By Franz Beard
A few thoughts to jump start your Thursday morning:
UNFORTUNATELY, IT’S A 40 MINUTE GAME
For a half, the Florida Gators (9-4, 0-1 SEC) went toe-to-toe with 15th-ranked Alabama (11-3, 2-0 SEC) and gave the Crimson Tide everything they could handle. The Gators led 39-36 at halftime and had Alabama’s big guys in foul trouble, then came a disaster of a second half in which Alabama outscored the Gators 47-31 for an 83-70 win at the O-Dome.
It was in the first 7:42 of the second half that Alabama outscored the Gators, 22-4, that did the Gators in. It wasn’t until Myreon Jones hit a 3-pointer with 11:48 to go in the game that UF got its first points from the field and by that time the Gators had dug themselves too deep a hole. Oh, sure, they cut the lead to five, 66-61, when C.J. Felder hit a 3-pointer from the corner and Colin Castleton added a free throw with 6:06 left, but Alabama ballooned the lead back out to 11 with 4:33 to go. Another mini-rally on a Brandon McKissic 3-pointer and a dunk by Castleton that got it back to 73-67 with 3:07 to go, but the Gators had no answers in the final three minutes.
“I loved our energy level at the tip and I thought we played really hard for the first 20,” Florida coach Mike White said. “For whatever reason, in the first minutes of the second half we just looked a little flat, but, of course, they had something to do with that.”
It wasn’t only the first eight or so minutes of the second half, it was the entire second half. The Gators shot 13-26 from the field in the first half but just 9-26 in the second. The Gators turned the ball over 12 times in the second half, 20 for the game, and that allowed Alabama to score 21 points. Additionally, the Crimson Tide had 20 offensive rebounds and scored 40 points in the paint.
Here are two sets of numbers that do an even better job of telling the story of what went wrong: Florida had a negative assist-to-turnover night – 12 assists to 20 turnovers – and Alabama took 20 more shots – 72-52 – than the Gators.
You don’t win a lot of basketball games with those kind of numbers.
Next up for the Gators is a Saturday excursion to No. 9 Auburn (13-1, 2-0 SEC).
SEC BASKETBALL
Wednesday’s scores: No. 15 Alabama (11-3, 2-0 SEC) 83, FLORIDA (9-4, 0-1 SEC) 70; No. 18 Tennessee (10-3, 1-1 SEC) 66, Ole Miss (8-5, 0-1 SEC) 60
Saturday’s games: FLORIDA (9-4, 0-1 SEC) at No. 9 Auburn (13-1, 2-0 SEC); South Carolina (9-4, 0-1 SEC) at Vanderbilt (9-4, 1-0 SEC); Arkansas (10-4, 0-2) at Texas A&M (12-2, 1-0 SEC); No. 15 Alabama (11-3, 2-0 SEC) at Missouri (6-7, 0-1 SEC); Georgia (5-9, 0-1 SEC) at No. 16 Kentucky (11-3, 1-1 SEC); No. 18 Tennessee (10-3, 1-1 SEC) at No. 21 LSU (13-1, 1-1 SEC); Mississippi State (10-3, 1-0 SEC) at Ole Miss (8-5, 0-1 SEC)
EMORY ENROLLED IN SCHOOL, TREY DEAN STAYING ANOTHER YEAR …
If you think you’ve got this roster management thing down to a science, then perhaps you should think again because Emory Jones does not have his name in the transfer portal and Trey Dean III has decided to give it the old college try one more year rather than bolt to the NFL. Buckle up, because we may have a few more surprises coming our way now that the bowl game is over and Billy Napier is in complete charge of all things Florida football. It’s obvious, if you heard him at the half of the Florida-Alabama basketball game or during one of his earlier press conferences, that he can be quite persuasive. Some may decide to leave and others to stay.
Let’s start with Emory Jones. He wants to play quarterback although it seems it will take an exorcist to deliver him from all the demons that make him throw off his back foot and throw into coverage when there are receivers running wide open down the middle of the field. Can Napier cure him in one spring of all that ails him so that he becomes a legitimate stud SEC QB? Is it possible that by staying for the spring semester he (a) graduates with a degree from the University of Florida and (b) the transfer portal as it relates to quarterbacks will be more settled giving him a clearer idea of where he needs to go? My guess is that with Anthony Richardson returning and Jack Miller III transferring in from Ohio State, EJ will be feeling the squeeze in May and will find himself a nice landing spot. He’s a great kid who has some talent, but I’m unaware that he can get it done at the SEC level with any consistency.
Trey Dean would be a combine and workout warrior that the NFL scouts would consider using a third day pick for in the April draft. He’s 6-3, 206, led the Gators in tackles in 2021 (92, 179 for his career) and had a team-high nine pass breakups (Kaiir Elam was second with five). He played on special teams all four years. I also believe that he’s been poorly coached since he arrived on campus in 2018. I’m of the opinion that having talked it over with Napier and co-defensive coordinator Patrick Toney (safeties coach), that Dean believes he can respond to better coaching and not only be a better contributor to the Gators in 2022, but can enhance his draft stock. This is a very bright kid (3-time All-SEC Academic). I’ll be eager to see how he responds to a new coaching staff that leans heavily on NFL experience.
