Depth does in Gators in first-round exit
Published: Thursday, March 18, 2010 at 7:29 p.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, March 18, 2010 at 7:29 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY - This was different.
It was another one of those NCAA Tournaments for Billy Donovan when his team didn't survive the first weekend. They used to happen all the time, or at least from 2001-05, and Florida's coach used to catch an amazing amount of grief for his team's inability to play well in March.
That was back when Florida went to the tournament every year.
But that's not why this was different.
Those teams would lose games that would leave the Gator Nation feeling empty, sometimes angry.
Not this time.
This was different.
"Our guys laid everything they had on the line the entire game," Donovan said.
This was Kenny Boynton chasing Brigham Young's star guard Jimmer Fredette all over the court on defense, then carrying the Gators on the other end offensively. He was so exhausted during a timeout with 4:11 to play in regulation, Boynton stood in front of the scorer's table with his hands on his knees and his head down, trying to find some good air.
"I was tired," he said. "Their whole offense goes through him."
And this was Boynton coming back after only six seconds had elapsed on the play clock. This was Boynton making another 3-pointer that gave Florida, once down 13, a lead.
And it was Boynton, minutes after fumbling away the ball to allow BYU to tie the game in overtime, making a steal that gave Florida one last chance to win it. Double-teamed on the perimeter, he fired a pass inside that Dan Werner tried to tip in thinking the clock was expiring.
"I probably should have caught it," Werner said. "I don't know even then if I could have gotten a shot off. I thought I had to tip it in."
This was Chandler Parsons recording a double-double and diving to the floor to try to get a steal in double overtime, only to sprain his ankle and suffer cuts to his legs during the pile-up. He limped off, then limped back on the court seconds later and scored on a pair of late tip-ins.
"Everyone was tired," he said. "I'm sure they were tired, too."
Boynton played 40 minutes before fouling out in the second overtime, Florida's chances going to the bench with him. Parsons played 46 minutes. Erving Walker 44.
Which is why, in the end, Florida came up short.
This is not a team that can win a double-overtime game. The lack of depth that was an issue all season was an issue in the last game of the season.
"Their ability to sub in was the difference," Donovan said. "I've gotta do a better job of providing depth to our team."
While that's true, Donovan did the best he could with what he had. His Gators came in to the Ford Center as an underdog that some people gave little chance of beating the high-scoring Cougars.
They had two shots to win it.
"We had our chances," Donovan said.
So many plays will run through his mind when head meets pillow for the next week or so. Jackson Emery's 3-pointer that cut a four-point UF lead to one late in regulation. Parsons' missed shot at the end of regulation.
"I thought it was good," Parsons said.
The last possession of overtime. Those two big 3s that Fredette, who had made only one jump shot in regulation, made in double overtime. The 21 turnovers, four of them to start the second half and sink the Gators into a familiar hole.
"There was a lot of them," Donovan said of the plays that will make it hard to sleep. "It's always hard when you lose this time of the year."
But this was different.
Because it didn't feel like the end of something but perhaps the beginning.
"I think we can start a run (of NCAA appearances)," Vernon Macklin said.
They have to get better. They have to get deeper.
But they can't try any harder than they did Thursday.
"This is really going to help us next year," Parsons said.
They've had a taste now. They know what it's like. They'll have motivation for the off-season and all but one of them is expected to be back.
Donovan sad he didn't know what to expect when this season started. Now that it's over, he knows what he received.
Guys who get it. Guys who are willing to give every ounce of heart to the program.
The Gators are out of the NCAA Tournament.
They will be back.
Because this was different.
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