Prather jumped from soph to junior then leaped from junior to senior. That level of development was wild to see, we may never see that kind of development again. If Kugel sticks around, he would be my bet on taking a big leap next year.
Hoping we close strong with a win over Vandy on the road. 12 - 6 SEC would be sweet. They say the NCAA selection committee likes teams that finish strong at the end of the year. Well, finishing 11 - 3 in the rugged SEC to close the season is my definition of closing strong. UF has some great wins this season. FSU, PITT, Michigan, Auburn, Alabama, Ky. I'm excited for the SEC tourney, not just the big dance. UT will be tough (all of em are tough) but on a neutral court I favor UF over anyone but UT. Who knows, LSU could win this SEC thing too the way they are coming on. Heck even Mike White could ............... uhhh scratch that on second thought.
Also lost @ Wisconsin the second game of the season. 2013–14 Florida Gators men's basketball team - Wikipedia
The difference last night was the guards driving to the hoop and drawing fouls. Pretty much exactly how South Carolina bet us.
Didn't Prather wait until his senior year to make a huge jump? Up until then, he really didn't give us much. Then, all of a sudden, he was an unstoppable force attacking the basket. It was really extraordinary. Something clicked, or he just got the right oportunity, but I could see Denzel being the same kind of player if it clicks for him.
I really believe Coach Golden has really done a great job coaching as well. Not sure whether he is growing into the job or getting more comfortable with this team. The substitutions he’s putting out there and decisions he has been making have been great. The defense he utilized last night against Alabama was magnificent. The plays coming out of timeouts have been extremely successful. I’ve always thought he was personable and a smart guy, but wasn’t sure about where he was with X’s and O’s, he has shown me a lot over the last couple months. Also his talent evaluations have been spot on. I really think he deserves so much credit.
I took that out of my head because we got our revenge in 2018 with the Cheese shot heard around the world
Several years have pass and my friends are all married with growing families. They all have moved away from GNV and have lives and wives occupying their time. Several years have pass since I can text a buddy and ask "You tuning in tonight?" "I'll have it on the background but have to take care of _______" This year though, the boys are back and are tuned in win or loss. It's been a revitalizing season and it feels good to feel good again.
I wouldn’t be shocked if Vegas puts us as a borderline T10 team on a neutral court. In the SEC it’s really only Tennessee.
I think we are a few months away from peaking, and the season will be over before then. Really a shame we don't have this squad coming back next year. One of the best things about this season has been seeing them progress from week to week. The future is bright, but recruiting and the portal and going to be a huge part of how good next year will be. This squad with a year under their belt could be a final four team. This year I wouldn't be surprised by a sweet sixteen, but the tourney is fickle and we could get bounced in the first round by a Harold Arceneaux. It's been an enjoyable year, and I'm all in on Golden.
I think the biggest difference between White and Golden is that for whatever reason, White’s teams seemed to lose all the close games (particularly when surrendering huge leads). This team usually finds away to get the W. And the team culture grows from that.
He had to mold this team with all the transfers. That’s not easy, and he absolutely has done a great job this year.
I think that is one difference but not the only one. We have blown some leads but I don't attribute those to the same reason that we went on scoring droughts under Mike White. Same result at times but for very different reasons. There is hope that Golden will fix those issues going forward (defense, zone offense) whereas with White it seemed to be part of a flawed personality tendency as a coach.
In Nashville, teams that have the most fans in the Bridgestone arena will be Kentucky 1, Tenn 2, Alabama 3, Auburn 4, South Carolina 5,Ole Miss 6, Miss St 7, LSU 8th, Fla 9th. Hopefully we don’t fall any further than this. I will be there as I volunteer helping with the tournament.
Look. I was a Mike White defender, but he never once had a team this good. Not even his E8 team in my opinion. This team is very underrated. The OT loss at Bama was a hose job, and the close loss to South Carolina on the road should NOT have dropped us. This team is a top 15 team imo and could very well win the SECT.