams that win their conferences from us? Meyer, Spurrier Donovan etc always had those goals. What's the point of playing at all if you don't care about other accomplishments than winning it all? None if that matters regarding my points anyway. Some of us want to see metric improvement whether it be within each season or from one season to the next. Figure out the scoring droughts. Hasn't happened. Find an offensive identity. Hasn't happened. Defend home court. We lose often at home. Carry momentum into the post season or from year to year. Doesn't happen.
It’s not that I don’t care about them at all, nor that I don’t think we should try to win them. I’m saying, as a fan, they are not that important to me.
