As the Gators sat at 5-2 following a loss to UCF, earning a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament seemed impossible.
Florida had just completed a swift and decisive fall from its preseason No. 9 ranking, evoking memories of 2008 and 2009 trips to the National Invitation Tournament.
Despite returning five starters, the Gators resembled a group of strangers, playing in a manner they called selfish and disconnected.
“We have a bunch of guys on the floor that make nobody better,” coach Billy Donovan said on Dec. 1 after losing to UCF. “The older guys are less concerned about trying to do something great collectively as a group and are more wrapped up in, ‘What’s going to happen to me?’”
It would have been impossible to fathom then, but the answer to “What’s going to happen?” has been an extraordinary turnaround.
UF has learned to move the ball better since a Dec. 20 loss to Jacksonville, as assists have outnumbered turnovers by 49, reversing a negative assist-to-turnover ratio they posted to start the season.
Open players who had gone unnoticed now receive the ball, and one-man possessions have been all but eliminated from Florida’s repertoire.
“We’ve got great guys that understand the importance of us being a team,” Donovan said earlier this month. “I feel like we’re a connected team. … Our guys are starting to see that, through the unselfishness, now they’re all playing better, they’re all scoring more and they’re all being utilized better.”
The Gators have been able to undergo this turnaround and lift themselves from a despondent group to a legitimate Final Four contender by removing their egos and working together.
But what truly made the process possible were the relationships within the team, which are full of emotions that run much deeper than anything on the court.
“We’re just trying to get as close as we can, because for me, Alex [Tyus] and Chandler [Parsons], this is our last year,” senior center Vernon Macklin said. “I love these guys, and we love being around each other, so why not win together?”
Eschewing Expectations
From the 17-year-old freshman all the way to the 24-year-old senior, this team understands how to operate as one.
The Gators have players from two countries and eight states but still managed to form a cohesive unit.
“Our biggest attribute right now is our chemistry and how well people play their roles,” Parsons said. “There’s no freshman that wants to come in here and play 30 minutes and get 20 points. Everyone understands their role, and everyone plays their role perfectly.”
The idea of using balance and understanding each individual’s responsibility was critical to the 2006-07 national championship team.
Coach Billy Donovan said Al Horford could have easily averaged 20 points and 10 rebounds, but he gave that up for the good of the team.
In the same way, freshman center Patric Young had to learn that big scoring numbers aren’t necessarily in the best interest of the Gators.
“I realized that I need to do what’s best for the team and just give the team energy,” Young said. “I don’t need to focus on scoring all of these points. I just need to focus on being a great defender.”
The McDonald’s All-American is gifted with a rare combination of size and athleticism, but he realized he didn’t need to pay attention to what NBA Draft scouts were trying to tell him.
Young averages just 3.3 points per game but has been invaluable to the team as a physical defensive presence.
In the same way, Florida’s veterans have had to tame their personal expectations to make the team better.
After a strong season culminated in an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2010, the starters all figured they would see better numbers with an extra year of practice and study.
But Donovan needed each to discover and excel in their role, without worrying about who is shooting and scoring.
Parsons has epitomized that idea.
The senior struggled early in the year with the expectation that his scoring would increase but went on to claim the Southeastern Conference Player of the Year award.
Although he is UF’s third-leading scorer, Parsons was selected as the conference’s top player by league coaches because of everything else he does to help his team win.
“I was putting a lot of added pressure on myself to try and please everybody,” Parsons said. “But lately I’m just trying to let the game come to me and do anything I can to win.”
Joker and the Freak
Between team dinners, practice and shared living arrangements, Parsons says the Gators are together nearly 24/7.
While the older players have had at least a year to foster this relationship, the freshmen have taken to each other right off the bat.
The five-man class — Young, Cody Larson, Casey Prather, Scottie Wilbekin and Will Yeguete — live together in the Springs Complex, where Wilbekin hosts Call of Duty games he and Young frequently dominate.
“We’re tight as anything,” Young said. “We hang around all the time, and we always want to do stuff with each other. We can relate to each other on anything. And the older guys, they’re the same way.”
Young has grown particularly close to Macklin, although the two are nearly polar opposites.
Macklin is a wily veteran with a game built around finesse and an unstoppable hook shot, while Young is an athletic freak who can match up with anyone.
But after a year of facing each other in practice day after day, those styles have started to mesh.
“Vernon’s experience has really, really helped Patric grow,” Donovan said. “Vernon uses his skill and his experience, and it drives Patric a little nuts sometimes.”
Instead of growing frustrated, Young has taken the opportunity to learn patience in the post, the importance of playing hard and the need to take instruction.
Macklin has even started to influence Young off the court.
The senior has spent the last two years as the team joker, and he believes Young will one day follow in his footsteps.
Macklin does anything he can to keep things light, whether it’s making jokes, pulling the bottom lace all the way out of Yeguete’s shoe or hiding the phones of Adam Allen, Kenny Boynton and Erving Walker.
“I like to make people laugh,” Macklin said. “I’ve spent my whole life just trying to be funny and be goofy. I feel like in basketball sometimes if you go out there and have fun, you’ll be more relaxed and play better.”
Fed up with Macklin’s practical jokes, including fake Twitter posts and text messages, his teammates have started to turn the tables on him.
But the senior is prepared.
“I keep my phone locked, and I keep my phone on me,” he said. “They always try, but they’ll never get me.”
As Macklin’s career draws to a close, the Gators will have to look to someone else to break up the monotony and relieve the tension.
That’s where Young comes in.
“I think Pat will take it on and be the jokester next year,” Macklin said. “Pat is acting like that right now. He plays around and jokes, so I think Pat will be that guy.”
Brotherly Backcourt
The entire team is close, but none are closer than the guard tandem of Walker and Boynton.
“He’s like a brother to me,” Walker said.
“We do pretty much everything together, honestly,” Boynton said.
The duo became fast friends from the moment Boynton stepped on campus last season, and that friendship grew to the point where they decided to room in the Keys Complex this year, along with sophomore Erik Murphy.
Boynton estimated he and Walker spend 92 percent of their time together, parting only for class.
“That’s pretty much the only time we ever split,” Boynton said.
The two eat nearly every meal together and usually spend their free time hanging out in their room, watching college hoops or catching up on Family Guy.
Their bond formed early last season, as the team’s two leading scorers helped each other deal with the ups and downs of streaky shooting.
Each seemed capable of going through hot streaks and devastating slumps, which made it difficult to keep a level head.
“We just talked about it and tried to help each other,” Walker said. “That just brought us closer together.”
That closeness has led to an uncanny level of awareness on the court.
There are times when Boynton makes a 60-foot pass to seemingly no one, only to have Walker dart in and make the catch.
“I definitely know where he is at all times,” Boynton said.
Both will be returning to UF next season with even more experience and a tighter friendship, something they hope can be a harbinger of success.
“Anytime you have a bond like that with a great player such as him, it makes it easier for me,” Walker said. “And hopefully I make it easier for him. As long as we can keep that bond, I think great things will come.”
The Gators will begin their quest for greatness today, when the NCAA Tournament gets underway in Tampa.
After a slow and disjointed start, Florida has found cohesion.
Their new “all for one” mentality has been critical to past success and figures to be equally important going forward.
“We have great chemistry,” Young said. “Really the reason why we’ve been winning so much is our chemistry and how much guys care about each other.”
Whether it’s the brotherly guard tandem or the mentor and pupil in the post, the Gators are filled with relationships strong enough to handle the pressure of the NCAA Tournament.
With egos removed and a devotion to team play firmly in place, only one question remains: Why not win a national championship?
