A few thoughts to jump start your Thursday morning: HOW THE BASKETBALL ROSTER IS TAKING SHAPE Funny, but the sky isn’t falling on the Florida basketball program. Just a week ago there were quite a few who believed Mike White would have to rely heavily on walk-ons next season to have a full roster. A week later, thanks to three transfers, White has a current roster of 11 scholarship players counting Keyontae Johnson, who still has not received medical clearance to return to playing basketball. Losing four kids to the transfer portal might have seemed like a serious blow to the program a week ago but the three new guys actually upgrade the roster. The third of the transfers committed to White and the Gators Thursday. Penn State’s leading scorer from the past season, Birmingham native Myreon Jones, chose Florida over Arkansas, Ole Miss and LSU. Jones (6-3, 180) has two more seasons of eligibility remaining since the 2020-21 season won’t count against anyone in Division I. Jones averaged 15.3 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game last year while hitting 39.5 percent of his 3-point attempts. That he only turned the ball over 29 times in 25 games should be music to the ears of Florida fans. Jones joins grad transfer Brandon McKissic, who scored at a 17.2 per game pace at UMKC this past season, and 3rd-year sophomore C.J. Felder, who averaged 9.7 points and 5.9 rebounds at Boston College. The three newbies to the Florida roster combined for 42.2 points, 12.3 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game. Statistically, that’s quite an upgrade from the four who have announced they are transferring out. The combined production of the departed Noah Locke, Omar Payne (to Illinois), Ques Glover and Osayi Osifo (to Jacksonville) was 18.8 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. With two scholarships open for sure and potentially a third if Keyontae isn’t cleared, White needs to find a point guard and another big guy. The point guard in the transfer portal that UF has had contact with is Deivon Smith (6-1, 165), who averaged 5.2 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game coming off the bench at Mississippi State as a true freshman last year. Smith was heavily recruited by the Gators out of Grayson High School in Loganville, Georgia. Among the big guys that Florida is recruiting in the transfer portal are Noah Gurley (6-8, 210, Furman), Tari Eason (6-8, 220, Cincinnati), Jayden Gardner (6-8, 235, East Carolina). Of the three, Gurley and Eason might be 1-2. Gardner seems to be leaning toward either North Carolina State or Virginia. Returning (6): Colin Castleton (6-11, 235, 5th YR JR); Anthony Duruji (6-7, 220, 5th YR JR); Tyree Appleby (6-1, 172, 5th YR JR); Jason Jitoboh (6-11, 285, 3rd YR SO); Samson Ruzhentsev (6-7, 195, 2nd YR FR); Neils Lane (6-5, 205, 2nd YR FR) Signed LOI (1): Kowacie Reeves (6-6, 180, Macon, GA Westside) Transfers (3): Brandon McKissic (6-3, 200, GR); C.J. Felder (6-7, 235, 3rd YR SO); Myreon Jones (6-3, 185, 4th YR JR) In Doubt (1): Keyontae Johnson (6-5, 240, 4th YR JR) GATORS SHUT OUT FAMU, 10-0 Jud Fabian hit his 10th home run of the season and Nathan Hickey drove in three runs with four hits as the 9th-ranked Gators (20-9) tuned up for their weekend encounter in Knoxville with 6th-ranked Tennessee by hammering Florida A&M, 10-0. Fabian’s 3-run homer in the bottom of the first gave the Gators all the offense they needed but Hickey drove in two with a double in the second and capped a 4-run eighth with a run-scoring single. Picking up the win in relief of starter Timmy Manning was Chase Centala (2-0, 2.31 ERA). Centala came on with two out in the third, got the final out and then gave the Gators another 1-2/3 innings before David Leuthje came on in the fifth. Leuthje pitched 1-2/3 hitless innings. Jordan Butler got the final two outs. UF SOFTBALL: GATORS SWEEP USF Katie Chronister came on to pitch two perfect innings in relief of Natalie Lugo Wednesday night to preserve a 2-1 win as the 5th-ranked Gators (29-4) swept a doubleheader with South Florida (17-9). The Gators run-ruled South Florida in the first game, 9-1. In game one, Charla Echols and Kendyl Lindaman homered to back the 3-hit pitching of Elizabeth Hightower (13-2, 1.31 ERA). Echols gave Hightower all the support she needed in the bottom of the first when she hit a 3-run homer to right field, her 10th of the season. In the fourth, Lindaman hit her 6th homer of the season, a 2-run shot to left center field. Hightower walked three and struck out five. In the second game, Echols broke up a 1-1 tie with a 2-out RBI double to right center to score Hannah Adams, who had singled. Emily Wilkie accounted for Florida’s other run when she led off the bottom of the second inning with her fourth home run of the season. Lugo (9-1, 1.41 ERA) gave up three hits in five innings to get the win. After Echols put the Gators ahead, Chronister came on to earn her second save of the season. The Gators will play the Canadian national team at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium Saturday and Western Kentucky in a non-conference game on Sunday. OVER, UNDER, AROUND AND THROUGH THE SEC (FOOTBALL/HOOPS): Alabama: Former 5-star recruit Antonio Alfano, who quit before ever playing a game for Nick Saban and then transferred to Colorado, is on the move again. This time he’s on his way to Independence (KS) Community College, which Netflix refers to as “Last Chance U.” Arkansas: It was a busy day for Arkansas basketball which saw two more players transfer out and one transfer in. The newbie is former Miami point guard Chris Lykes (5-7, 165), who averaged 15.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 5.5 assists in the two games he played this past season before he was injured. During his UM career, Lykes averaged 13.6 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. Outgoing are power forward Ethan Henderson (6-8, 210) and power forward Emeka Obukwele (6-8, 235). Still no word on SEC Freshman of the Year Moses Moody (6-6, 205), who averaged 16.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. Auburn: Small forward Javon Franklin (6-7, 220) is transferring to South Alabama. Georgia: JT Daniels, the latest in a long line of saviors expected to bring Georgia its first national title since Herschel Walker’s freshman year, says, “There’s no denying we do want to win a natty. I think we have the team to do it.” What? Is someone other than Kirby Smart coaching Georgia this year? Kentucky: Kentucky is very much in the running to land North Carolina transfer Walker Kessler, a 7-1 center who also has Tennessee, Gonzaga and Michigan actively seeking his services. New North Carolina coach Hubert Davis says his top priority is to re-recruit Kessler and keep him in Chapel Hill. LSU: Trendon Watford (6-8, 220) declared for the NBA and will hire an agent. He averaged 14.9 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game in his two years in Baton Rouge. Expected also to announce their departures are Cameron Thomas, JaVonte Smart and Darius Days. Missouri: Former Mizzou wide receiver Dominic Gicinto is transferring to New Mexico State. He had 23 catches for 282 yards and two touchdowns in his Missouri career. South Carolina: Darla Moore, the top booster for both the university and athletic department who has donated more than $75 million to the school, says she’s “embarrassed and humiliated” that no one from the university athletic department sent her condolences when her mother died. Moore is also quite peeved that the university hired Bob Caslen as its president a few months ago. Tennessee: Forward Drew Pember, who was a teammate of former Florida guard Ques Glover at Knoxville’s Bearden High School, announced that he is transferring to UNC-Asheville. ARIZONA TRIES TO STAY ONE STEP AHEAD OF THE NCAA JAILER Arizona probably could have saved itself some grief by firing Sean Miller a year or so ago for his alleged involvement a pay-for-play arrangement with former assistant Book Richardson that was one of the centerpieces of the federal college basketball corruption trial. When the NCAA got involved, Zona stood by Miller as long as it could before finally caving Wednesday. Nobody will ever admit it, but you can bet the farm Zona was told “either get rid of him now or we may hit you with the death penalty.” The prudent thing was to jettison Miller. Arizona is still going to get hit with severe penalties and that likely means they’ll go with a young, fairly unproven successor while they weather the storm. I expect Arizona will stay within the family so I believe the three potential successors are Pacific coach Damon Stoudamire, Los Angeles Lakers assistant Miles Simon and Sacramento Kings head coach Luke Walton. Georgia Tech head coach Josh Pastner is also an Arizona alum, but Georgia Tech and Pastner have had their own recent run-in with the NCAA. It doesn’t make much sense for a school about to get smacked silly by the NCAA to hire a coach who has run afoul. Arizona’s decision to go ahead and pink slip Miller might be a warning shot across the bow of Kansas, which was probably singing Tammy Wynette’s “Stand by Your Man” throughout the basketball complex in Lawrence last week when Bill Self was given a lifetime contract. Kansas has vowed to go bare knuckles with the NCAA over the notice of allegations stemming from the corruption trials that put Self and Kansas squarely in the crosshairs. Rather than go toe-to-toe with the Committee on Infractions, Kansas has asked for and receive a trial before an independent board that is supposed to be fairer than a bunch of faculty from NCAA member schools. I can’t see Kansas winning no matter who hears the case. LSU should also be fearful of the NCAA but for slightly different reasons. Basketball coach Will Wade was caught on an FBI wiretap allegedly offering to buy players. If it were only basketball, the NCAA would have already served a notice of allegations, but this situation isn’t that simple. There is that teensy matter of football where a booster embezzled money and then used it to pay players. There is also that Title IX investigation that complicates things even further. Because both the basketball and football violations are both as major as it gets, LSU could face some of the harshest penalties ever handed down by the NCAA. Yes, it has taken a long time to get to the LSU case, but it is indeed complicated. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Back in November, when they played the 2020 version of the Masters, Bryson DeChambeau declared he was going to play Augusta National like it was a par 67. He averaged 324 yards off the tee but as he found out, hitting the ball a long way at Augusta National doesn’t always equate to the best score. Augusta National is all about course management, keeping the ball in the fairway and out of the tall pines and azaleas, and making putts. Dustin Johnson made so many putts that he won at 20-under in November while DeChambeau finished tied for 34th. I think DJ has a really good chance to repeat, but the two guys I believe have the best chance to wear the green jacket are Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth. Thomas is 64th on the PGA Tour in average driving distance but he’s first in fewest putts per hole at 1.658. Spieth, who has won at Augusta National before, is 89th in driving distance but he needs an average of 1.71 putts per hole. My heart says Spieth will win. My head is going with Thomas. DeChambeau, I think will finish somewhere around 20th.