SEC FOOTBALL
Alabama: On the Paul Finebaum Show, ESPN’s Marty Smith said, “The best thing to happen to this Alabama team was losing to Texas A&M. This is a young team. Maybe this team losing sight on what it takes to become a national champion … that was quite a wakeup call for a lot of these young players.” … Booger McFarland thinks the oddsmakers in Las Vegas are giving Alabama a helping hand by making the Crimson Tide a 3-point underdog to Georgia in the national championship game. On the Tony Kornheiser podcast, McFarland said, “I think right now the fact that Vegas has Georgia as a slight favorite is a disservice to Georgia, because Alabama, even though they beat Georgia by 20 points [in the SEC Championship Game] is going to play the underdog card … Even though Alabama won by 20, they still have the motivation of being the underdog.”
Arkansas: Defensive back Joe Foucha, who had 72 tackles including 7.5 for loss, 1.5 sacks, one interception, five pass breakups and a forced fumble in 2021, is transferring out.
Auburn: Wide receiver Kobe Hudson, last year’s leading receiver who entered the transfer portal, says on Instagram that “I never wanted to leave Auburn ever … I was kicked off the team.” Hudson caught 44 passes for 580 yards and four touchdowns in 2021 at Auburn. He will have plenty of offers but smart money says he’ll go to UCF to play for Gus Malzahn, who recruited him to Auburn in 2019 ... Defensive back Dreshun Miller, who transferred to Auburn from West Virginia, is in the transfer portal. He appeared in one game and had no stats, but had eight pass breakups and an interception at West Virginia in 2020.
Georgia: Appearing on the Tony Kornheiser podcast, Booger McFarland offered this about Stetson Bennett IV ahead of Georgia’s national championship game with Alabama on Monday night: “The motivation to show up for Georgia is at an all-time high. Now my question, Tony, is really simple. Do we think Stetson Bennett can beat Nick Saban? I personally don’t. I don’t think that Nick Saban does, but it really doesn’t matter because Stetson Bennett has to think that he can win, and Kirby Smart has to think that he can win.”
Kentucky: Wan’Dale Robinson, who caught 104 passes for 1,334 yards and seven touchdowns in 2021, is off to the NFL … Defensive tackle Marquan McCall, all 6-3 and 379 pounds of him, is off to the NFL.
LSU: Defensive back Cordale Flott, who played in 35 games in his LSU career and had 41 tackles, four pass breakups and an interception in 2021, is leaving for the NFL.
Mississippi State: Offensive tackle Calvin McMillan, who has four years of eligibility remaining, is entering the transfer portal … Defensive lineman Aaron Odom, who has only one year of eligibility remaining, is also in the transfer portal. Odom played in 28 games in his MSU career.
Missouri: Shawn Robinson, who converted from quarterback to safety and had 31 tackles, a sack and an interception in 2021, is in the transfer portal. He transferred to Mizzou from TCU in 2020.
Ole Miss: Running back Snoop Conner, who ran for 647 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2021, is leaving for the NFL. Also declaring for the NFL is linebacker Mark Robinson, who had 92 tackles and three sacks … Offensive guard Bryce Ramsey (6-3, 336) is in the transfer portal. He played in 12 games in 2021 with one start and has three years eligibility remaining
South Carolina: Edge Rusher Jordan Strachan, who had 23 tackles and three sacks, is returning for another season … Also expected to return is wide receiver Josh Vann, who had 43 catches for 679 yards in 2021.
Texas A&M: Wide receiver Ainias Smith, who caught 47 passes for 509 yards and six touchdowns plus ran back 23 punts for 259 yards and a TD, has decided to return for the 2022 season.
ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Former Detroit Lions and Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Charlie Batch and Game Above Capital are offering University of Oklahoma quarterback Caleb Williams $1 million to transfer to Eastern Michigan. Somehow, I don’t think this is exactly what was envisioned when NIL became the law of the land and for that we can only point a finger at Mark Emmert, who proves the old Redd Foxx adage that PhD means “piled higher and deeper.”
The transfer portal created free agency for college sports, but NIL is about to change it into true play for pay. If Eastern Michigan of the Mid-American Conference can offer a stud QB like Caleb Williams a $1 million deal and Quinn Ewers can get more than $1 million before he ever suited up in a college uniform (he got two snaps in at Ohio State and has now transferred to Texas), then what’s to stop the deep pocket boosters at Texas A&M from doubling or tripling that deal? What’s to stop Nick Saban, who owns four Mercedes-Benz dealerships, from offering a player he needs a fat contract to advertise his for one of his dealerships. If boosters can do it, can’t coaches?
Don’t blame the kids if they’re taking the money and running with it, and don’t really blame the boosters who have been told it’s now okay to legally open their wallets to bring in the best talent money can buy. For this, all fingers point to Indianapolis where the NCAA and its bloated bureaucracy is run by Emmert. Emmert knew darn good and well what was coming with NIL three years ago and rather than take positive steps to address a coming problem, he tried to punt it to Congress, which rarely does anything except call for hearings that accomplish little or nothing. I’m reminded of the immortal words of Ronald Reagan, who said, “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.”
Scary.
The only thing more inept than the NCAA is our Congress. Don’t believe it? Consider if Congress ran the NCAA Tournament. The 64-team bracket would probably be ended in favor of something more inclusive – say 1,000 teams – and gender neutral with double elimination and participation trophies just to make sure no one got their feelings hurt.
I give Mark Emmert credit for one thing and one thing only: He hasn’t screwed up the NCAA Basketball Tournament.
Yet.
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