Bball Bragging Rights

The group of sophomores that led the Gator basketball team to their first-- and the next year, second-- national championships were collectively referred to as “the ‘04s” for their starting season. Though they’ll likely not be remembered “the ‘07s,” there’s no doubt that Chandler Parsons, Alex Tyus, and redshirt senior Vernon Macklin had a huge impact on their team just like Taurean Green, Al Horford, Corey Brewer & Joakim Noah did in their run. The ‘07s played an amazing senior night game v Alabama. Though they were tied 30-30 at the half, in the 2^nd half, the Gators could do no wrong and Bama could do no right. The offense was on fire. The defense was excellent. Rebounds were surprisingly better than normal. Parsons and Macklin ended up with 19 points each. The seniors ended the night with a final score of 78-51, at least a share of the SEC title, and huge smiles on their faces.

After beating Vandy 86-76 Saturday night, the next generation of Gator Boys won our third ever outright SEC Championship and get to sit back and watch until the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament. Things had been rough since the ‘04s left*, but we’re finally back on track and have several younger players that I’m confident can step up into the roles our seniors are leaving behind. Definitely much more excited this year for the SEC Tournament and brackets, and hopeful we can make a great run this year!

Just as the Gators became SEC Champions again, Duke v UNC tipped off, and as a resident of the triangle area, I have come to appreciate this game on a new level. I started off cheering for Duke 4 years ago basically just to go against my cousin, a UNC fan, and because their blue was closer to Gator/Magic blue, but I’ve found many other reasons to like them since. This game is not meant to be watched from home, so I joined 2 of my Duke-loving friends at one of our regular sports bars for the game, where we ended up surrounded by UNC fans. One was surprisingly not evil and started a conversation with us before the game to keep things friendly. Of course, there were plenty of others that made this game, if you could call it one, nearly intolerable to watch.  Nolan Smith was pretty much the only guy who showed up to play for Duke the entire night. He ended up with 30 points. Nearly half the 67 Duke ended up with. Do with that what you will. Singler looked exhausted, but that’s nothing out of the ordinary. What was off was everything else about him. The only stat you need to understand how he played last night: FG- 3/14. Ridiculous. Needless to say, Duke lost 81-67. Sad day, but there’s always the ACC Tournament… and brackets… and the reminder that UNC couldn’t even win the NIT last season. Just sayin :)

*For Gator alums who lost track and anyone else interested, Noah is still playing for the Bulls, T is playing for Gran Canaria in the ACB, Corey ended up with the Mavs after bouncing around with the Melo trade, and Al Horford is doing pretty damn well with Atlanta. If you consider yourself part of the Gator Nation and do the Twitter thing, several of our current players are on there. Even if you’re not super interested in what episode of Friday Night Lights Macklin’s on or the daily routine of Chandler Parsons, it’s still worth it to see how excited they are after big wins and all the RTs of support from Gators far & wide. They’re a great group of guys. To get you started, look for @ErvWalker11, @ChandlerParsons, @vernon_macklin, @KBoynton_1 & @AlexTyus23.