First, a lot of what Coach Finley said post-game against LSU could be seen tonight. This was long but Coach said a lot you'll like hearing (reading). LOL! It's mostly exact but technically paraphrasing: The Gators earn a hard-fought victory over the Alabama Crimson Tide 81-77. What a performance by Florida! You withstand a 3-point barrage with some stops down late and some clutch free throws and earn the victory. Congratulations! I love what you just said. We earned the victory and I think our team wants to earn everything that we get and there's no doubt we've struggled a little bit more than we had hoped this season. You know, that was a very similar game to Georgia, to Kentucky, to some of our previous opponents and we just couldn't quite get over the hump but we've been working on it. Coach CJ tells the team all the time that there are levels. They say "It's time to level up," and I thought we were better against South Carolina, we were better against LSU, we took a step up a level. Golly they shot the . . . [Announcer: "lights out"] craziness in the second half but that's what they do. You knew that at some point they were going to catch fire. I liked our second efforts and for freshmen and sophomores and, golly, juniors . . . I thought that every single person contributed at a very high level today. * * * You forced defensive intensity on them. You forced 20 turnovers. You tie a season low protecting the ball. Only 9 turnovers and you led for . . . 39-minutes almost of this game. Their 3-point barrage . . . you're not going to see a team usually shoot 67% from 3 . . . only 1 point at the half for Davis . . . 67% but 80(%) in the 3rd and 85(%) in the 4th . . . and a lot of those we had a hand in the face. We were challenging each other to be active with our hands and feet. We rose to the challenge. I heard Lelani Correa calling, "Hands up! Hands up!" Something as simple as that. There's no ego. There's no pride when you're trying to win the game and I thought that's what we were about today. * * * We commented about it during the course of the 4th Quarter. We thought your defense-offense strategy, substitutions, were key to . . . just tell us what was going through your mind as you made those subs and they seemed to work out just right for Florida down the stretch. Well, you know, Alabama is tough to guard. They went to five small guards there late in the game so I commend our forwards for understanding the game plan. It was something we had talked about prior to this game. It might be tough for us to get you on the floor, just simply because they're playing five . . . Bertie Rimdals. So you've got to understand that and they did! Their buy-in and their willingness to do what was needed and to selflessly step back so that we could win the game was huge. We also knew that we had an advantage with our size on the inside, on the offensive end. We were fortunate to have our timeouts late there and we just made some big time plays and rebounds in key moments. * * * How good has KK Deans been the last two games? 52 points in the last two games. Between field goals and 3-point shots she only missed one, two shots all night. That's amazing. Yeah, you know KK has really grown . Our staff has talked a lot. She didn't have an off-season coming off that ACL. Our system is a little bit different. We've had so many different lineups throughout the course of the season. As a PG . . . I told her early in the game, I said, "Wow! You're calling a really good game!" She's starting to understand and see when to call what and I thought that was really the difference in our last two games: her composure and her ability to understand what we needed to be in and where the advantages were for us. It allowed us to play a really good pace. We had a lot more composure because of her floor game * * * Announcer Kelley Davis: We noticed that. It's funny you say that right there. We noticed while watching that it was way more under control. You played within yourself. Everybody seemed to understand, like, where they were supposed to be and what they were supposed to do. Still, Tom called it, like, it's a controlled aggression. So you got the aggressiveness that you needed but you weren't making mistakes. It's evident with the turnovers. We only had nine turnovers tonight. So you can see they still played a very aggressive up-down game . . . Yeah, I think there was a couple of those transition baskets that I saw we were a little hesitant in our decision-making. Still, as this team grows, I always want them to be confident in whatever choice they make. Understand there's always an out and we talk a lot about players make plays in this league. Players make plays and your ability to adapt . . . there were a couple times they went to iso ball screen and Faith just stepped out and turned it in to pinch Jordan. That's just experience. Shay did the same thing.. Their ability to do that . . . you can see them improving in that way on the court with each other. We worked a lot in the last week about how to just . . . move with each other. Not an offense. Not a set. Not an action. Just how to move with each other. In praising KK, that's really hard to learn throughout the course of a season. The way that I play and the way that our program wants to play is really hard for a PG to learn. Everything is predicated on how you move the ball. * * * We saw that tonight. Some back door cuts. Some high-low between Kyle and Jordan. * * * Before we let you go tonight, I would like to solicit maybe a comment or two about each of our seniors. KK Deans, 52 points the last two games. It feels like we just met her and here we are going into the last regular season game coming up on Sunday. You know, she's meant a lot to this program. When she came here, she told me, "I'm gonna' be ready to play the first game of the season," and I was like, Yeah, yeah, KK." I understand how I do things and how we do things here and that might not be what's best for you on your ACL. Sure enough, it's her determination and her mindset. Even in the game tonight, I was talking to her about that's the floor leadership we need during the game. It was the same in the LSU game. There were a couple missteps in that LSU game but I'm OK with those. She saw the read. She saw it. She just saw it a half-second too late and that will come. I appreciate . . . we as a coaching staff and as a program appreciate her hard work and her tenacity and her drive to make us better. Nina and Faith . . . I just can't say enough positive things about the two of them. They've improved every year in the orange and blue they've been here . . . Yeah, they have. They signed up to play with us when it wasn't the popular, cool thing to do. I admire them for sticking with it. I think with those two, the harder the challenge, the more I think they can do it. To talk about them as individuals . . . Nina, she's just an overcomer. She's tough. She's tenacious but by gosh she's a sweetheart. I love all three of them but I'd be lying if I told you I didn't love those two just a little bit different because of the time we've spent. Faith has just grown so much. Her maturity in the last four years has just been outstanding. To see her be able to do the things that she does on the court . . . but to know who all three of them are off the court . . . I would tell you Lelani Correa is a senior as well and Zippy is a senior as well . . . and those two will both be coming back for us next year. They chose not to be a part of Senior Day today. I knew Leah (Lelani) was going to have a great day today because she had a great spirit about her all week, she asked one of the coaches to work her out the last 3 days. I just saw a light in her eyes and it's hard to do what she's trying to do, come back from injury mid-season, but I commend her for that. It takes a lot of mental strength and toughness to do that. Zip, we can't wait to get her back on the court. I've been really proud of her ability since the Christmas Break to lead us, to communicate and to continue to help us learn what it is to be Florida Basketball and to be selfless and to be about the team always. * * * * *
