Coach White has guided this team from the disaster last year in Tallahassee, two years of covid restrictions, players, crowds and And losing the POY in Keyontae, playing short handed with many new players. Being the stand up guy he is, they kept Keyontae around to coach again this year waiting hopefully for clearance. Well that was great for Key and the right thing to do. Now, this year brings in four transfers after players ran out on him when things were tough. Adding two HS recruits, we were close to being a full team, but needing another big. We started out winning a tournament in Fort Myers, beating California from the PC12 and Ohio State from the Big 10, now we were 5-‘0. One of the first three was FSU, there is a god. Other notable wins Miss St., South Carolina in Columbia, Oklahoma State in Gainseville, P12. This one was after some Covid restriction of players. JJ getting his eye blown up at Tennessee after starting to show what he is capable of. In the Okie State game we were playing out of control and not very smart or with enthusiasm. CMW and the coaches conferred and started Niels Lane, Kennedy and Gatkek in the second half. I was sitting in the end zone down low and wondered, “WTH is going on”. Well they played locked down defense and turned the game around. Against a very tough physical and talented Arkansas team we played tough defense but the shots didn’t fall enough with consistency to close it out. Meanwhile, Duruji got an ankle sprain and didn’t play at Georgia or Vanderbilt. CMW and the coaches went back to the drawing board and inserted Phlan into the lineup. Well, if you watched the Georgia game, Phlan was Superman, the dawgs didn’t know what hit them. He started the Vandy game and on our board was given MVG. Even got interviewed for TV for the second week in a row. We now have another scoring player who makes the defense adjust to his game and more people are getting open. It seems Colin and the coaches have conferred as to what helps the team the most and have directed him to get to the free throw line and distributed the ball to an open player or if you have a one on one situation, take it. With all this coaching up and the players now knowing their rolls, when this offense works, it is a thing of beauty. If we play hero ball or dribble drive, the results are disastorous, half the time, to be kind. The results of all this is a better “team” and knowing each others strength. And one of my pet peeves is when one of our guys gets clobbered and hurt, CMW seemed to sit back and focus on his next steps. Errrgggghhh. Well in the Vandy game, CMW was working them pretty good. He is growing as a coach and the players are behind him. Hey, I like what I am seeing and hope we give Kentucky our best shot, show them,we are coming on! From unbelievable adversity to a team that gets it. His best job of his career, everyone should give props and no more ragging on him. We win and die as Gators!
What are you smoking? Primo stuff, no doubt. We win at Vandy and people think Red Auerbach has been resurrected. Good grief!
While I'm compelled to call out the use of "end zone" in the OP, I agree. White had to assemble and develop a team on the fly. At times they have looked like a great team and at other times they have looked like they haven't played together very long (they haven't). This is probably White's best coaching job.
Well he tells it like he sees it. Fine, I am not a sunshine pumper and have been critical of things CMW does, that baffles the mind. But I tell it like I see’um. Coach Mike White is growing as a better coach than when he got here. The last two years of covid have been tough on family, jobs and even coaching. But with a couple of new coaches and even him finding out certain players strengths through all this adversity have got us back on track. Hopefully we make the tournament, we are now a hard working team that is short handed but there is no quit in them. Makes me proud to be a Gator!
btw bullish - I am enjoying this thread. And I liked your post. I'm kinda gigging 33 with my little post there. Anyway - I think A lot of us are in the same boat about CMW, I REALLY would like to see him make it. And he has put together 19 wins despite having a "MASH" unit. I think many of us are the same, we get caught up in our team no matter what. I swear this season is like watching CMW run as fast as he can along the edge of the precipice of the Grand Canyon - coming close to falling off the cliff, over and over again, but somehow regaining balance just in time to keep running. It's a roller coaster man! As always, appreciate you bro!
I swear the extremes on both sides of the Mike white debate overshadow a large group who feel the same. If the apologists wouldn't skew the arguments there probably wouldn't be as much backlash that perpetuates the back and forth. I don't know if it's a majority but many people root for White to get over the hump but have pretty constructive criticisms of his shortcomings after 7 plus years
I am in the minority here but I would like to have a clean coach that puts out a decent team every year that usually makes the NCAAs as opposed to a Bruce Pearl coach that is slimy and eventually will be a blot on our Gator Nation. I told everyone here what a bad player he was when he took the UT job. I have followed since he was an assistant coach at Iowa.
Name them that would take over after a decent coach was canned. I doubt that Mark Few would come here. Tom Crean might be looking for a job, but I don't put him on my clean list.
That happens all the time. We have talked about Anthony Grant, Kevin Boyle, the Wisconsin coach and others. Porter Moser was available last season. Mark Few’s assistant went to Arizona and is kicking butt. There are 358 Division One head coaches. Try finding me 258 of them who are worse coaches than White. You can’t.
Mike will take this team to the tourney and post a 0-1 or 1-1 record. Bank it! Why? because that is what Mike's teams do every year.
LOL. I actually know Anthony Grant. My kids went to PK Yonge with his kids. I would love for him to come back, but I doubt that will ever happen.