A few thoughts to jump start your Wednesday morning: THREE THINGS THAT HAVE ME THINKING ON A WEDNESDAY 1. Emory Jones will make the doubters look silly in the fall: Those who doubt that Emory Jones is capable of leading the Gators to the SEC East championship in the fall need to go back to 2007, Tim Tebow’s first year as Florida’s starting QB. Everybody knew Tebow was a sledgehammer running between the tackles but there were doubts that he could throw the ball effectively against SEC defenses. All he did in 2007 was throw for 3,286 yards and 32 touchdowns while running for 895 yards and 23 more TDs. Tebow was such a threat to run the ball that it opened up the passing game. Tim was never going to make a lot of pinpoint throws but he didn’t need to. Instead of needing to fit the ball into a tight window, the threat of the run gave extra cushion. Most of Tebow’s throws went to wide open receivers. It was that way for all three years Tebow was UF’s starting QB and there is a really good chance it will be that way in the fall when Emory Jones and his dancing feet take over as Florida’s starting QB. It will be his fourth year in Dan Mullen’s offense that is being overhauled to take advantage of running ability. As we saw from 2007-09, when you spread the field and you have a quarterback who can consume huge chunks of yardage with his feet, you don’t have to make pinpoint throws to have an explosive passing game. Emory Jones is going to be fine and the Florida offense will be seriously explosive. 2. Todd Grantham’s defense will be the most improved unit in the SEC: Any way you cut it, 2020 was a lousy year for Todd Grantham and the Florida defense but bad defenses throughout college football were the norm and not the exception. Granted, Florida’s defense was the worst in school history but the Gators weren’t the only team that spent a good portion of the season getting lit up. That’s not an excuse. That’s reality. Could it happen two straight years? Of course, it could, but I doubt it will. The Florida defense was top ten in 2019. It’s not like Grantham forgot how to coach in one offseason. I believe we will see that the combination of spring football and a normal offseason for development will make all the difference in the world. I believe the new DTs – Antonio Shelton and DaQuan Newkirk – will be the run stuffers that UF lacked last year, that Brenton Cox Jr. will have an All-America type of season coming off the edge and the secondary will look organized and decisive with the two new coaches. If the Gators are the most improved defensive unit in the SEC in the fall, UF will win the SEC East. 3. The NCAA succeeded in spite of itself: There is that old southern saying that even blind squirrels find an occasional acorn. You could say something similar about the NCAA, which pulled off the its basketball tournament with very few glitches over the past three weeks. They were lucky because Indianapolis (a) has access to enough good venues and (b) enough experience running big events to make it work. There was also a good bit of luck involved because there were only 15 positive COVID-19 tests during the entire three weeks although that was enough to send VCU home without a chance to play its first round game against Oregon. Defenders of the organization will point to the tournament as a good enough reason to keep Mark Emmert on as the president when in fact he shouldn’t be allowed to manage a convenience store, much less make the decisions that affect hundreds of thousands of student-athletes. In just a few weeks, college sports will take on that wild, wild west persona when legislation is passed to allow athletes to transfer once without the one-year sit out penalty. It is at this time the NCAA will need real leadership that Emmert is incapable of delivering. Even so, his defenders will say he’s the right guy for the job and they’ll point to the tournament as the reason. There is another old southern saying that goes like this: You can put lipstick on a pig, but all you have is a pig wearing lipstick. GATORS HANG ON TO NIP STETSON, 7-6 Franco Aleman came on to get the final three outs in the top of the ninth Tuesday night as the Gators (19-9) held on for a 7-6 win over Stetson at the Florida Ballpark. The Gators held a 7-4 lead going into the ninth when Stetson rallied for two runs off Brandon Sproat, forcing Kevin O’Sullivan to bring in Aleman to pick up the save. The winning margin for the Gators was provided by Josh Rivera, who hit his third homer, a solo shot in the bottom of the eighth. Rivera also had an RBI double in the fourth when the Gators scored three times to take a 4-2 lead. Rivera and Sterlin Thompson paced Florida’s 13-hit attack with three hits apiece while Jacob Young and Jordan Butler each had two. Getting the win for the Gators was Garrett Milchin (2-1), who gave up two runs and two hits over five innings without issuing a single walk. It was a bad day in the field for the Gators, who committed four errors. The Gators are dead last in the Southeastern Conference in fielding, having committed 35 errors in 28 games. The Gators face Florida A&M tonight at the Florida Ballpark. OTHER UF SPRING SPORTS Softball: The 5th-ranked Gators (27-4) play host to South Florida (17-7) in a doubleheader starting at 5 p.m. at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium. ESPN/USA Softball poll: 1. Oklahoma 28-0; 2. UCLA 19-1; 3. Alabama 29-4; 4. Oregon 26-2; 5. FLORIDA 27-4; 6. Washington 28-4; 7. Arizona 22-5; 8. Texas 27-3; 9. Arkansas 31-3; 10. Florida State 24-6; 11. Kentucky 27-6; 12. Oklahoma State 29-5; 13. Virginia Tech 23-6; 14. Arizona State 21-9; 15. LSU 28-12; 16. Tennessee 28-6; 18. Clemson 26-4; 19. Missouri 28-7; 20. Duke 26-7; 21. Northwestern 18-2; 22. Georgia 23-6; 23. Texas State 24-3; 24. Michigan 13-3; 25. Texas A&M 25-8. D1Softball.com poll: 1. Oklahoma 28-0; 2. UCLA 19-1; 3. Oregon 26-2; 4. Alabama 29-4; 5. FLORIDA 27-4; 6. Washington 28-4; 7. Florida State 24-6; 8. Arkansas 31-3; 9. Arizona 22-5; 10. Oklahoma State 29-5; 11. Kentucky 27-6; 13. Virginia Tech 23-6; 14. Arizona State 21-9; 15. LSU 21-12; 16. Louisiana 25-6; 17. Missouri 28-7; 18. Texas State 24-3; 19. Tennessee 28-6; 20. Clemson 26-4; 21. Duke 21-6; 22. Northwestern 8-2; 23. UCF 25-9; 24. Wichita State 24-5; 25. Georgia 23-6. USA Today/NFCA Coaches poll: 1. Oklahoma 28-0; 2. UCLA 19-1; 3. Oregon 26-2; 4. Alabama 29-4; 5. FLORIDA 27-4; 6. Washington 28-4; 7. Texas 27-3; 8. 8. Arizona 22-5; 9. Florida State 24-6; 10. (TIE) Arkansas 31-3 and Kentucky 27-6; 12. Oklahoma State 29-5; 13. Arizona State 21-9; 14. Louisiana 25-6; 15. Virginia Tech 23-6; 16. Duke 27-6; 17. LSU 21-12; 18. Clemson 26-4; 19. Missouri 28-7; 20. Georgia 23-6; 21. Tennessee 28-6; 22. Northwestern 18-2; 23. Michigan 13-3; 24. UCF 25-9; 25. Texas State 24-3. Men’s golf: The Gators finished in a fourth place tie with Texas at the Calusa Cup in Naples, Florida’s last regular season tournament before the SEC Tournament begins on April 21 at St. Simon’s Island. TWO MORE IN THE PORTAL THAT MIKE WHITE IS RECRUITING Tari Eason (6-8, 220, Cincinnati): As a true freshman Eason averaged 7.3 points and 5.9 rebounds per game in only 18 minutes a game so he’s very productive. The Gators recruited him out of high school without success and they are currently very heavily involved with him now that he’s in the transfer portal. In addition to the Gators he lists Marquette, LSU, Washington, Washington State, Pepperdine, Iowa State, and Arizona. He’s from Seattle originally so Washington and Washington State are pushing hard. Jayden Gardner (6-8, 235, East Carolina): The Gators are making a significant push for Gardner but it’s going to be very difficult to lure him away from ACC territory. He has scored 1,462 points (18.0 average) and grabbed 705 rebounds (8.7 per game) in his career. He has two years of eligibility remaining since the 2020-21 season didn’t count against him. North Carolina State has been working him hard as have Virginia and Virginia Tech. In the SEC, Florida, Tennessee, Ole Miss, Arkansas, Vanderbilt