By Antonya English, Times Staff Writer
Friday, March 18, 2011
Roster
No. Player Pos. GP MIN PTS REB
1 Kenny Boynton G 34 32.5 14.1 1.5
4 Patric Young F/C 34 17.9 3.4 3.8
5 Scottie Wilbekin G 34 17.1 2.6 1.6
11 Erving Walker G 34 32.5 14.5 14.5
15 Will Yeguete F 29 7.3 1.3 2.7
20 Kyle McClanahan G 8 2.6 0.9 0.4
23 Alex Tyus F 33 24.2 8.6 5.5
24 Casey Prather G/F 33 6.7 1.2 1.1
25 Chandler Parsons F 33 33.6 11.5 7.8
32 Vernon Macklin F/C 34 24.3 11.3 5.5
33 Erik Murphy F 30 11.2 4.4 2.4
*34 Cody Larson F
Coach: Billy DonovanRecord: 27-7
Best tournament moment
Led by Joakim Noah, Al Horford, Corey Brewer and Taurean Green, the Gators won national championships in 2006 and 2007.
Quotable
"It's one and done now. We can't look in the past. That was (Thursday), it's over and done with. For us to get to where we want to go, we've got to be ready (today).'' — Junior guard Erving Walker on not getting caught up in winning their first NCAA Tournament game since 2007 on Thursday.
About the school
Location: GainesvilleEnrollment: 52,112
Famous alumni: Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow, South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier, actor Faye Dunaway, Jim McGee (Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter), Marshall Nirenberg (Nobel Prize winner in medicine and physiology).
Roster
No. Player Pos. GP MIN PTS REB
22 Reeves Nelson F 33 31.2 13.9 9.0
3 Malcolm Lee G 32 32.9 13.1 3.0
23 Tyler Honeycutt F 32 34.9 12.8 7.3
34 Joshua Smith C 32 21.6 10.7 6.3
11 Lazeric Jones G 33 28.7 9.2 2.2
5 Jerime Anderson G 33 20.0 5.3 1.7
21 Brendan Lane F 32 15.6 3.1 3.2
1 Tyler Lamb G 33 12.5 2.7 1.1
4 Tyler Trapani G 3 0.7 0.7 0.3
0 Anthony Stover C 31 7.9 0.6 1.5
15 Blake Arnet G 7 1.3 0.3 0.1
13 Matt DeMarcus G 3 0.7 0.0 0.0
10 Alex Schrempf F 3 0.7 0.0 0.0
14 Jack Haley G 2 2.0 0.0 1.0
Coach: Ben HowlandRecord: 23-10
Best tournament moment
The Bruins have 11 NCAA titles to choose from.
Quotable
"I know a bunch of guys that played in those UCLA games. I think everyone is here just to get the win, but maybe it will be a little consolation for the guys that were on those teams." — Sophomore forward Reeves Nelson on playing Florida, which knocked the Bruins out of the NCAA Tournament in 2006 and 2007.
About the school
Location: Los Angeles.Enrollment: 38,000
Famous alumni: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the late Arthur Ashe, former Mayor Tom Bradley, Carol Burnett, Jimmy Connors, Francis Ford Coppola, James Dean, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Reggie Miller
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Florida freshman center Patric Young was a middle school student in Jacksonville in 2006 when the Gators played UCLA in the first of back-to-back Final Four meetings. Freshman guard Scottie Wilbekin was in elementary school. And junior guard Erving Walker said Friday he barely remembers watching the Gators play the Bruins in the 2007 Final Four because it was "too far back to remember." So all this talk about the rematch between Florida and UCLA — dating to 2006 and 2007 when the Gators defeated UCLA in the Final Four — is just that as far as the Gators are concerned. Strictly talk.
"It doesn't matter," Young said. "We've got to go out there and play our game. What they've done in the past is the past. What they did (Thursday night) is important, and that relates to us. Their game against Michigan State that's important to us because that's what they did now. But all those other guys are in the league now and it's completely different."
As for UCLA, the players and coach Ben Howland agree it's not about the past, but it seems some fans would like a little payback.
"A lot of fans are texting me saying get revenge on the Gators for what they did to us," UCLA freshman center Josh Smith said.
IS IT REALLY HOME? Florida fans didn't exactly fill every seat in the St. Pete Times Forum for Thursday night's second-round game, but don't tell UCLA that playing the Gators two hours away from Gainesville isn't like a road game for the Bruins.
"They are probably going to have a lot more fans than we have here," UCLA forward Reeves Nelson said. "It will be like an away game. It will be us against the world, and we are going to have to band together as a team."
Florida coach Billy Donovan said there might be a little too much made out of the location factor.
"Sometimes you get in these tournament settings and there's people cheering for both sides there," he said. "Certainly travel-wise going two hours on a bus compared to UCLA having to come across the country is a little bit different. What kind of crowd, we'll have to wait and see. Hopefully it's all Gators."