Headed into her fifth season as the Gators’ coach, Amanda Butler admits that due to the changing nature of the game, there are no universal solutions to her past obstacles.
“Each year ... is so different,” she said. “We certainly have learned and grown — myself included, my staff — and we’re just excited to have this group of seniors.”
This season’s senior class, led by center Azania Stewart, holds special significance.
When Butler took over in Gainesville prior to the 2007-08 campaign, Stewart was among the first players she brought into the program.
“(Butler’s) energy is out of this world,” Stewart said. “If you don’t match it and you don’t come to her expectations, then you get left behind.”
Butler’s 78 wins at UF mark the best four-year total in school history, and she is also the first Gators women’s basketball coach to lead her squad to a postseason berth in each of her first four seasons.
However, Butler is just 7-20 against ranked opponents at Florida and has advanced to the NCAA Tournament only once.
The senior class boasts five members while the Gators return 10 players overall from last year’s squad.
With that experience in tow, Butler has been impressed by her squad’s “sense of urgency.”
“They are defining — by the way they play — what Florida basketball means on the women’s side,” Butler said.
Since taking over as the Gators’ coach, Butler has tried to change the definition of Florida women’s basketball.
While Butler has shown signs of improvement as a coach, redshirt senior Jordan Jones says that it’s important for the players to reciprocate their coach’s support for them.
“I really do respect her a lot — not just as a coach, but as a person,” Jones said. “That’s important: to play for a coach you respect a lot.”
Butler’s main strategy to return to the NCAA Tournament is simple: win more games.
Improving their total in the win column will start with Friday’s season opener against Michigan at 4:30 p.m. in the O’Connell Center.
“We just want to put ourselves in a position where people aren’t making decisions for us,” Butler said. “We want to be in control of our own destiny.”
