The first of UF's two exhibition games is tonight. Among the things I will look for:

1. Macklin's free throw shooting, it has to be better than 35% at Georgetown. It needs to be 60%+.

2. Walker's shots, a point guard against an over matched opponent should not be leading the team in shots or shots per minute.

3. Does Donovan play Kadji and Macklin together some.

4. The overall play of Boyton of course. Are his turnovers low indication he has AAU ball out of his system some.

5. What position does Murphy play? Does he get time at 4 or both the 3 and 4.

6. The overall distribution of minutes. I would not be surprised if 10 guys play around 20 minute each.

7. Does Shipman get any time at the 3?

Is the game on TV? I cant find a listing

Who will make the first post about Dan Werner?

quote:

Originally posted by CaneThing:
Who will make the first post about Dan Werner?

You

quote:

Originally posted by G-Unit:
Is the game on TV? I cant find a listing

I think it is on Gatorvision. I will be giving an exam as the game starts, but I believe in "watching" via the box score and play sheet as much as what you think you see with your eyes. You need to do both of course, but it is important to evaluate from the facts.

Dan Werner? Well I heard that he might be faster than Oregon's power forward.

Preseason. The first game that counts starts Nov 14 vs Stetson.

Link

By the way, the new Gatorzone redesign looks great!

i want to see utter domination on the boards and lots of blocked shots. if we can't do that against a team of their caliber who's tallest player is 6'7 then we've got problems on the horizon for SEC play.

i want to see some consistent perimeter shooting from players not named Walker or Boynton. with size on the inside we're going to need people to knock down shots to keep defenses honest.

i want to see great ball movement.

quote:

Originally posted by GatoradeNE1:
Preseason. The first game that counts starts Nov 14 vs Stetson.

Link

By the way, the new Gatorzone redesign looks great!

So do you expect to learn less playing tonights over matched opponent than playing an over matched Stetson team late? I don't.

I'm curious to see how Boynton looks. We need a Eric Gordan type impact from him.

quote:

Originally posted by GatoradeNE1:
Preseason. The first game that counts starts Nov 14 vs Stetson.

Link

By the way, the new Gatorzone redesign looks great!

it is a preseason game but i think we're talking about men's basketball.

Will the Gators beat Tennessee this year?

I think the Vols won both games last year and then both games the year before that.

Insti- what exam are you giving? You are a professor?

quote:

Originally posted by CaneThing:
Will the Gators beat Tennessee this year?

Given that the Gators have won the NCAA tourney in years that UTn won both games, I am not convinced that is an interesting nor important question.

The thing to look for tonight is teamwork and how the different combinations work together. St. Leo is not going to entice the "A" game out of us in what will only be a workout.

quote:

Originally posted by mtn2top:
The thing to look for tonight is teamwork and how the different combinations work together. St. Leo is not going to entice the "A" game out of us in what will only be a workout.

Right, but:

1. If Macklin can not make free throws in these low pressure games, when will he?

2. If Walker is fogging up shots all the time, he is not taking to PG very well.

3. Macklin/Kadji on the floor together is one of those combination issues you mention. I would love to see some big man to big man passes for the first time in 2 seasons.

4. If Boyton is playing AAU ball and taking bad shots and making turnovers, that is a bad sign.

5. What Murphy plays will tell us some about his game that we know little about.

6. I agree the distribution of minutes does not mean much except whether Donovan thinks Murphy and Tishman are already worthy of some minutes.

7. Shipman at the three is another one of those combinnation issues you mentioned.

Nevermind. See below post.

Macklin is supposedly better at FT shooting, but he will never be a good FT shooter.

In our offense, there is no "PG" per se. We run a high screen offense, so the PG and the SG both have an open look at the shot, and have the green light to drain it if the defender doesn't step up off the screen. If the pick and roll works effectively, then the post transition scoring should be rocking.

Taurean Green shot more than 220 three pointers in the 2006-07 season, so any perception that the PG needs to "distribute" to be effective in our offense is not correct. Calathes broke the assist record, but we did not have a legitimate 1-2 scoring threat on the perimeter like we did pretty much every year since Donovan has been the coach here, so we could not effectively run the high screen offense. Nor did we have a legit frontcourt presence, so we weren't able to sell the pick and roll to draw pressure and dictate the defense. As a result, we needed Nick's superior passing skills to keep the offense in sync....which often broke down in the clutch for a) falling apart when one player was off, and b) for lack of versatility allowing the D to dictate our offense.

quote:

Originally posted by CaneThing:
Both Sid and Osiris have predicted another "on the bubble" year for UF, with the chances being that UF won't get in. Those two are rarely wrong about Gator Basketball. Just sayin'.

I did not predict that. I actually predict that we will be very good this year based on what I hear coming from practice, and the inside chatter I'm getting from the coaches/other insiders.

You guys will just have to wait and see. Arguing about this is pointless. Basketball is a complicated, awesome game, and a lot of people have a hard time anticipating how it will unfold (especially those who know nothing about this team, yet make bald predictions). If things come together like I think they will, it will be a thing of beauty.

I've got the game queued up on Gatorvision, so I'll post some periodic updates for those who don't have Gatorvision.

My bad, Osiris. I'll edit that.

That's good news for UF then. Honestly, I have a soft spot for Gator Basketball and I have a great deal of respect/admiration for Billy D. I can't hate the guy. Beating a program of UCLA's stature to bring home the state's first college basketball crown should have made every true Floridian proud, college allegiances aside. This state underachieved in basketball for too long and I feel like Billy's success at UF raised the bar for both the Noles and Canez. Any future success we have in college basketball should be thanks in part to Donovan's trailblazing efforts. So, I hope he's finally filled his gaps after nearly leaving for Orlando and is ready to compete with UT and UK again.

That said, I have my doubts about this team. But then, like some of the Gator fans on here have said, a lot of people doubted that 05-06 team, as well. So, just gotta see what happens.

Macklin won the tip...he physically looks like a stud

Macklin, Tyus Walker Boynton, Werner started

Boynton gets the first points on a breakaway layup from a Macklin pass

Boynton from 3. Boynton has UF's first 5 points

Macklin with a big dunk off a Walker drive. UF leads 9-1

Parsons sporting the David Lee hair. Shipman, Parsons and Murphy in to replace Tyus, Werner, and Boynton

Parsons off the screen from murphy drives the baseline for a dunk

Not that I don't like the updates Osiris, because I do!

But... Does anyone have a link for the audio to the game?

Tishman is in...drove the basket and kicked it to Tyus for a 15 footer on the baseline

Murphy is backing up Macklin at the 5....still no sign of Kadji

not sure if it's on the radio. I'll stop updating if anyone confirms that it's on the radio

quote:

Originally posted by CaneThing:
Will the Gators beat Tennessee this year?

I think the Vols won both games last year and then both games the year before that.

Insti- what exam are you giving? You are a professor?

Hey stain boy, how about shooting yourself like you promised in March of 2007 when the Gators repeated as hoops champs.

Tishman drove the basket and layed it up off the glass, Parsons grabbed it off the glass and slammed it in.