Amanda Butler has an important dinner date.
Butler, the UF women's basketball coach, addressed the media Monday because of an invitation to a dinner concerning the Jimmy V Classic basketball tournament.
She said she is excited to be one step closer to the beginning of the year - the first day of official practices is Friday.
Butler said the players are ready to practice as opposed to weight training, which has been the norm.
With a basketball instead of a dumbbell, Butler said practice helps accelerate the integration of new players to the team.
Entering her third year, Butler has already matched the school record with 24 victories last season. The team made it to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament before it lost to eventual-champion Connecticut.
"Success redefined what our expectations were," Butler said.
She is hoping the upperclassmen instill the newfound culture of higher expectations in the incoming freshmen.
Even though the players' faces have changed, the winning style and expectations Butler brought to UF have been anything but fleeting.
It was a culture the Gators saw firsthand against UConn. Playing against the eventual champions, and the Huskies' home crowd, Butler and UF got to see excellence in women's basketball defined.
It will be a tall task for Butler, who said playing in the Southeastern Conference is no easy feat.
"We're the best league in the country in the history of ever," Butler said.
With an expanded conference schedule, the Gators will play two games with SEC opponents Alabama, Georgia, Vanderbilt, Mississippi State and Tennessee.
In this preliminary stage of the season, Butler thinks her team could have "tremendous balance" and "quality depth."
"We're going to have a couple of the best shooters in the league and possibly in the country," she said.
She also said her team would be able to have a lot of combinations and versatility, making her team harder to guard.
And that is why Butler is so excited for practice to begin, to see if all the things she's anticipating will come to fruition.
