Although the past four years have been a rollercoaster ride for Florida’s senior class, it has the opportunity to secure the ideal conclusion.
The No. 14 Gators (22-6, 11-3 Southeastern Conference) will enter their showdown against Alabama (19-9, 11-3 SEC) with a chance to clinch a regular-season SEC title after honoring their four departing players.
Because Florida and Alabama are locked at 11-3, tonight’s 7 p.m. matchup in the O’Connell Center becomes a de facto conference championship due to the head-to-head tiebreaker.
“I don’t think there’s a better way to go out,” senior center Vernon Macklin said.
The combination of Senior Day festivities and championship possibilities led Macklin and forward Chandler Parsons to invite family and friends to the game.
While Macklin’s guests are limited to a few family members, Parsons said he plans to be joined by many people in his extended family and a number of old friends.
Parsons is no stranger to the fan support, as he said his parents, Gary and Terri, have been to every contest this season except the game at Tennessee, when their flight was canceled because of inclement weather.
“They’re the best parents in the world,” Parsons said. “They’ve been to literally most of my games for all four years, not just this year, and tomorrow night is going to be special. I’m sure my mom will be in tears.”
The night will also be filled with emotion for Macklin, though he said his family will probably wait until graduation to shed their tears.
Macklin, Parsons and forward Alex Tyus are all on pace to earn degrees following the spring semester.
Still, the three seniors are holding out hope that basketball will remain a part of their lives, as each expressed the desire to continue his career in the NBA.
“That’s been my dream since I was a child,” Parsons said.
Tyus said he would be open to playing professionally in Europe if he fails to make it in the NBA, but he is still focused on the task at hand.
For Tyus and the rest of the seniors, that means keeping their focus on Alabama amid all the hype surrounding tonight’s game — something Donovan found challenging on previous Senior Days.
“It felt like when the games started, those guys had been through an entire season in about 15 minutes,” Donovan said. “It’s an emotional thing. I think when a guy steps into the arena and knows it is their last game, that’s significant.”
Each of the seniors noted that the finality of the game was rather sudden, as the past four years had seemingly flown by.
“It happens so fast,” Macklin said. “This is my fifth year in college, and it goes like a blur. Last year seems like it was just here.”
After two seasons of struggle and heartache, the class is starting to rekindle a program that was fresh off a national championship at the time of its arrival.
“As painful as it was for two years with those guys, the process of now four years of where they’re at today has been very rewarding for me,” Donovan said.
A victory tonight would be another significant step in that journey.
“I couldn’t ask for a better ending than to get the win,” Parsons said. “It would be really special to me if I could end it with a bang, and end it with us cutting down the nets.”