and Texas A&M have offered. It’s my opinion the Gators are in the top three but I think he may go with NC State. OVER, UNDER, AROUND AND THROUGH THE SEC (FOOTBALL/HOOPS) Alabama: Athletic director Greg Byrne won’t know until Friday how many fans he can allow into Bryant-Denny Stadium for Saturday’s A-Day game. If it’s based on last season’s limitations, then it will be 20,000 but he’s waiting for clarification from the state ... Alabama finished 5th in the final Coaches basketball poll. Arkansas: Power forward Emeka Obukwelu (6-8, 235) is the second Arkansas player to put his name in the NCAA transfer portal ... Quarterback Jacob Switzer, the grandson of former Razorback player and Oklahoma head coach Barry Switzer, has placed his name in the football transfer portal. Auburn: Former Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Bucs tight ends coach Ben Steele has joined the Auburn staff as an analyst … FLORIDA: Osayi Osifo (6-7, 225) will be transferring to Jacksonville University. Georgia: Georgia needs a M*A*S*H unit for its wide receivers. Injured are George Pickens (ACL), Jermaine Burton (hyperextended knee), Arian Smith (sprained wrist), Dominick Blaylock (knee) and Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint (ankle). Kentucky: Point guard Skyy Clark (6-3, 200, Nashville, TN Ensworth) will not be skipping his senior year to enroll at Kentucky. He has been committed to Kentucky since November of 2020. LSU: The Department of Education is opening a Title IX investigation into sexual assault complaints involving LSU football. Missouri: Former Kansas State shooting guard DaJuan Gordon, who is transferring to Mizzou, averaged 9.1 points and 5.5 rebounds per game last year. Transfer point guard Jarron Coleman averaged 13.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists at Ball State. Ole Miss: Injuries on the offensive line forced Ole Miss to practice with only 10 offensive lineman Tuesday. South Carolina: Shooting guard Justin Minaya (6-6, 210) declared for the NBA Draft and put his name in the transfer portal. Minaya averaged 7 points and 6 rebounds per game last year. He is the fourth Gamecock in the transfer portal and at the same time becomes the third to declare for the draft. Tennessee: Linebacker Aaron Beasley is facing charges for animal cruelty for abusing a kitten. He has been suspended from all team activities by HBC Josh Heupel. Texas A&M: Four-time Pro Bowl defensive back Antonio Cromartie is joining the Texas A&M football staff although Jimbo Fisher has not indicated what position … Senior Josh Rogers, a reserve defensive lineman, has put his name in the NCAA transfer portal … Small forward Savion Flagg will be transferring to Sam Houston State. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: It’s amazing what winning an NCAA basketball championship will do for your image. Scott Drew is being hailed as some kind of genius today after leading Baylor to a beatdown win over Gonzaga in the national championship game Monday night, but you only have to go back a few years to see how perceptions have changed. After making the Elite Eight in 2012, Drew’s next seven seasons produced a 121-85 record (57.8%). During that time, the Bears went to the NIT twice, lost in the NCAA first round twice, made it to the second round once, and made it twice to the Sweet 16. At some schools that would have gotten Drew fired and there are probably more than a few Baylor alums who wondered out loud if they had the right coach. Baylor stuck with him, believed in him and never wavered in its belief that Scott Drew would deliver. He’s 52-6 the last two years and has a team that will be favored to go deep into the NCAA Tournament next year.

A few thoughts to jump start your Tuesday morning: TRASK WOULD BE A NICE FIT WITH THE SAINTS Unless the New Orleans Saints elect to sign or trade a veteran quarterback, they’re faced with the prospects of trying to wing it next season with Taysom Hill, who has doubled as a goal line running back/receiver in the past, or former Tampa Bay Bucs quarterback Jameis Winston. Can they transform Hill into a productive NFL quarterback? Is there an exorcist who can cast out the snakes that call the space between Winston’s ears home? If they don’t trade or sign a free agent, the next choice would be to go after a QB in the draft. The five most highly ranked QB prospects – Trevor Lawrence, Zach Wilson, Justin Fields, Trey Lance and Mac Jones – will all be long gone by the time the Saints choose. They’ll use that first rounder to fill a position of immediate need such as landing a wide receiver with speed such as Elijah Moore (Ole Miss) or possibly Terrace Marshall Jr. (LSU). It’s in the second round they are likely to seek out a QB and that’s where Florida’s Kyle Trask fits in. ESPN NFL reporter and Insider Jeremy Fowler, who was at Florida’s pro day last week, has been reporting there is a lot of buzz within the Saints organization about Trask. There are advantages with Trask. He’s proven he’s patient after waiting three years for his turn to play at Florida so he wouldn’t have to play right away. He’s a very accurate thrower who is smart and able to conceptualize info from a coach then implement it immediately during a game. Trask is a film room junkie who is a sponge when it comes to absorbing new information plus he’s a hard worker on the practice field. Trask would be a rather nice fit with the Saints, but there are others out there who seem to think he will be targeted by the Chicago Bears, who have all but given up on Mitch Trubisky and who signed retread Andy Dalton via free agency. Given the stability of a coaching staff headed by Sean Payton and playing half the games indoors, the Saints would be a far better landing spot for Trask than Chicago. BAYLOR DID IT WITH TRANSFERS Of the eight players that play the bulk of the minutes for Baylor’s newly crowned NCAA champions, four of them arrived via the transfer route. Scott Drew has done a very good job in recent years of luring highly regarded high school talent to Baylor, but he has done an exceptional job of plugging holes in his roster by adding quality transfers. Transfers accounted for 53 points, 12 rebounds, 8 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocked shots while hitting 6-11 from the 3-point line in the Bears’ 86-70 win over previously unbeaten Gonzaga. Ma’Cio Teague (19 points, 2-3 on 3-pointers) started his career at UNC-Asheville of the Big South Conference. Davion Mitchell (15 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists) started out at Auburn. Coming off the bench were Adam Flagler (13 points, 3-4 on 3-pointers) and Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua (6 points, 2 rebounds). Flagler transferred in from Presbyterian and Tchamwa Tchatchoua started his career at UNLV. In a perfect world, every national championship team would be built from the ground up by high school recruits who stick it out four years but times have changed. Kids who aren’t one-and-done, rarely stick it out four years. Soon the NBA and G-League will be drafting kids straight out of high school, ending the one-and-done. Kids who aren’t drafted aren’t necessarily going to stick around at the school where they sign either. Within a few weeks the NCAA will be implementing legislation that will give an athlete one transfer without having to sit a year and that will hasten the departure of a lot of kids in search of a fresh start to their careers. Currently, there are more than 1,200 basketball players with their names in the NCAA transfer portal a number that is likely to change by at least a couple hundred more by the end of the spring semester nationwide. There are some estimates that as many as half the kids in the transfer portal will be unsuccessful landing a scholarship to play someplace new so not every kid who leaves is going to have a happy ending. And, how many of the kids who transfer are going to land at a place where they will be a good fit both academically and athletically? Scott Drew is obviously ahead of the curve