I hope this comes to pass. Amanda Butler is one of my favorite people. She's a hard worker and a good recruiter.
She's had some rough times recently. I Oliver Barry CRS,GRI Real Estate Broker Bob Parks Realty 1517 Hunt Club Blvd Gallatin TN 37066 Phone: 615-826-4040 Fax: 615-822-2027 Mobile: 615-972-4239 _____ From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Woody Gators could be most improved Nov 8 | By <http://espn.go.com/espnw/mick-elliott/> Mick Elliott <http://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/photo/2011/0913/espnw_mickelliott_mug. jpg&w=65> <http://espn.go.com/espnw/mick-elliott/> Mick Elliott <http://espn.go.com/espnw/mick-elliott/> See all posts by Mick Elliott Mick Elliott is an award-winning sportswriter based in the Tampa Bay area. Elliott's career assignments include six Olympic Games, 21 Masters, numerous Final Fours, NCAA football championships and Super Bowls while writing for publications that include the Tampa Tribune and AOL FanHouse. story <http://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/photo/2011/1103/espnw_i_stewart_sy_576 .jpg> Richard C. Lewis/Icon SMIThe 6-foot-4 Azania Stewart was second in the SEC in blocked shots last year and led the Gators in rebounds. British import and Florida senior center Azania Stewart takes into consideration her late introduction to an unfamiliar game -- she first played basketball at 15 after being spotted by a youth league coach playing netball, an English sport with hoop similarities -- and cuts quickly to a key to her speedy success. "I'm tall," she said. That's true. At 6-foot-4, the London native is the tallest of all 208 female athletes on the Florida campus, and no woman in the SEC will claim a height advantage over her this season. But if you want to credit Stewart's size exclusively for her success, you might as well explain Elvis' golden records as a result of a pretty good guitar. "American basketball is very traditional," Stewart said recently. "Overseas, the 5 [center] can guard anyone. The 5 can shoot the ball. I've kind of brought that game. I can score off the block, run the floor and shoot. "[This year] I've been given the green light. I've been given all the freedom to do that. It's definitely helping my game." Women's college basketball previews officials <http://espn.go.com/photo/2011/1103/ncw_a_bg-sd-ss_mb_576.jpg> Get ready for 2011-12 with <http://espn.go.com/espnw/womens-college-basketball/> espnW and <http://espn.go.com/womens-college-basketball/preview2011/> ESPN.com's women's college basketball preview. * espnW And that should help Florida this season as the Gators attempt to raise their game. For the first time since 2003-04, the Gators return all five starters. UF's roster will feature five seniors, each with starting experience. All told, there will be 11 returning letter winners from last year's 20-15 team that finished eighth in the SEC. "We have our expectations set very high," coach Amanda Butler said. "The competitive level in general has been very, very high." Senior guard Jordan Jones led last year's balanced offense, which had nine players contribute at least five points per game, but Stewart is the player who must put the go in the Gators. Stewart led the SEC in field goal percentage in 2009-10 at .619. Last year she ranked second in blocked shots (1.8 per game), while also pulling down a team-high 6.1 rebounds. "Coaching her is fantastic in how much I can rely on her as a solid, consistent performer," Butler said, pointing to Stewart as "essential'' to her team's success. "Her leadership is immeasurable. She wants to be a lot more than just the reliable player or the good defender -- she really wants to be an impact player." Remembering the sting of a number of close losses last season --four by two points or less, plus an overtime loss in the third round of the WNIT postseason tournament -- Stewart says she is ready to help the Gators turn things around. "Our goal is to go into the SEC undefeated," she said. "That would help our confidence tremendously. .What's so nice about this team is, and the reason our chemistry is so different this year, is because we know from the losses we shouldn't have had last year, and know how it feels and what you need to bring every day. I think that's going to be the difference." It has been quite a journey for Stewart. As a freshman in 2008, before she had played a game, Stewart had to be rushed to a hospital. It was discovered she had a diseased, non-functioning kidney, and it was removed. Since then, she has spent summers playing on the U.K. national team, hoping to strengthen her chances of playing for the home team in next summer's London Olympics. Before that, however, is her final season with the Gators. What would she like to leave behind? "A little bit of history up on the wall, definitely," she said. "Winning the SEC here would be great. To leave here with that would make me really happy. "But just to go out with no regrets. I think that's my goal right now, to do everything in my power to be a winner." A few good bounces this year for Florida, and that might not be such a tall order. .0 ppg, 9.7 rpg). . Going to the dance The SEC has sent at least five teams to the NCAA tournament every year since the field expanded to 64 in 1994. Nothing is expected to change this year. Tennessee, Georgia, Kentucky, Vanderbilt, LSU and Florida appear to be likely picks. -- -- GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions 2008 National Football Champions | Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), Tim Tebow (2007) - Visit our website at www.gatornet.us
