"Bludgeoning" That's a good word. Nice article. Oliver Barry, CRS, GRI, SFR Real Estate Broker PARKS 305 B Indian Lake Blvd Suite 220 Hendersonville TN 37075 Mobile: 615-972-4239 Office: 615-826-4040 Sent from my iPhone
Begin forwarded message: > From: "John Bowers" <[email protected]> > Date: January 31, 2016 at 4:27:36 PM CST > To: "Gator News" <[email protected]> > Subject: [gatornews] Mike Bianchi: Bludgeoning of No. 9 West Virginia gives > new Gators coach some credibility in post-Donovan era > Reply-To: [email protected] > > Bludgeoning of No. 9 West Virginia gives new Gators coach some credibility in > post-Donovan era > > Mike Bianchi > > > GAINESVILLE — Ron Zook had it tough following Steve Spurrier. > > Will Muschamp had it tough following Urban Meyer. > > But make no mistake about it, Mike White has the toughest job in University > of Florida history following Billy Donovan. > > This is why Gator historians need to mark down this date as the 30th of > January in the Year 1 A.D. (After Donovan) and annotate it as the day White > began to emerge from beneath the enormous, eclipsing shadow of his legendary > predecessor. > > This wasn't just a dominating 88-71 victory over No. 9 West Virginia on > Saturday in front a full house at the rowdy reptilian pavilion otherwise > known as the O'Connell Center, this might very well go down as the > program-propelling victory White needs to make himself and his team relevant > in the post-Billy era of Florida basketball. > > "I think this is huge for Coach White as far as his credibility," said > Schuyler Rimmer, the 6-foot-10 Boone High product who came off the bench and > gave Florida a jolt of emotion and physicality in the victory over a West > Virginia team known for pressuring, badgering and intimidating opponents. > "This shows people what he's capable of." > > People like Gator fans, star recruits and members of the NCAA selection > committee who all sit in judgment waiting to see what becomes of the program > Billy built. That's why this victory was so big for White: Because it might > just be the victory — Florida's first against a team with a top 25 RPI rating > — that ends up getting the Gators (14-7, 5-3 in the SEC) into the NCAA > Tournament. > > And, don't kid yourself, Mike White needs to be in the NCAA Tournament so > national recruits can begin to know who he is. Right now, they don't know > Mike White from his brother Danny White, the new athletics director at UCF. > > They don't know he is a young, charismatic, exciting coach whose team plays > basketball like Kyle Busch drives a stock car — with the pedal to the metal > and his hair on fire. They don't know he was lauded for his four years at > Louisiana Tech, where he won the regular-season conference title his final > three seasons. > > The reason they don't know is because White has never coached a team to the > NCAA Tournament. And if you haven't been to the NCAA Tournament, you are > invisible in college basketball. > > "This is a really big win," White said. "This is a step [toward getting into > the NCAA Tournament] for sure, but this doesn't guarantee anything." > > When Donovan left after last season to become the head coach of theNBA's > Oklahoma City Thunder, he took the guarantees with him. The Gators could > pretty much punch their ticket for the NCAA Tournament most every year during > Donovan's 19 seasons. And all Donovan had to do was express interest in a > big-time recruit like Jabari Parker or Julius Randle and the Gators would > immediately be on the player's list of top five schools. > > This is why I say White has it much tougher than Zook or Muschamp. In > football, the Gators have the fan support, resources, commitment and > recruiting base to stay relevant —-- or at least get back to relevance very > quickly. > > In football, the program is bigger than the coach. In basketball, Donovan was > bigger than the program. Donovan was an elite coach at UF, but did he leave > an elite program behind? > > The Gators finished 16-17 and didn't make the tournament in Donovan's final > season. White's challenge is to make sure Gator basketball doesn't sink back > to what it was before Donovan arrived two decades ago; back to the days when > NCAA Tournament appearances were rare and NIT victories were celebrated. > > His first significant victory on Saturday was a nice start. The Gators shot > West Virginia out of the gym, hitting 12-of-20 treys and scoring more points > than West Virginia has given up all season. West Virginia had been beating > opponents by an average of 18 points per game and, yet, the Gators blew out > the Mountaineers by 17. > > "We needed a big win," said Florida's Dorian Finney-Smith, who led all > scorers with 24 points. > > This wasn't just a big win; it was Mike White's signature win at a program > that still has Billy Donovan's name all over it. > > [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at BianchiWrites. Listen > to his radio show every weekday from 6 to 9 a.m. on FM 96.9 and AM 740. > > > -- > -- > 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) > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "GatorNews" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- -- 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) --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "GatorTalk" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