when it comes to understanding how to use transfers to his advantage. As we are going to see in the future, the really good coaches are the ones who will know how to pick and choose transfers who can make their teams better. The ones who choose poorly are the ones who will find themselves pink-slipped. ANOTHER NAME SURFACES FOR UF IN THE TRANSFER PORTAL With the addition of transfers Brandon McKissic (from UMKC) and C.J. Felder (from Boston College) and the possibility of adding one or two more whose names are in the portal, Florida Mike White might field a starting lineup that includes four or five transfers next year. Florida is a finalist for Penn State shooting guard Myreon Jones (6-3, 180), a Birmingham native who has two remaining years of eligibility, and Furman small forward Noah Gurley (6-8, 210), from Fayetteville, Georgia, also with two years of eligibility. Jones is expected to decide in the next couple of days between Florida, LSU, Ole Miss and Arkansas. Gurley has eight finalists including UF, Alabama, Auburn, Duke, Tennessee, Marquette, San Diego State and Miami. He plans to announce his decision on Sunday. Meanwhile, a new name has surfaced for UF. The departure of Chris Beard from Texas Tech has several players on the move including small forward Micah Peavy (6-7, 210). Florida recruited Peavy hard out of Duncanville High School in Texas but so there is a relationship in place. Peavy can play the wing offensively and can defend four positions on the floor. GATORS ON THE MOVE IN BASEBALL POLLS The Gators are on the move in the collegiate baseball polls. By taking two out of three from Ole Miss last weekend, the Gators moved up at least one spot in all four of the major polls with the highest ranking at Collegiate Baseball where they are now ranked 9th. The Gators host Stetson tonight at the Florida Ballpark and Florida A&M Wednesday. Jordan Carrion, who hit the first home run of his Florida career and gave the Gators five critical outs on the mound in relief in the series clinching 6-5 win over Ole Miss, was selected SEC Co-Freshman of the Week. Collegiate Baseball poll: 1. Vanderbilt 23-3; 2. Arkansas 22-4; 3. Texas 20-8; 4. Tennessee 24-5; 5. South Carolina 19-7; 6. TCU 20-7; 8. Ole Miss 21-6; 9. FLORIDA 18-9; 10. Texas Tech 20-6; 11. Oklahoma State 18-7-1; 12. Mississippi State 20-7; 13. Oregon State 20-6; 14. UCLA 16-9; 15. East Carolina 22-5; 16. Arizona 18-8; 17; Michigan 13-5; 18. Arizona State 16-7; 19. Notre Dame 12-5; 20. Oregon 16-6; 21. Miami 16-8; 22. Georgia Tech 14-9; 23. Georgia 18-9; 24. Sacramento State 18-6; 25. Stanford 16-5; 26. UC-Irvine 16-9; 27. San Diego 19-5; 28. Florida State 15-9; 29. Nebraska 13-5; 30. Old Dominion 21-5 Baseball America poll: 1. Arkansas 22-4; 2. Vanderbilt 23-3; 3. Ole Miss 21-6; 4. Mississippi State 20-7; 5. Louisville 18-8; 6. Texas 20-8; 7. Tennessee 24-5; 8. East Carolina 22-5; 9. South Carolina 19-7; 10. FLORIDA 18-9; 11. Texas Tech 0-6; 12. Notre Dame 12-5; 13. Virginia Tech 15-9; 14. TCU 20-7; 15. Georgia Tech 14-9; 16. Arizona 18-8; 17. Pittsburgh 13-9; 18. Florida State 15-9; 19. Oregon 16-6; 20. Miami 16-8; 21. Oregon State 20-6; 22. Louisiana Tech 20-7; 23. Oklahoma State 18-7-1; 24. Michigan 13-5; 25. Indiana State 13-7. USA Today Coaches poll: 1. Vanderbilt 23-3; 2. Arkansas 22-4; 3. Ole Miss 21-6; 4. Tennessee 24-5; 5. Mississippi State 20-7; 6. Texas 20-8; 7. TCU 20-7; 8. Texas Tech 20-6; 9. East Carolina 22-5; 10. Louisville 18-8; 11. FLORIDA 18-9; 12. South Carolina 19-7; 13. Oklahoma State 18-7; 14. Notre Dame 12-5; 15. Miami 16-8; 16. Georgia Tech 14-9; 17. UCLA 16-9; 18. Oregon State 20-6; 18. Oregon State 20-6; 19. Louisiana Tech 20-7; 20. Oregon 16-6; 21. Florida State 15-9; 22. Arizona 18-8; 23. (Tie) Stanford 16-5 and Michigan 13-5; 25. Virginia Tech 15-9 D1Baseball.com poll: 1. Vanderbilt 23-3; 2. Arkansas 22-4; 3. Ole Miss 21-6; 4. Texas 20-8; 5. Mississippi State 20-7; 6. Tennessee 24-5; 7. Louisville 18-8; 9. East Carolina 22-5; 10. TCU 20-7; 11. South Carolina 19-7; 12. FLORIDA 18-9; 13. Notre Dame 12-5; 14. Oklahoma State 18-7-1; 15. Georgia Tech 14-9; 16. Louisiana Tech 20-7; 17. Florida State 15-9; 18. Miami 16-8; 19. Oregon 16-6; 20. Oregon State 20-6; 21. UCLA 16-9; 22. Arizona 18-8; 23. Virginia Tech 15-9; 24. Pittsburgh 13-9; 25. Michigan 13-5 GATORS WIN SOFTBALL SERIES WITH GEORGIA Charla Echols launched a pair of home runs in her first two at bats to pace the 5th-ranked Gators (27-4, 10-2 SEC) to an 8-1 win over No. 20 Georgia Monday night in Athens. In winning the series with Georgia, the Gators moved into sole possession of second place in the SEC, trailing Arkansas which is off to a 12-0 start. Echols, who hit three homers in the series, gave the Gators all the runs they would need with a 2-run homer in the first and then added a solo homer in the third. Echols leads the Gators with eight home runs and 34 RBI. Picking up the win for UF was Katie Chronister (6-1, 2.00 ERA), who allowed five hits and one run in four innings. Natalie Lugo earned her third save by pitching three hitless innings, lowering her ERA to 1.45. The Gators will face South Florida in a doubleheader at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium Wednesday evening. AS THE TRANSFER PORTAL TURNS (SEC HOOPS) Arkansas: One player has transferred out and one has transferred in. The newbie is former Pitt small forward Au’Diese Toney. Auburn: Three have transferred out, one has turned pro and one has transferred in. The newbie is former Mizzou point guard Xavier Pinson. Kentucky: Former 5-star point guard Devin Askew (6-3, 195) placed his name in the transfer portal Monday. Two have transferred out, two have declared for the pros and two have transferred in. Mississippi State: Two players have transferred out. Missouri: Three players have transferred in and five have transferred out. Ole Miss: Nysier Brooks (7-0, 240) is transferring in from Miami. He averaged 7.4 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.0 blocked shots per game … Antavion Collum (6-7, 234) is transferring to Cal State-Bakersfield ... Ole Miss has had five players transfer out and one declare for the pros. South Carolina: The Gamecocks have had three transfer out and two declare for the pros. Tennessee: Two have transferred out, one has declared for the NBA and one has transferred in. Texas A&M: Four players have transferred out. Vanderbilt: Four players have transferred out. Non-SEC transfers of note … Point guard Jarrod West (5-11, 185), who Florida was recruiting, has committed to Louisville. West averaged 12.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 2.5 steals per game for Marshall. Cole Swider (6-9, 225) is transferring to Syracuse. He averaged 5.7 points and 2.8 rebounds coming off the bench for Villanova. Joining Micah Peavy in the exodus of players from Texas Tech are Kyler Edwards (6-4, 195) and Marcus Santos-Silva (6-7, 245). It is expected that signee Jaylon Tyson will ask out of his letter of intent. Peavy, a former 5-star recruit, averaged 5.7 points and 3.1 rebounds per game. Edwards averaged 10.1 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. Santos-Silva averaged 8.3 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. Maryland landed power forward Qudus Wahab (6-11, 237) from Georgetown and guard Fatts Russell (5-10, 165) from Rhode Island. Wahad averaged 12.8 points and 8.2 rebounds per game for the Hoyas, while Russell averaged 14.7 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: With Gonzaga’s loss to Baylor, the hopes and dreams of all those leagues populated mostly by directional, small private and religious-affiliated schools that we call “mid-major” or “low-major” were once again crushed, just as they were for Butler, VCU and Wichita State in previous years. I may be in the minority here, but I think it would be good for college basketball for a team from a non-power league to win it all, just as I believe it would be good for college football to expand the playoff so that a team from one of the non-power leagues can have a shot at the rarified air.

