Florida’s 6 a.m. workouts and relays this summer have paid dividends beyond just improved conditioning.
With his players finally in good enough shape to endure the physical demands of practice, UF coach Billy Donovan has been freed up to prepare his team in a way that wasn’t possible a season ago.
“The last couple years, he was just trying to get guys to play hard. He couldn’t even really teach,” senior forward Dan Werner said. “Now, we’re playing at a different level. He can explain stuff to us, we can figure things out a little better and we get more shots up every day.”
In its matchup with Jacksonville (0-4) tonight at 7 in Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena, No. 13 Florida (7-0) will get another chance to show the strides Donovan has been able to make with his team in practice.
The most noticeable and effective example of the Gators’ improved conditioning so far this season has been their full-court pressure. Werner said Donovan has worked on the press in practice more than he has the last two years, and UF has used its athleticism and newfound endurance to help force almost 18 turnovers per game this season.
“We ran on offense last year, but we were not able to pressure the ball like I would have liked to just because we had a lack of depth,” Donovan said. “You get better when the defense transitions back and they don’t let the offense score in the first five seconds.”
Due to a combination of injuries and players who weren’t capable of running the floor, UF wasn’t able to do that kind of work on the transition game in practice last year.
Donovan pointed to guard Ray Shipman, center Kenny Kadji and former UF players Eloy Vargas and Allan Chaney as not being in good enough shape last season.
Even point guard Erving Walker, who has recently drawn considerable praise from Donovan for his tireless work at the front of the press, wasn’t ready to do all his coach needed from him.
As a result, Donovan was lucky if he could work on transition defense and offense without taking a break — something the Gators have executed with ease on the court this year but weren’t even capable of doing in scrimmages last year.
“We had a tough time putting all that together at the same time,” Donovan said. “We’ve gotten better, and we can have more competitive practices because I think guys are better conditioned.”
Unlike last season, Donovan has a full roster of players who can keep practices competitive and run the floor, as Walker, Shipman and the rest of the returning Gators whipped themselves into shape over the summer under the supervision of strength and conditioning coach Matt Herring.
Even this year’s freshman class started in far better condition than the previous group. Kenny Boynton, Erik Murphy and Rod Tishman didn’t need to be eased into practice, allowing Donovan to finally focus on coaching basketball as opposed to coaching effort.
“I feel like the bottom part of our team this year is in much better shape to contribute to make practice more competitive,” Donovan said. “They understand now the commitment that they need to make physically to be in that type of shape to play that way.”
