This is so encouraging. I hope Cam and the team can take a big step forward this season.
Oliver Barry CRS, GRI Real Estate Broker PARKS Real Estate Services 305 B Indian Lake Blvd Suite 220 Hendersonville TN 37075 Office: 615-826-4040 Mobile: 615-972-4239 [email protected] Begin forwarded message: > From: Shane Ford <[email protected]> > Date: October 18, 2020 at 7:50:12 PM CDT > To: GatorNews <[email protected]> > Subject: [gatornews] [SUN]: UF women's basketball showcasing competitive > nature as preseason camp commences > Reply-To: [email protected] > > > UF women's basketball showcasing competitive nature as preseason camp > commences > Graham HallSpecial to The Sun > > Although the COVID-19 pandemic era has led to countless issues pertaining to > the development of athletes across every level, Florida Gators women’s > basketball coach Cameron Newbauer won't let the pandemic prevent the program > from continuing to rise. > > And based off early workouts, the Gators haven’t lost their eagerness to > improve on last season’s 15-14 regular-season finish either. > > “We’ve got people that are more hungry, we’ve got younger players now that > are talented, so that naturally puts some — I don’t want to say pressure, but > you’ve got to bring your A-game every day, because people are competing for > minutes,” Newbauer said. “I think we’ll play a little faster, I think we’ll > play a little differently as well.” > > The Gators are coming off their best season since the 2015-16 campaign and > Newbauer’s squad will look to maintain momentum in preseason camp prior to > opening the season Nov. 25. > > Florida will have 42 days to conduct no more than 30 practices — considering > UF led the conference last season in games played by underclassmen, Newbauer > expects the team to make leaps and bounds in that time, especially now that > the Gators are fully entrenched in his system. > > “It’s been neat to see the competitive nature day-in and day-out, with the > number of new kids,” Newbauer said. “We also have a lot more players now that > want to win, and I think it’s taken us a lot of time to get here, and it’s > something that’s been bred from our upperclassmen.” > > In the 2019-20 campaign, Newbauer’s third season in Gainesville, the Gators > registered multiple top-25 victories for the first time since he arrived by > way of Belmont University, including a 70-62 win at No. 13 Kentucky and a > 83-80 win over No. 22-ranked Arkansas. > > Much of the scoring load was carried by the team’s highly recruited freshman, > Lavender Briggs, who’s one of four returning starters for the Gators this > season. > > Briggs led the Gators in scoring with 15.0 points per game, which resulted in > her being named to the All-SEC Freshman Team by season’s end. Much to the > chagrin of UF’s opponents this season, Newbauer said Briggs has added to her > game in the offseason. > > “Her shot and her handles have gotten tighter and quicker. This is one of > those people that really went out and put in a lot of time during COVID. > Everybody says they did that, but not everybody you see it translate in > workouts,” Newbauer said. “She’s scoring in different ways, and has really > taken on the mindset of ‘what are my weaknesses, and how do I get better in > those areas’, and she owned that. But I think the biggest thing I’ve seen is > the competitive maturity. She understands ‘if I want to be great, I need > people to come at me in practice every day’.” > > Yet Briggs, a former five-star recruit, won’t be expected to carry the > scoring load on her own this season, as the Gators have added five new > contributors this season, led by fellow five-star prospect Jordyn Merritt. > Ranked the No. 27 overall recruit in the incoming class by ESPN, Merritt is > UF’s highest-ranked signee in seven years, and the 6-foot-3 forward is > expected to make a noticeable impact from the jump this season — however, > she’s far from the only sizable underclassmen in the paint for the Gators. > Sophomore forward Faith Dut is listed at 6-foot-4, as is freshman forward > Floor Toonders, although Newbauer says they’re among several players who > appear to be taller than their listed height. > > “Faith looks like she might have grown a little bit, so we’ve definitely got > size,” Newbauer said. “They’ve all got the ability to spread the floor and > shoot threes. Floor Toonders is somebody that has a chance to be special > because of her skillset and ability.” > > But it’s not just a youth movement in Florida’s basketball complex. Redshirt > senior Kiara ‘Kiki’ Smith enters her final season in Gainesville as a > returning starter after averaging 11.9 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists > per game last season, and Newbauer expects the 5-foot-10 distributor to once > again be an all-around contributor. For Florida to take the next step, > they’ll need an all-around effort from the entire roster as well. > > “She’s one of those players that can be a facilitator, can be a scorer, and > she’s really morphed herself to be what we need in the moment. Far surpassed > anything we thought she was going to be when we recruited her,” Newbauer said > of Smith, who joined the program after two seasons at ASA College (NY). “Her > coaches told us how tough she was, we knew she was going to be a competitor, > but the level that she competes at, with her energy, and now taking on a > greater, different leadership role, where now she’s not afraid to get after > some people, it’s been neat to see. But she also has that switch where she > can put her arm around you, joke with you and really nurture you.” > > > > > > > > > > > > Sent from Shane’s iPhone > Go Gators! > -- > -- > 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]. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/gatornews/4FFFA38D-FAB6-4DDE-B795-7D5372C244F5%40gmail.com. -- -- 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]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/gatortalk/861F79AE-7855-4453-B3E0-442BBFE51AE6%40realtracs.com.
