I thought of this during the game and I want to see what you guys think;
If you take the top-7 for Florida during their championship run (Green, Humphrey, Brewer, Horford, Noah, Richard, Moss), would any current Gator crack that rotation? Hodge was the seventh man in 2007, so you could make a case for him. Calathes maybe over Humphrey, but not over Green. The current squad probably would not crack the rotation of the 2005 team, since that was the guys I've mentioned plus Anthony Roberson, David Lee and Matt Walsh. (Although, Noah got very little playing time then.) You'd have to go back to the 2004 team when Bonell Colas and Christian Drejer were getting significant minutes.
I mention this because, once again, this is not a good basketball team. Florida lost to Mississippi State 80-71, finishing the season 2-7 in road games. The Gators allowed Miss State to shoot 50% from the field and behind the arc when the Bulldogs had been shooting 43% and 36%, respectively. This has been happening all year. Bad shooting teams suddenly make every shot against UF. On the other end, Nick Calathes looks like a GM car with 100,000 miles on him and he can't get moving. He was 4-12 shooting with 11 points, 5 assists and 5 rebounds. On defense though, I've seen guys at Southwest Rec who can D-up better. Dan Werner had 10 points on 4-9 shooting, but I think the only people who want to see Werner make four 3-point attempts are Werner and his family members.
We keep complaining about the Gators because we expect more than an 8-7 record in the SEC. But should we? Maybe this team is no better than .500. Perhaps they are playing to their ability and it's not good enough in a weakened SEC.
Next season, the Gators get Georgetown big man Vernon Macklin, a better Kenny Kadji and Eloy Vargas, plus two big men recruits (Erik Murphy, DeShawn Painter). I don't mean to be rude when I say this, but I hope this means Werner and Chandler Parsons are out. Part of Florida's problem is that there are two guys on the floor who don't understand what they need to do. Parsons goes to the hoop once every few games. Tonight, the Raycom announcers were complimenting him on getting over-the-back calls since it showed Parsons' toughness. As for Werner, on defense, he is supposed to be down low. On offense, he hangs around the arc. Alex Tyus and Kadji, who are supposed to be the same size as Werner, play down low always. If a guy cannot either embrace his role as a forward or guard, then he cannot be out there. Especially when he is attempting to shoot himself out of a slump when the Gators need points.
The Gators have to win the SEC Tournament to make the NCAA Tournament. It's that simple. If not, we'll see you next year.