It’s Great To Be...

By: Jimbo Brown

            Sports as a whole have had something jaw dropping each month. Every time you tuned in to watch your favorite sports channel, a story on there made your heart stop. From Golden State blowing a 3-1 lead, Kevin Durant going to Golden State and Lionel Messi receiving 21 months for Tax Evasion. No matter what part of the world you live in the industry has turned your life upside down for the good/bad. Today we will quickly discuss matters that I want to revisit.

UF Men Track & Field Team: Back on Top

            "It means so much," Hall said. "We won my freshman year, and the past couple of years we've been all over the place. And we've had a great team. Just coming in here, people counted us out from the get go, and we came out on top.”

            After winning the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field national championship in 2012, the Gators had a plethora of talent that couldn’t figure it out. The team lacked belief that it could accomplish the mission once again. After the conference finals, where UF placed 7^th, Coach Holloway (Mouse) challenged himself, staff and athletes to believe that they will make amends at nationals. UF became just the third team since 1992 to win the NCAA Outdoor Championships after finishing outside the top five at the NCAA Indoor Championships.

Arman Hall accomplished his goal of winning a title in the 400m. He is the first gator to accomplish this feat since Tony McQuay. 4000-meter hurdles Eric Futch and Tj Holmes finished 1-2 gathering 18 points for the team. They are second pair of teammates to take first and second place in the 400-meter hurdles since Kamani and Michael Smith of Baylor (2001).

This National Championship extends the universities streak of winning one to 7 years. Even when the expected sports, baseball and softball, didn’t live up to the hype.

Gators Olympic Run

Rachel Longfors- Women’s Discus Throw

Darrielle McQueen- Women’s Long Jump & Triple Jump

Najee Glass- Men’s 400-Meter Dash

Arman Hall- Men’s 400-Meter Dash

Tony McQuay- Men’s 400-Meter Dash

Ebony Eutsey- Women’s 400-Meter Dash

Robin Reynolds- Women’s 400-Meter Dash

Shayla Sanders- Women’s 100-Meter Dash

Jeff Demps- Men’s 100-Meter Dash

Noah Lyles- Men’s 100-Meter Dash & 200-Meter Dash

KeAndre Bates- Men’s Long Jump & Triple Jump

Marquis Dendy- Men’s Long Jump

Ciarra Brewer- Women’s Triple Jump

Mark Parrish- Men’s 3,000- Meter Steeplechase

Fawn Miller- Women’s Javelin Throw

Will Claye- Men’s Triple Jump

Omar Craddock- Men’s Triple Jump

Christian Taylor- Men’s Triple Jump

Bridgette Owens- Women’s 100-Meter Dash

Dedric Dukes- Men’s 200-Meter Dash

Ryan Clark- Men’s 200-Meter Dash

Claudia Francis- Women’s 400-Meter Hurdles

Cory McGee- Women’s 1,500 Meters

Kerron Clement- Men’s 400-Meter Hurdles

Eric Futch- Men’s 400-Meter Hurdles

TJ Holmes- Men’s 400-Meter Hurdles

Kyra Jefferson- Women’s 200-Meter Dash

To see which Gators made it to Rio click here. 

The Billy Donovan Era

            Scott Brooks was fired by the Oklahoma City Thunder after 7 years and Billy Donovan’s name soon came up as the potential coach to replace him. After a couple days of rumors & speculation, Donovan signed on to be the new head coach for the Thunder for about $30 million over 5 years.

            It’s tough that Billy Donovan is leaving UF but it was expected as he had multiple opportunities over the years to jump to the NBA and he & the Gators just came off a down year in which they missed the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1997. Donovan will go down as a legend in Gators sports history for what he has been able to achieve with the basketball program. In a landscape where there are fewer & fewer Coach K’s or Bobby Bowden’s and more college coaches are constantly changing jobs & leaving programs behind for greener grass, Billy Donovan was the man in charge of Gators basketball for almost 20 years. He elevated the program to long-term success in the same way Steve Spurrier did when he took over the football program. 467 wins, 16 20-win seasons, 6 SEC championships, 4 SEC tournament championships, 4 Final Four appearances & 2 national titles. Gators basketball started with Billy.

            The opportunity to coach OKC along with 2 of the best players in the NBA is once in a lifetime and anybody would jump on that. Although the Gators will have to rebuild & find new talent along with a new coach after losing McDonald’s All-American Chris Walker & 3-point specialist Michael Frazier, it will be exciting to see Billy Donovan face off against his old players in the NBA. Older guys from the early 2000’s such as Udonis Haslem, Mike Miller, Matt Bonner & David Lee. Also, the younger guys from the back-to-back national championship teams & on such as 2014 Defensive Player of the Year Joakim Noah (one of my favorite players in the league), Corey Brewer (1^st triple-double in Gators history), 2 3^rd overall picks in Al Horford & Bradley Beal, Chandler Parsons, Nick Calathes & Marreese Speights.

            Billy Donovan will be considered as the best coach in Gators sports history and leaves behind almost 20 years of his legacy & fingerprints not only on the basketball program but on the University of Florida. I think we can find a spot in front of the O’Dome in the future for a statue in his honor.