A few thoughts to jump start your Monday morning: THIS IS WHAT YOU CALL DOMINANCE When Florida’s No. 1 ranked tennis team methodically took out 22nd-ranked Kentucky, 5-2, Sunday afternoon at the Ring Tennis Complex, it marked the Gators 250th Southeastern Conference championship, which is 94 more SEC titles than second place Tennessee and 100 more than Georgia. There are schools that dominate in one sport such as Alabama in football and Kentucky in men’s basketball, but there is not another SEC school with the all-around excellence of the University of Florida. In addition to the tennis title, the Gators have also claimed SEC titles in swimming and gymnastics. Florida has won at least one SEC title every year for the past 43 seasons. Here is a list of SEC championships by school: Florida 250; Tennessee 156; Georgia 150; LSU 143; Arkansas 118; Alabama 95; Auburn 83; Kentucky 78; Mississippi State 31; Ole Miss 23; South Carolina 19; Vanderbilt 19; Texas A&M 18; Missouri 2. Additionally, Florida has won 41 national championships: Women’s tennis 7; men’s indoor track and field 5; men’s outdoor track and field 4; gymnastics 4; men’s golf 4; football 3; women’s swimming 3; men’s swimming 2; men’s basketball 2; softball 2; women’s golf 2; soccer 1; baseball 1. WHEN THE CLOCK STRUCK MIDNIGHT, WE GOT THE MATCHUP WE WANTED The Baylor Bears (27-2) were already comfortably secure in their quest to win the first national championship in school history after they bludgeoned a rather good Houston (28-4) team into submission. Baylor isn’t Cinderella, just the product of a brick-by-brick approach to building a program that is capable of playing and winning on college basketball’s biggest stage. It’s hard to use the term Cinderella in the same gasp as UCLA and Gonzaga but there they were in Indianapolis Saturday night exchanging one body blow after another when the clock struck midnight, at which moment UCLA turned into a pumpkin and the glass slipper fit Gonzaga perfectly. It is very difficult to associate Cinderella with a school that has 11 NCAA championship trophies from its storied past collecting dust but what else can you say about UCLA’s 5-game odyssey from 11th-seed play-in to Final Four semifinal? Common sense says the Bruins shouldn’t have been there, playing in a third tournament overtime game, this one for the chance to not only advance to the national championship game for the first time since 2006 (lost to Florida that year) but to knock off the undefeated, No. 1 ranked Zags. As Jalen Suggs’ bank shot from 35 or so feet plunged through the nets when the scoreboard clock flatlined at 00.00 in overtime, the fairy tale ended for UCLA. For Gonzaga, is it really fair to call a school whose coach has AVERAGED 28.5 wins per year (32 per season since 2012-13) Cinderella? Yet there were the Zags, 3.3 seconds away from a second overtime and a fleeting feeling that their glass slipper was about to feel like a worn out combat boot. That’s when Suggs took an inbounds pass, streaked pass midcourt and let fly with a shot that he knew was good the nano-second it left his hand. Thanks to a shot that will be replayed more often than the 9-inch stiletto Christian Laettner stuck in Kentucky’s heard back in 1992, Gonzaga won, 93-90, and made it to the NCAA championship game for the second time in school history. For all their success, the Zags represent the Cinderella hopes of every school from the non-power conferences that pray they can make it to midnight without the hat pin being stuck in their balloon. Tonight’s national championship game is the one we’ve been waiting for all season. These are the two best teams in the country and it’s only fitting they will duke it out although in the end, when one of them claims the first NCAA basketball title in its school history, there will be a wild celebration for one team, heartbreak for the other. If it is Baylor, there will be endless stories about how Scott Drew took over the program worst situation in the country in 2003. How bad was it? Patrick Dennehy murdered teammate Carlton Dotson. Then coach Dave Bliss tried to cover up the fact he had paid Dennehy under the table and complicated matters by claiming Dennehy got the money because he was a drug dealer. Baylor spent two years in the NCAA jailhouse over that scandal, able to play only Big 12 conference games. Here we are 18 years later and the Bears are not only playing for the national championship, but they made it past the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2012. The fans at a lot of schools would be calling for Drew’s head even though the only year in the last 10 he didn’t make the postseason was 2020 when the pandemic eliminated the tournament. If it is Gonzaga, not only will there be celebration in Spokane, but in every one of those leagues whose names you can’t recall and whose ranks are dominated by directional and religious-affiliated schools. If it is Gonzaga, the monkey will finally be off Mark Few’s back. No one will be able to use that silly, worn out phrase “he’s the best coach who never won the big one.” If the Zags win, the talking heads will proclaim they are a team for the ages and most of us will agree. Prediction: A week ago I thought the Zags would beat any team in the country by 15 or 20 points. After seeing the two semifinal games, I think it’s white knuckles but until the bitter end, but when the clock strikes midnight, I think it is the Zags dancing in their glass slippers. GATOR BASEBALL: TWO OUT OF THREE AIN’T BAD The 10th-ranked Gators (18-9, 5-4 SEC) made the memory of last week’s disastrous road trip to South Carolina a thing of the past over the weekend when they sandwiched a pair of wins over Ole Miss (21-6, 7-2 SEC) around a Saturday loss to the 3rd-ranked Rebels. Franco Aleman (1-1, 3.74 ERA) and Tommy Mace (2.54 ERA) combined to limit Ole Miss to four hits while striking out 10 in the Gators’ 4-1 win Friday night. Saturday, the Gators built a 6-2 lead then held off an Ole Miss rally for a 6-5 win. Nathan Hickey and Jordan Carrion homered for the Gators. Getting the win was Hunter Barco (4-2, 5.30 ERA) while Ryan Cabarcus picked up his first save of the season. The Gators will play two mid-week games – Stetson Tuesday night and FAMU Wednesday, both at Florida Ballpark – and travel next weekend to Knoxville to face 9th-ranked Tennessee (24-5, 7-2 SEC East). RE-STOCKING THROUGH THE TRANSFER PORTAL From a purely statistical standpoint, the incoming transfer duo of Brandon McKissick (Missouri-Kansas City) and C.J. Felder (Boston College) are an upgrade over the four – Noah Locke, Omar Payne, Ques Glover, Osayi Osifo – outgoing transfers on the Florida basketball team. McKissick (17.2 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.5 steals and 0.1 blocks per game) and Felder (9.7 points, 5.9 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 1.0 steals and 2.2 blocks) combined for 26.9 points, 9.6 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 2.5 steals and 2.3 blocked shots per game. Locke (10.6 points, 2.4 rebounds, 0.7 assists, 0.6 steals and 0.2 blocks), Payne (3.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, 0.4 assists, 0.4 steals, 1.2 blocks), Glover (2.5 points, 0.8 rebounds, 0.7 assists, 0.6 steals, 0.0 blocks) and Osifo (1.9 points, 2.6 rebounds, 0.4 assists, 0.2 steals, 0.1 blocks) combined for 18.8 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.5 blocked shots. So maybe we have a case of addition by subtraction. Florida could be adding Penn State transfer Myreon Jones (15.3 points, 2.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.3 steals and 0.1 blocks) in the next couple of days. A native of Birmingham, the 6-3 Jones is choosing between the Gators, Arkansas, LSU and Ole Miss with Florida thought to be the favorite. The Gators are in the final eight for 6-8, 210-pound Furman transfer Noah Gurley (15.4 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 0.9 steals, 1.1 blocks), who will make his choice next Sunday between UF, Alabama, Auburn, Duke, Tennessee, Marquette, San Diego State and Miami. Gurley is a native of Fayetteville, Georgia. Should Mike White land Jones and Gurley, he will have 11 scholarship players on what just a week ago seemed to be a very depleted roster. UF SPRING SPORTS Gymnastics: Even with Trinity Thomas limited to one event to protect her health for the NCAA championships, the Gators won both nights of the competition in the Athens Regional over the weekend. Florida won the first session with a 197.75 score and then came back on Saturday with a 197.70, to advance along with Minnesota to the NCAA Championships in Fort Worth, Texas. It was the 19th regional championship in Florida history. Thomas scored a 9.95 on the uneven bars Friday night and came back with a 9.9 Saturday. She is expected to be healthy and able to compete in all four events at the NCAA championships where the Gators are the overall No. 1 seed in the nation. Men’s tennis: The No. 1 ranked Gators (17-1, 11-0 SEC) clinched the SEC regular season championship with a 5-2 win over No. 22 Kentucky (15-6, 5-5 SEC). The win was the 14th straight for the Gators, who are idle until next Sunday when they travel to South Carolina (11-7, 6-4 SEC) for their final regular season match. Softball: The 5th-ranked Gators (26-4, 9-2 SEC) parlayed 12 hits, 13 walks and a hit batter into a 17-1 run-rule win over Georgia (23-6, 4-4 SEC) Sunday afternoon. The Gators gave Natalie Lugo (8-1, 1.59 ERA) all the support she needed in the first inning when Charla Echols launched a 2-run homer followed by a solo shot by Julia Cottrill. It was a big day at the plate for Cheyenne Lindsey, who had a pair of doubles among her three hits and five RBI. Lugo gave up only three hits to get the win. The Gators and 20th-ranked Georgia will finish their series tonight at 7 p.m. (SEC Network). The Gators will play a midweek doubleheader against South Florida on Wednesday. Volleyball: The Gators (19-3) earned a No. 8 seed and a spot in the Omaha Regional in the NCAA Tournament where they will play the winner of a first round match between Creighton and Morehead State Thursday night. This is Florida’s 30th consecutive year making the NCAA Tournament field … Four Gators were named All-SEC – Holly Carlton, Lauren Forte, T’ara Caesar and Thayer Hall – while Elli McKissock was named to the SEC All-Freshman team. Lacrosse: The 10th-ranked Gators (9-2, 6-0 AAC) remained unbeaten in American Athletic Conference play with a 19-7 win over East Carolina (3-9, 1-5 AAC) at Donald Dizney Stadium Saturday. The Gators are idle until Vanderbilt comes to Gainesville the weekend of April 16 for a pair of AAC matches. Women’s tennis: The 15th-ranked Gators (11-6, 9-3 SEC) won their sixth straight match Saturday when they whacked 19th-ranked Vanderbilt (12-7, 4-7 SEC), 4-2, at the Ring Tennis Complex. The Gators travel to South Carolina next Saturday for their final match before the SEC Tournament in Tuscaloosa. Any combination of a Florida win or one loss by LSU and Auburn (both 7-4 in SEC play) will assure the Gators of a second place finish in the regular season. Soccer: Becky Burleigh’s final game as the only soccer coach in University of Florida history was a roaring success as the Gators shut out Miami, 2-0, to finish the season 6-8-3. Burleigh, who started the UF program from scratch in 1995 and won the NCAA championship in 1998, finishes her career with a 431-137-40 record. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Miley Cyrus is the best CBS could do to kill time between the Baylor-Houston and UCLA-Gonzaga games Saturday night? Calling her dreadful would be giving her way too much credit. It almost made me wish I could relive Justin Timberlake trying to do Prince at the 2018 Super Bowl, 15 minutes of my life that I can never get back. It took me all of about 30 seconds to ditch Miley Cyrus. She lost me when she attempted to cover Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now.” And who’s the genius who thought it would be cool to have white people with no rhythm dancing in those idiotic social distance rectangles?

