My favorite topic of late: Men’s Basketball. As strange as it sounds, Condo going down and writhing in pain with a bad ankle in StarkVegas turned from a nightmare scenario into a huge plus for the Gators. Ironically, that sprained ankle may have been the best thing that could have happened to us. It provided the opportunity for Todd to get Micah back in play.
We thought Micah was coming back a few weeks ago, but he changed his mind. That was completely his call as much as it disappointed the coaching staff. With the absence of Condo and yet another blowout when against Miss St, Todd knocked on Micah’s door again. This time Micah said yes.
Todd knows he has something special going on. But winning in the SEC is tough – winning with injuries is damn near impossible. Hence the need for Micah. When Condo comes back (I think 2 weeks is more realistic) having 5 guards and 5 bigs is huge. Todd knows how important seeding in the tourney is. He talks about it all the time. Getting Micah back is gigantic. And Micah’s conditioning is just fine.
Our MBB team has only played a handful of close games this year. We are .500-ish in those games. Micah will help in those games going forward. We are going to lose some games just not as many sans-Micah.
I want Todd to be here for a long time, and I think he will. The more time that passes the better with respect to the “other thing.” Todd had the support of the UAA, but the process was slow and unfair. That is at the University level – not the UAA – and there was not much SS could do. UF farms out its Title IX matters to an outside firm. IMO, the entire process was ridiculous after around the 3 week period. Nothing new came after that, and yet the outside firm dragged its ass along. Shameful. I spoke with SS when the matter was dismissed. Trust me, he supported Todd in meaningful ways – the most important of which was to allow Todd to coach during the process. Initially, there was great pressure on SS to put Todd on leave. He did not do so. Still, I believe the University could and should have done more to handle this more efficiently. Todd and his family went through a lot – much of which was unnecessary. That is not easily forgotten.
On football:
There are people on this site who are very close to the assistant coaches. So, they knew the angst that WH and others were experiencing. I am not just talking about RR. I am talking about a lack of communication, common sense and courtesy. We have to be better at that or there is no way BN will last as that lack of organization trickles down to all aspects of the program. How can you be so meticulous at memorizing player “measurables”, studying film, and analyzing recruits to flat out miss the low hanging fruit issues? It baffles me. That is just my opinion – and that opinion does not mean much.
I agree with Jason. Billy has complete confidence in his plan and will live and die by those decisions. To me, there are just too many instances of simple things staring him in the face that he either misses or ignores.
Will Harris wanted to stay. He loved Gator Nation and living in Gainesville. He gave us every opportunity to keep him. When he told us he was leaving, we tried to keep him, but it was too late. Will said it best: “It was a business decision.” That is sad to me. I am sure that a few of his recruits and players are not happy either.
There is more that I want to say, but I won’t.
I will still support Billy and the Gators. I fully acknowledge that he has done some really great things too. He is on a winning streak and I hope it continues. I want him to succeed so badly – for all of us.
KC
www.newsweek.com
www.espn.com
