As soon as Florida stepped onto the court against Missouri on Thursday night, the game was already decided. The Tigers, in the midst of a 12-game losing streak, weren’t ready to play.
The net didn’t move.
Mike White doesn’t want to think about the Kentucky Wildcats.
American philosopher and author Norman Vincent Peale once said, “There is a real magic in enthusiasm. It spells the difference between mediocrity and accomplishment.”
Devin Robinson missed an open shot, picked up his second foul and took a seat on the bench.
With nearly seven minutes left in the game, Eric Hester stood deep beyond the right wing with the ball in his hands.
Florida’s 35-point blowout win at LSU on Wednesday snapped a losing streak, jazzed the locker room and re-introduced No. 25 UF’s overlooked weapons on offense.
Chris Chiozza searched the sky.
Mike White tossed his blue suit jacket to the floor and walked to the center of his team’s huddle before his players had fully assembled. Outsized by all but two of them, the second-year Florida basketball coach wasn’t intimidated.
The Gators dropped two conference games back-to-back last week. And sluggish, flaccid second-half starts were the problem.
When Gators coach Mike White sat down to take questions following Saturday’s game between Florida and Vanderbilt, he remained in an uncomfortable, sullen silence.
UF center John Egbunu missed the last shot of the first half.
With Vanderbilt guard Matthew Fisher-Davis guarding him at the hip, KeVaughn Allen tossed up a prayer from the right corner as the final seconds melted off the clock in Florida’s battle with the Commodores.
He doesn’t say much.
Kasey Hill knifed through a forest of players like a speeding predator toward its prey. He ripped the ball out of the hands of South Carolina forward Sedee Keita and sprinted down the court. Florida’s 6-foot-1 guard was all alone when he leapt into the air and kissed the ball off the glass and into the basket.
Florida coach Mike White despises one-handed rebounding.
No. 19 Florida needed a freshman to close out its conference rival.
When they had a chance to tie the game, the Gators dribbled the ball out of bounds.
As Mike White took to the lectern after Florida’s win over Ole Miss on Jan. 3, there was a sense of relief spread across his face.
It was all too close in Coleman Coliseum.
Solutions by The State News