In life, sometimes you’re the hammer and sometimes you’re the nail. In the Southeastern Conference during the spring athletics season, sometimes you’re the broom and sometimes you’re the dirt. Florida baseball plays 30 conference games, while the Gators’ softball program battles a 24-conference game slate. With all conference series coming in three-game increments, the goal is to take two out of three games for each conference opponents. Simply put, in SEC play, baseball should look for at least 20 wins, while softball should have its sights set on winning at least 16 in-conference matchups. It goes without saying that sweeping conference series can be the key to quickly bolstering a program’s SEC standing. Yet, in the same merit, getting swept can cause a dramatic fall from grace. The Gators’ diamond teams spent last weekend apart. Tim Walton and Florida softball stayed home on Hull to host the LSU Tigers, while Kevin O’Sullivan and the boys of spring took a northward jog up to Columbia, South Carolina to pay the Gamecocks a visit. While UF’s softball facility, Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium, stayed bustling all weekend, Florida baseball’s mecca, Florida Ballpark, saw a somber weekend of silence. And the teams who call those stadiums home echoed those sentiments. The No. 5-ranked Florida softball team went on to sweep the No. 11/13-ranked LSU Tigers in dominant fashion. Meanwhile, the No. 5-ranked Florida baseball team was swept by the 25th ranked South Carolina Gamecocks. Sometimes you’re the broom Anytime a college softball game gets the bid at an evening ESPN slot, chances are it’s a highly anticipated matchup. And there’s nothing like a top-15 matchup between two storied SEC programs. LSU waltzed into Gainesville after being regarded as the second-best team in the SEC during the preseason. The Tigers had a conference record of 4-2 when they first stepped foot onto the University of Florida’s campus. By the time they were heading back west to Baton Rouge, the Tigers had a losing SEC record in tow. LSU head coach Beth Torina was no stranger to the Gainesville. The head of the Tigers’ program, in her 10th year, pitched for Florida from 1997 to 2000 and helped the Gators to a SEC Championship in 1998. But despite knowing the ebbs and flows of SEC softball and the importance of coming away with wins on the weekend, Torina and the Tigers simply couldn’t find answers against the Gators. But to be fair, Tim Walton’s Gators were asking some tough questions. I’m not sure if answers even existed to the problems Florida softball was causing for the Tigers. The Gators tallied 31 hits on the weekend, including 12 in each of the last two games on Saturday night and Sunday morning. The Gators also hit .414 as a team in the final two contests against the Tigers. And while Florida had contributions coming from all nine spots in the lineup, the Gators’ leadoff hitter had as good as a weekend as anyone in the country. Few, if any, players in the country are playing as well as Florida softball’s Hannah Adams. The senior leadoff hitter and second baseman’s weekend got off a little slow behind a 1-for-3 performance from the plate on Friday night. However, Adams’ lone hit on Friday scratched two Gators across the plate en route to Florida’s opening 5-0 win of the series. On Saturday, however, Adams’ evening would go flawlessly. A 4-for-4 outing from the batter’s box, coupled with perfect fielding stats had head coach Tim Walton gushing at the game’s end. “What you see in the game is what you see in practice,” Walton said of Adams. “She is as consistent, as steady… she’s very little emotion, she’s not very dramatic… she’s just really consistent. “I get a chance to coach her every day. She’s by far one of the best players on this team and in the country. She’s so consistent and she’s grown a ton. And she makes me look like a good coach on defense because she does a good job quarterbacking the defense now… she’s as steady as you’ll see every day.” In addition to Adams’ contributions on Thursday, two other Gators made good use of their air time on ESPN. Jaimie Hoover and Kendyl Lindaman, who both returned for their fifth year of eligibility in 2021, each launched two-run home runs in the first inning, putting an early end to LSU pitcher Ali Kilponen’s outing. Florida picked up right where it left off despite an 11 a.m. start on Sunday. Four Gators recorded multi-hit performances on Sunday, including Cheyenne Lindsey, who tallied a career-best five RBIs. Lindsey, who went 2-for-4 on the afternoon, got her day started in the third inning after smacking a Shelbi Sunseri offering to the left-field wall, good for a bases-clearing double. Later in the fifth inning, Lindsey cranked another Sunseri offering — but this one cleared the wall, good for a two-run home run. A strong effort from Florida’s pitching staff coupled well with it’s dominant at-bats. Elizabeth Hightower went the distance both on Friday and Sunday, while Katie Chronister and Natalie Lugo split Saturday’s action. The Tigers scattered three hits against Hightower on Friday night en route to the junior’s fifth complete-game shutout of the season and her third straight against a SEC opponent. LSU managed a total of just eight hits and three runs against Hightower, who hurled 203 pitches over the weekend. The Gators’ three wins over the weekend came on the heels of a heartbreaking midweek loss to No. 22-ranked UCF last Wednesday. From Orlando, the Knights walked it off against the Gators to the tune of 8-6. “I told our team very bluntly that on that Wednesday, UCF outplayed us in every facet,” Walton said following the series sweep on Sunday. “And when you do that… you’re not going to win. They hit the ball hard. They pitched when they needed to pitch. They made some defensive plays. And they got the game-winning hit. “We’re not just Gators and we’re gonna win. But we gotta know we’re gonna win. We gotta play with the edge. We gotta play with that confidence. Because teams aren’t going to roll over. We get everybody’s best shot. Every single game we play, we get their best.” And the key to overcoming that is countering your opponent’s best with your best. “When we hit like we did (this weekend), we’re going to be tough.” Sometimes you’re the dirt Tim Tebow hadn’t yet won the Heisman Trophy the last time the South Carolina Gamecocks swept a series out from under the Florida Gators. The year was 2006. Florida baseball has been swept just seven times in the last decade, with the last coming at the hands of Georgia early in the 2019 campaign. But that changed over the weekend after the Gamecocks humiliated the unanimous preseason No. 1 over the weekend. Florida’s weekend got underway with a 14-inning barnburner that ended in the Gators losing the five and a half-hour affair 9-8. Florida head coach Kevin O’Sullivan had to dig deep into his bullpen through the lengthened contest. Five different pitchers took the mound on Friday night, with Tommy Mace getting the start. Mace coughed up four runs on 10 hits in four innings of work, while Trey Van Der Weide, Franco Aleman, Christian Scott and Ben Specht combined for the remaining 10 innings of action and gave up a combined 10 hits and five runs. And the pitching staff’s performance didn't get any better as the weekend progressed. Jack Leftwitch went on to hit six batters in his 4.2-inning outing on Saturday and Hunter Barco gave up four earned runs in five innings during his sweep-saving opportunity on Sunday. "Just disappointed with our starting pitching," Kevin O'Sullivan said following Florida’s loss on Saturday. "We've gotta go deeper into games. It's just really that simple.” And though Florida’s pitching staff has been the whipping post for criticism all season, it was far from the reason the Gators dropped three straight to the Gamecocks over the weekend. Florida centerfielder Jud Fabian, who is highly regarded to be a top MLB prospect, had a humbling weekend. Eyeing five-run deficit in the top of the eighth during Sunday’s game, Fabian came to the plate with two runners on and one out. He had an opportunity to put a weekend of bad baseball behind him. Instead, he added to the worst type of streak a baseball player can have. Another swinging strikeout tallied his 13th at-bat without a hit and his 11th strikeout of the series. Initially, Fabian’s struggles throughout the opening games of the 2021 season could (and often were) attributed to the rust that comes with being away from the diamond for nearly a year. But now, 25 games into the season, the centerfielder’s continued slump is drawing concern. Fabian’s strikeout rate had crept up to 46%. His 45 strikeouts on the year lead the nation. But perhaps the most alarming issue many media members and fans have picked up on is the lack of intensity coming from the team. It seems as though members of the Gators baseball team dwell on less-than-great outings, whether it be in the field, on the mound or in the batter’s box. A short term memory doesn’t exist in Florida’s dugout. Instead, when a pitcher is yanked from the mound, his walk back to the dugout is pathetic. And once he reaches the bench, it’s as if no one would touch him with a 10-foot pole. Florida baseball was the dirt last weekend. And the Gamecocks slowly swept them into a nice pile before getting them into the dustpan and disposing of them on Sunday. Things aren’t good at the Florida Ballpark. And while there’s lots of baseball to be played, the Gators can’t afford to be the dirt much longer.

