Thoughts of the Day: July 28, 2021

A few thoughts to jump start your Wednesday morning:

IS TRE MANN ABOUT TO DROP OUT OF THE FIRST ROUND? At the beginning of May, nearly every mock NBA Draft had Tre Mann’s stock soaring. More than one NBA insider had Mann going at the late end of the lottery (picks 1-13), but it has been a slow slide ever since with several mock drafts placing Mann in the second round. Gary Parrish and Kyle Boone, both of CBS Sports, have Mann going in the first round. So does Jonathan Givony of ESPN, although curiously, ESPN has slipped Mann all the way down to the No. 47 prospect in the draft. Mann was ranked as the 15th-best draftable player back in March has slipped him all the way down to No. 47.

So what gives? Nearly every NBA expert says Mann is one of the top shooters in the draft with almost unlimited range and the ability to score creatively off the bounce, but there are questions that he isn’t physically strong, has liabilities as a defender and he’s still learning how to play the point.

Parrish has the former Gator going No. 28 to the Philadelphia 76ers, who already throw up a lot of 3-balls. This might seem to be a curious pick but the Sixers really don’t know what to do about Ben Simmons and the backup point guard (Tyrese Maxey) is a fine defender who doesn’t add much to the offense. Boone has Mann the final pick (No. 30) in the first round, going to the Utah Jazz. This actually seems to be a good fit since point guard Mike Conley and shooter Joe Ingles are both starting to age (34 years old). Givony sees Mann going No. 27 to the Brooklyn Nets, one of the better 3-point shooting teams in the NBA (39.2 percent as a team).

The draft lasts two rounds (60 picks) and will take place Thursday night.

DON’T SLEEP ON THESE GATORS Nobody seems to be talking about these five Gators but all five could be significant contributors in the fall.

Ja’Quavion Fraziars, WR: He’s added 35 pounds of muscle since arriving from Dunnellon High School in 2020. He spent the 2020 season at UF toiling on special teams. He caught one pass in his seven games. He is a big, physical receiver who can be a mismatch against small corners on the outside and a speed mismatch for most safeties and linebackers in the slot.

Khris Bogle, EDGE: Bogle was a skinny 210 pounds coming out of Cardinal Gibbons in Fort Lauderdale in 2019. He has since added 25 pounds of muscle and seems ready to rotate with Brenton Cox Jr. coming off the edge. In 11 games last season, Bogle came on strong in the second half of the season to finish with 27 tackles, including 4.0 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks.

Jedarrius Perkins, CB/Nickel/STAR: Perkins was a juco teammate of Diwun Black at Mississippi Gulf Coast. He spent the spring at Missouri, then elected to transfer out, ironically when it became clear that Black was going to qualify academically at UF. He’s a very physical corner who has the size, strength and speed to be used in a variety of ways. With Kaiir Elam and Jaydon Hill the likely starters at the corners, Perkins could step in as the nickel or play the STAR, which requires the physicality of a linebacker with a safety’s tackling and cover skills. He did not transfer to Florida to sit. He will be on the field.

Derek Wingo, LB: Wingo arrived at UF with plenty of hype coming out of St. Thomas Aquinas, but he was undersized and spent most of 2020 on special teams. He’s bulked up to 224 pounds, has the benefit of spring practice and an offseason conditioning program so he has a legitimate shot to get on the field as part of the regular rotation. He’s probably a year away from competing for starting minutes, but should be able to contribute this season.

Jace Christmann, PK: Christmann doesn’t have Evan McPherson’s thunder foot, but he’s a proven commodity as a placekicker in the SEC where he hit 12-14 field goals and 42-42 extra points as a true freshman for Dan Mullen at Mississippi State back in 2017. When he transferred in to Florida after the spring, he left Starkville as the school’s all-time leading scorer with 223 points. He hit 32-40 of his field goals and missed only one extra point. He was 9-14 on field goals beyond 40 yards with a career long of 51 yards.

Kingsley Eguakun, C: Because Stewart Reese has played and started in the SEC at the other four positions on the O-line, he probably is the plug and play guy if there is an injury. Reese will start the season at center, but if he gets the call to take over somewhere else on the line, Eguakun will step in at center. He had a very nice spring and he’s a well-conditioned 6-4, 303 now, ready to play in the SEC.

GATORS AT THE OLYMPICS Caeleb Dressel swam a 47.23 to win his heat in the 100 freestyle semifinals. He goes into tonight’s finals with the second best time.

Bobby Finke set a new American record at 7:42.72 in the 800 freestyle to qualify third for tonight’s finals in that event.

Kelsey Stewart, Aubrey Monroe and Michelle Moultrie won silver medals as the USA softball team lost the championship game to Japan.

Canada advanced to Friday’s women’s soccer quarter-final against Brazil after a 1-1 tie with Great Britain. Gator Adriana Leon scored Canada’s only goal.

