There's been a fair bit of chatter on Twitter about the right way for the 2011-12 Gators to play. Most people will say something to the effect of "OH COME ON FEED PATRIC YOUNG" or "STOP TAKING BAD THREES," but the truth, the one Billy Donovan believes in, is probably between those sentiments: Donovan really wants his team to play patient, disciplined offense, and relentless, disciplined defense.
Against Yale, on Saturday, in a 90-70 win, Florida essentially did that.
Kenny Boynton got his points — 26 of them, aided by five threes and another four-point play. A couple of non-Boynton players stepped up, notably Erik Murphy, who matched Boynton's five threes and had 19 points, and Bradley Beal, who got 11 points about as loudly as one can and snagged seven rebounds. And the offense didn't kill itself, instead racking up 24 assists to just seven turnovers, which made up for being outrebounded by and giving up 11 threes to the Bulldogs.
It wasn't perfect, but no game in which a player on the other team has 26 points and 15 rebounds — that would be Yale's rangy center Greg Mangano, who I regret calling "plodding" — can be perfect. It was really good, though, and "right" as these things get, with Young getting his touches and his points (19 points on 10 shots) and the Gators managing their long-distance dialing well. That will be enough for Florida more often than not.
(And yes, I did save this recap until the wee hours to make sure the first post of 2012 here on Alligator Army was a happy one. Happy New Year, y'all.)