“The grass is always greener over the septic tank” – Erma Bombeck As of Thursday morning, more than 1,000 Division I basketball players including four Florida Gators had placed their name in the NCAA transfer portal. Over on the football side, the numbers are nearly as staggering and they include eleven Gators. And this is BEFORE the NCAA enacts legislation that will give every Division I athlete one free transfer without the one-year sit out penalty or the Supreme Court decides a name, image and likeness case that could add a pay for play element to college sports that doesn’t exist right now. The basketball portal includes Gators Noah Locke, Omar Payne, Ques Glover and Osayi Osifo, all of whom have made their decision to leave in the last seven days. At least one more is expected to take the plunge and transfer out. So far, none of them have found their other side of the hill where the grass is greener. In the last three days, Gators T.J. Moore and Jahari Rogers have put their name in the football transfer portal joining Iverson Clement, Jaylin Jackson, Jesiah Pierre, Chester Kimbrough, James Houston, Quincy Lenton, C.J. McWilliams, Jacob Finn and Zack Sessa. Moore, Rogers, Clement, Pierre, Kimbrough, Houston, Lenton and McWilliams were scholarship athletes while Jackson, Finn and Sessa were walk-ons. Clement (Temple), Pierre (Texas Tech), Kimbrough (Michigan State) and McWilliams (Purdue) all know where they will be playing football next year while the others are still searching and hoping to find a new place to play. Since the advent of college sports, transfers have been part of the landscape, almost always for one of the following four reasons: (1) playing time; (2) bad fit with the coaching staff; (3) the need to be closer to home; and (4) academics. Until recently, NCAA requirement to sit a year in football, basketball, baseball, softball and hockey for years acted as a preventative measure that forced kids to think carefully before leaving instead of acting impulsively but things have been changing in the last 15 years. Back in 2006, the NCAA began chipping away at its own transfer rules by allowing kids who had already graduated to transfer without a sit out penalty. One of the first to take advantage of that rule was corner Ryan Smith, who intercepted eight passes, made second-team All-America and without whom Urban Meyer and the Gators probably don’t win the 2006 national championship in football. Mike White has used the grad transfer rules to his benefit to bring in Canyon Barry (from Charleston), Egor Koulechov (from Rice) and Kerry Blackshear Jr. (from Virginia Tech), all of whom had an immediate impact on the Florida basketball program. Without Barry, White and the Gators don’t make the 2017 Elite Eight. Offensive lineman Stewart Reese used the graduate rule to transfer to UF in 2020 from Mississippi State. He will use an NCAA ruling that gives every player on a 2020 roster an extra year to start on the UF offensive line for a second straight year. Realizing that some underclassmen with legitimate concerns shouldn’t be penalized for transferring out, the NCAA implemented a waiver process several years ago that allowed a kid to submit a petition with all the reasons he or she should be granted immediate eligibility. Dan Mullen got immediate help from the waiver process in 2018 when wide receivers Van Jefferson (Ole Miss) and Trevon Grimes (Ohio State) were allowed to play without sitting a year. Jefferson was cleared because Ole Miss went on NCAA probation that included a one-year bowl ban. Grimes, who is from Fort Lauderdale, needed to be closer to home for family reasons. Jefferson parlayed two years at Florida in the Mullen offense into a second round draft choice by the Los Angeles Rams. Grimes is likely to be a third or fourth round choice in the NFL Draft later this month. Former 5-star running back and DeLand native Lorenzo Lingard, who expects to have a prominent role in the 2021 offense, got a transfer waiver last year when he left Miami and wide receiver and Winter Park native Jordan Pouncey got a 2020 waiver when he transferred from Texas. Colin Castleton, who spent his first two basketball seasons at Michigan, got a transfer waiver that made him immediately eligible at Florida prior to the 2020-21 season. Originally from DeLand and a prep star at Daytona Beach Father Lopez, Castleton was a second team All-SEC selection. * * * For years transfers were considered almost a last resort. “It was so rare when I played,” recalls Bill Koss, the former Gator basketball player for Norm Sloan back in the 1960s. “A lot of guys wanted to transfer but stuck it out back in those days.” Former Gator star Dick Tomlinson, a Koss teammate, and Sloan rarely saw eye-to-eye. The threat of the transfer was always there just as the dislike and resentment was always smoldering beneath the surface, but Tomlinson stayed and averaged 12.0 points and 7.3 rebounds for his Florida career. Richard Peek, the first 7-footer in Florida history, transferred out after the 1964 season and Todd Lalich left partway through the 1968-69 season. There was a time when North Carolina basketball seemed immune from transfers but that has changed. Roy Williams, who retired Thursday after winning three national championships, had to be stunned when 7-1 Walker Kessler elected to transfer out after a freshman season that had future first round draft pick written all over it. There is little doubt that Kessler’s decision to transfer was one of the reasons why Williams chose to retire. Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim recalls a time when nobody transferred out of North Carolina. “I remember recruiting against North Carolina (when) they had 13 (high school) All-Americans there,” Boeheim told Mike Beradino at Forbes Magazine. “Thirteen! And not one of them ever left and only seven or eight of them played.” That was then. This is now when even blueblood basketball programs like North Carolina and college football’s most dominant power Alabama see kids who were All-Americans in high school transferring out on a regular basis. That couldn’t have happened in the past. It’s reminiscent of the 1970s when Curt Flood challenged Major League Baseball and won, opening the door for free agency. The NCAA has tried to fend off what amounts to free agency in its sports by allowing change to come gradually but now, as we enter an era when athletes are feeling empowered, gradual is giving way to rules that are going to change things forever. What seems like a flood at this point may seem like a trickle in the months ahead. The dam is on the verge of bursting and it no longer is a matter of if, but when the flood begins. * * * You won’t find a coach that will admit it publicly, but the transfer rules in place now are quite beneficial when it comes to roster management. Scholarships are no longer four-year agreements but a one-year deal that has to be renewed. Rather than take the long-range approach toward development, coaches can simply bury kids who aren’t making sufficient progress on the depth chart. Faced with the possibility of a five-year career spent spinning their wheels while new talent is brought in either through the traditional high school and juco route or through the transfer portals, kids are getting the hint and transferring to a new school where they can get a fresh start. You don’t hear a lot of coaches complaining when kids leave. Not every kid that goes the transfer route finds a new landing spot. Back in February, Keith Grabowski of the “Coach and Coordinator” podcast reported that only 28 percent of the football players who transferred out in January had a scholarship and a place to relocate. That percentage is probably going to drop even more in the next few weeks when the rules change. Many kids who transferred out in 2019 never got an eligibility waiver that allowed them to play immediately. The Chicago Tribune reported in May of 2019 that only 68 percent of the kids who applied for a waiver were approved. Some, like Brenton Cox, a former 5-star recruit who transferred to Florida from Georgia in 2019, had to spend a year toiling on the scout team while waiting for a waiver that never arrived. Waivers will be a thing of the past once the new legislation is approved but once it kicks in there will be more transfers than ever before, which also means more kids than ever before who leave will find themselves wishing they had stayed put. For the most part, the coaches won’t be complaining. They will be able to trim their rosters to manageable levels and schools in the power conferences, in particular, will be able to cherry pick from the transfer portal as well as having open scholarships they can offer to high school kids. Like it or not, the new legislation is going to make it so the rich get richer. Kessler, for example, is expected to transfer to Gonzaga, the odds-on favorite to win the NCAA basketball championship and finish as the first unbeaten team since 1976 Indiana. Alabama lost a quarterback, two wide receivers, a running back and two offensive linemen who could all be selected in the NFL Draft later this month. Once spring practice concludes in Tuscaloosa, Nick Saban may decide he can best fill some of those holes by dipping into the transfer portal to pick and choose the best available. If Alabama comes calling, how many will be able to say no? Transfers will impact Florida’s football team in the fall. In addition to Lingard, who showed game breaking ability in the spring after an injury-filled 2020, the Gators will benefit from the additions of former 5-star running back Demarkcus Bowman (from Clemson), defensive tackles Antonio Shelton (from Penn State) and Daquan Newkirk (Auburn), edge rusher Dylan Meeks (Akron) and placekicker Jace Christmann (Mississippi State). Shelton, Newkirk, Meeks and Christmann are graduate transfers. Neither Meeks nor Christmann will count against the scholarship limitations. The new legislation will make Bowman immediately eligible with four years of eligibility remaining. Mullen still has two open scholarships that he plans to use in the transfer portal. There are concerns on the offensive line, particularly at right tackle so that’s one place he will be looking for a quality transfer who can step in and start immediately. Other perceived needs are at wide receiver and in the secondary. Because of his success in the portal, Mullen has a stack of paperwork on kids who have already reached out. More players will announce they are leaving for a new destination when spring football ends all over the country in the next three to four weeks. The number of players who opt out of their current situations might turn out to be mind boggling. “We try to address needs with transfers more than just take transfers,” Mullen said back on national signing day in February. “What ends up happening is maybe you look successful because of instead of just saying, ‘hey … this guy’s a great player, it doesn’t matter, just take him out of the transfer portal’ … we’ve had some opportunities to get some guys that ended up being great players that we didn’t get, but maybe at that moment we didn’t feel the need. We had depth, we had experience at that position. “We don’t go to the transfer portal always just to create depth or to go get backups. We go get guys we expect that we need to be impact players and play for us … Usually we are hitting the transfer portal a lot for need based on guys that are going to come in and make impacts for any number of reasons whether it’s guys that have transferred out of here, guys that have left early for the NFL, injuries or whatever it is that you have this gap in your roster and we need to fill it with a player that’s going to make an impact.” Mullen’s situation is far less daunting than that of Mike White. Despite losing eight scholarship players and his starting punter (walk-on) to the transfer portal, Mullen has all but two or three of his scholarships filled. With the four transfers plus the NBA departures of Tre Mann and Scottie Lewis (elected Thursday to hire an agent and leave for the pros) combined with the uncertain status of Keyontae Johnson, White will have to hit the transfer portal hard to have adequate depth next season. That’s the bad news. The good news is that White has had at least one impact transfer each of the last five seasons so he’s no novice at finding players ready to leave their current circumstance. Canyon Barry was the SEC Sixth Man of the Year in 2017 after transferring in from Charleston. Egor Koulechov transferred in from Rice in 2017-18, finished second in scoring and led UF in rebounding. Jalen Hudson, who sat out 2017 after transferring in from Virginia Tech, averaged 12.3 points and 3.4 rebounds in 2018 and 2019. Kerry Blackshear Jr. was second team All-SEC in 2020 when he averaged 12.8 points and a team-leading 7.5 rebounds per game after transferring in from Virginia Tech. This past season, Cleveland State transfer Tyree Appleby averaged 11.3 points, 3.1 rebounds and 3.3 assists and Louisiana Tech transfer Anthony Duruji averaged 6.1 points and 4.4 rebounds. Michigan transfer Colin Castleton finished second on the team in scoring (12.4) and led the team in rebounding (6.4) and blocked shots (54) while making second team All-SEC. Castleton declared for the NBA but won’t hire an agent. It’s all but certain he will return next season. Appleby, Duruji and Castleton give White three returning starters to go with returning reserves Samson Ruzhentsev, Neils Lane and Jason Jitoboh. Incoming signee Kowacie Reeves has the credentials to be a freshman starter. That is seven players. White will need at least four more players to have a competitive SEC roster. Figure at least three will come from the transfer portal. Replacing that many players was never part of White’s plan, but he isn’t the only SEC coach facing a roster rebuild due to transfers and players leaving for the pros. At Missouri, Cuonzo Martin has lost five to the transfer portal. South Carolina’s Frank Martin has had three transfer out and another two leave for the NBA. Georgia coach Tom Crean has had four leave via the transfer route. LSU coach Will Wade expects four to leave for the pros. Kermit Davis Jr. at Ole Miss has had five transfer out and one leave for the pros. Three have transferred out at Auburn and Bruce Pearl expects Sharif Cooper to be a first round NBA draft pick. And that’s just the Southeastern Conference. * * * On Wednesday of this week, the United States Supreme Court heard arguments in Alston vs. the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The issue is player compensation and whether schools have the right to compensate athletes in whatever way they choose as long as the player is receiving educational benefits from the school. Based on the way the nine justices grilled the NCAA, it seems inevitable that how we view amateur athletics will change once the court issues its decision in the fall. What it means is rich schools will be able to offer kids financial opportunities that aren’t available elsewhere, which is only going to increase the number of transfers. Combining this name, image and likeness decision with the free agency element that will be created when the NCAA grants the one-time transfer without penalty means the surface is only being scratched when it comes to wholesale departures. It seems inevitable that chaos will reign at least for the first two or three years, perhaps several years beyond the initial changes. Just as professional baseball, football and basketball changed when free agency kicked in, so will college sports as we know them. If there is an advantage to be found in these foreseeable difficult times ahead it is that both Dan Mullen and Mike White are well versed in the nuances of bringing in transfers. This is not the first rodeo for either coach in Florida’s two revenue producing sports but even two veterans of working the transfer system like Mullen and White are going to have to adjust. Whereas having more transfers to choose from may make it easier to bring in quality players who fit the needs, the flip side is that it will be easier for players to move on from UF. So, strap yourself in. The ride is going to be wild and potentially rocky moving forward as players have more options to discover if the grass really is greener somewhere other than above the septic tank.

