The saying goes that confidence is key, and for UF sophomore guard Dyandria Anderson, that saying holds true.
At seemingly every press conference so far this preseason, women’s basketball coach Amanda Butler has gushed over Anderson’s progress, which according to Butler, harkens back to Anderson spending the entire summer in Gainesville training.
And for Anderson, the biggest takeaway from her Summer of training was a newfound confidence.
"The biggest change definitely has to be my confidence as a player on and off the court," Anderson said after Women’s Basketball Media Day on Oct. 2.
"I feel like I’m trying to take up that leadership role a little bit more and to hold my teammates more accountable and just be more outspoken."
Now, with practice having gotten underway more than two weeks ago, her confidence has carried over in the form of newfound aggression and improved communication.
"I’ve been attacking a lot more, just more aggressive and more confidently in knowing that I’m gonna make this shot, I’m gonna finish this layup, I’m gonna get this and-one," Anderson said.
"I think that I’ve grown a lot. (I’m) talking a lot more, talking way more than I thought I ever would in my sophomore year."
While confidence is undoubtedly important, there’s a lot more to Anderson’s improvement.
Butler said part of it comes from her being a grind-it-out type of player who has earned the respect of her teammates and coaches alike.
"Dee is the player on our team that I think has that really high like-ability factor," Butler said. "Everyone wants to see her do well because they know that she sacrifices for the team.
"She’s kinda that person that we know always does whatever we need and is always trying to do the right thing. … So I’ve just been really proud of her."
While an athlete’s second year is often associated with the dreaded "sophomore slump," Anderson looks poised to pick up where she left off and then some.
Aside from the Viera native’s emergence, Butler also feels that the team’s offense has really taken off in recent practices, specifically in regard to spreading the ball around.
"I really like what our team looks like on offense. I think we’ve got a great deal of balance. … I think there are a lot of candidates to give us double-figure scoring," she said.
"The way that we play in transition and then also in the half court, I think that’s really going to be exciting for us to see what we can do on that end of the floor."
Butler added that lately, with start of the season still a ways away, the team has tried to concentrate on staying focused.
"We have an emphasis of the day and our last practice on Friday the emphasis was focus and that’s because we’re putting in new things," Butler said.
"And so our level of focus is something that has got to continue to grow — not that it’s been poor."
With less than a month left until the Gators open the 2015-16 season at Temple on Nov. 13, Butler knows that this point in the preseason is tricky because practice starts to become redundant.
However, with each passing day, that emphasis holds more weight.
"It’s that time of our preseason where you’re far removed from the beginning where the excitement of starting practice is kinda starting to diminish and our first game is still a little ways on ahead of us," Butler said.
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UF guard Dyandria Anderson looks to pass during Florida's 59-54 win against Stetson on Dec. 14, 2014, in the O'Connell Center.
