Coach Mike White’s best year of coaching for the Gators!

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!

 

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!