UF-UCF WILL PLAY THREE TIMES

The official announcement that the Gators and UCF have agreed to a three-game football series was made Tuesday. Florida will host UCF in 2024 and 2033 and play the Knights in Orlando in 2030. This is a deal that would have never been done if now Tennessee athletic director Danny White were still in charge at UCF.

With Texas joining the SEC perhaps as early as the 2022 season, it eliminates the Longhorns as a non-conference opponent for 2030-31. The Gators are under contract to host Texas in 2030 and face the Longhorns in Austin in 2031.

BOB STOOPS ON OKLAHOMA MOVING TO THE SEC

Writing in The Oklahoman, the former Oklahoma head coach who was the defensive coordinator for Florida’s first national championship team in 1996, explained that Oklahoma’s move to the SEC was about doing what’s best for Oklahoma and that did not include dragging along Oklahoma State.

“Let’s set the record straight: OU’s move to the SEC is what’s best for Oklahoma. The reality is that conferences are now more important than ever and, with limited spots, the strongest conferences would not accept OU if we were to retire OSU to join as well. By joining the SEC, we ensure the state’s flagship university will be represented nationally while protecting our rich football history for many years to come. To move forward in any other manner would be to the detriment of OU and the state of Oklahoma.”

THE PERSPECTIVE FROM BIG TEN COUNTRY Writing for Saturday Tradition, columnist Ryan O’Gara torched Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren, who, in light of the Southeastern Conference adding Texas and Oklahoma, seems ill-prepared for the next season, much less the possibility of expansion:

“Heck, the Big Ten doesn’t even know what it’s going to do yet about COVID this season (check back in August!). COVID has only been a thing for about 17 months now. If that’s the pace the Big Ten is moving, they are going to be left out in the lurch.

“This past week made clear that the calendar flipping from 2020 to 2021 hasn’t changed the fact that the SEC is running circles around the Big Ten. The SEC outmaneuvered the Big Ten during the pandemic, and it’s happening again. And the Big Ten seems helpless to stop it.

“When asked about the SEC adding Texas and Oklahoma, Warren talked about seeing ‘how that evolves and where it lands.’ By then, it’ll be too late. Here’s a question: If Texas and Oklahoma were looking to leave, why wasn’t the Big Ten looking forward and trying to add them? A better question might be, would Texas and Oklahoma even want to join the Big Ten after last year’s debacle.”

PAC-12 COMMISSIONER GEORGE KLIAVKOFF TALKS EXPANSION

Kliavkoff is brand new to the job, having recently taken over for the disastrous Larry Scott. At Pac-12 Media Days and to The Athletic, Kliavkoff discussed the expanding SEC and the expectation that conferences will expand, contract and realign in a wholesale manner in the next 12-24 months:

“We do not think expansion is required to continue to compete and thrive. That said, the fallout from Texas and Oklahoma gives us an opportunity to once again consider expansion. We have already had significant inbound interest from many schools. We will work with our presidents and chancellors to evaluate these opportunities.”

“I reject the idea that if someone else has 16 teams, we need to have 16. That just doesn’t make sense to me … I kind of like the schools we have. I like our opportunities, I like our unique geography and footprint. If there’s chaos happening elsewhere on the college football landscape, I think that helps us. If there’s consolidation, that helps us.”

Kliavkoff may like the teams the Pac-12 has, but it’s fairly obvious television viewers don’t. Right now the league isn’t relevant and it needs to expand its footprint but there aren’t a lot of good options available. There isn’t a marquee football program to be had if the Pac-12 dips into the Big 12, and while San Diego State, Boise State and BYU would definitely improve the overall brand of football, those three schools are looked down on by the academics in the league. But something will have to be done or else the Pac-12 will be battling it out with the Big 12 and ACC to see who can be the least relevant.

Here is something else that the rookie commissioner needs to seriously consider. What do the quarterbacks at Ole Miss (Matt Corrall), Alabama (Bryce Young), Georgia (JT Daniels), Spencer Rattler (Oklahoma), Clemson (D.J. Uiagalelei), Iowa State (Brock Purdy) and Ohio State (C.J. Stroud) have in common? They all played high school football deep in the heart of Pac-12 country and all of them chose to go east. Until Kliavkoff can figure a way to make Pac-12 football relevant and get league games on television at a decent hour on the east coast, the good quarterbacks will continue to go east.

ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Several new women have added their names to criminal complaints against Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson, claiming sexual assault or inappropriate behavior. I find it disgusting that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell hasn’t suspended Watson until these matters are cleared up. Goodell has issued more than 100 suspensions over the past 11 years, many for domestic violence, among them Greg Hardy (10-game suspension for beating up his girlfriend in 2014), Ben Roethlisberger (six games for sexual assault in a night club although no charges were ever filed) and Ray Rice (two games for aggravated assault against his fiancée). He fined the Washington Football Team $10 million for sexual and verbal harassment of women. And yet Watson hasn’t been suspended. Major League Baseball suspended Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer while investigations are ongoing regarding allegations he assaulted a woman. One woman, not the 22 women who claim Watson violated them. There is something seriously wrong with Roger Goodell’s idea of justice.