"That photo of coaches Meyer-Spurrier-Mullen should hang in a special place amidst the indoor pools, cabana, outdoor basketball court, recording studio, rehab facility, barbershop, lavish dining facility, rehydration room, etc..." It is a photo for the ages. A portrait of greatness for all Gators. The three all-time best football coaches in Florida history, standing together on the field like three regular guys, talking ball, swapping lies, dropping knowledge, sharing the moment on what’s called Pro Day, under at the roof of the UF Indoor Practice Facility, the name of which we seem to forget. Maybe that building should be called the Meyer-Spurrier-Mullen Facility of Champions. You know, like back in the day when they named things after people in their honor, instead of just the people with the biggest checkbooks. Meaning no disrespect to James W. “Bill” Heavener, of course. I don’t know why that photo Wednesday at Pro Day resonated so powerfully with me, as if I’d never seen a picture of all three in one shot. Perhaps it embodied their collective body of work as tangible evidence of greatness that is hard to define, unless you see it. I know they say it’s all about the players, but sometimes it’s about the coaches. If you’re a Gator fan, you swell with pride when you sum up that body of work: 216 wins, multiple SEC East and SEC titles, three national championships – almost within the three decades. Keeping in mind that Mullen hasn’t yet coached his best team in optimum conditions and assuming his crowning achievement is yet to come – which I do -- it looks like an Orange and Blue Field of Dreams. Legacy matters more in college football than most any sport. Spurrier, Meyer – and now Mullen. I thought back to the snapshot of the three former First Ladies of Florida Football – Megan Mullen, Shelley Meyer and Jerri Spurrier, arm-in-arm, singing “We Are The Boys” at the top of their lungs in press box before the 2018 Florida-Miami game at Camping World Stadium. Snapped by Steve Spurrier himself, it evoked such a wave of nostalgia and pride – just like the one of the three coaches. One day soon when the spectacular new facility opens (maybe next spring), that photo of coaches Meyer-Spurrier-Mullen should hang in a special place amidst the indoor pools, cabana, outdoor basketball court, recording studio, rehab facility, barbershop, lavish dining facility, rehydration room, etc. as a reminder of who help build all those trappings. Which brings up the three statues and what they represent – Spurrier, Wuerffel and Tebow. We can use just last names here, can’t we? They are beloved, iconic, classically sculpted as symbols of greatness. The problem is they dwarf the accomplishments of so many others and are, largely, an honor that appears reserved for quarterbacks only. There have been some QBs, however, who have had a brush with statue greatness: Chris Leak, Shane Matthews, Rex Grossman, Kerwin Bell, John Reaves and maybe one or two others. In my mind, there ought to be a proper way to honor these other quarterbacks – and players – besides statutes, with visibility around Steve Spurrier-Florida Florida. Something akin to Hollywood Stars Walk of Fame perhaps? Some schools name streets after the players and coaches. Stars like Kyle Pitts, unanimous All-American, Mackey Award winner and likely Top Five draft pick, get their own brick laid in front of SSFF. And, of course, there’s the Ring of Honor, which no doubt awaits Urban Meyer. When it comes to matter of statues, I mention the “runners-up” who should be duly noted. One of them was on the field at Pro Day. You might say Kyle Trask was a serious statue contender for a while in 2020, but even though he fell short, there is still an honor I’d like to see bestowed on him. There needs to be a Kyle Trask Next Man Up Award to commemorate his exemplary patience and faithful commitment. The Kyle Trask story, like the Meyer-Spurrier-Triumvirate photograph, enhances the legacy of Gator football. A guy who wouldn’t transfer when everything pointed to reasons why he should. Whose battlefield promotion that night in Lexington was earned because of his remarkable preparation. He practiced like was a No. 1 though he hadn’t started since ninth grade. Ready when called upon. After his Pro Day workout, I asked Trask what he remembered about Sept. 14, 2019 when he stepped in and Wally Pipped his friend Feleipe Franks. “I just remember that being such a crazy 20 minutes after Feleipe [Franks] went down,” he said. “It was just very quiet on the sideline. You could hear a pen drop. Obviously, we’re sitting there in a very hostile environment with a game to win. I just tried to do my best to step up as a leader and pick everyone up and get everyone back focused. We just went out there and took it one play at a time and just executed whenever we had to.” Oddly enough, in Trask’s remarkable debut and that 29-21 Florida win, he never threw a touchdown pass but did have a key touchdown on an option keeper. From there he never let up, leading his team to the SEC Championship game, challenging maybe Alabama’s best team ever to within six points. Unfortunately, external forces prohibited him from finishing the season strong. However, when others opted out vs. Oklahoma, when he had nothing to play for but his team, he played anyway – to his detriment. I asked him how he found the patience to wait so long before finally getting on the field in 2019. “Obviously, it wasn’t the easiest of times to just sit there,” he said. “I mean, no one wants to just sit and watch on game days, so that was tough. It was motivation for me to keep pushing. I had complete trust in my coaches and belief in what they were saying as far as preparing like a starter. That’s what I did every single game, because you never know what can happen on a Saturday or a Saturday night. Whenever I went in, I just went in and took advantage of my opportunity back in 2019 and I just tried to take it from there.” The joy in it for Kyle Trask was playing the game he loves with people he cares about when it looked like he may never be rescued from the bench; and then completing the task in style during a year when a mystery illness threatened our very existence. This, in my mind, makes Kyle Trask the poster boy for the best of what team sports has to offer. Indeed, you never know what’s going to happen on an SEC Saturday or Saturday night – or during a football season. Which is why lightning must be captured in a bottle and when you recognize greatness, it must be framed, saluted and commemorated. I don’t care if it’s on a Wheaties box top or on the wall of the James W. “Bill” Heavener Football Training Center. In the case of Kyle Trask, it needs to be on the Next Man Up trophy.

For two hours on a Wednesday afternoon, all eyes were on Gainesville, Florida. More specifically, on the Florida Gators Indoor Practice Facility. The Gators were hosting their Pro Day with 16 guys from the 2020 roster and four from past rosters all working out for NFL coaches and scouts. And with the event being broadcast nationally, those who couldn’t make it south tuned in to see what star tight end Kyle Pitts, star wide receiver Kadarius Toney and others would do a month ahead of the NFL Draft. “I think an awful lot,” said Head Coach Dan Mullen of the day helping the program. "You get a lot of exposure. I think for us, our players that are here currently in the program get to see these guys, see how much they work, see what they’re doing, see the performance they’re getting ready to put on. And then you have a lot of young guys around the country saying ‘hey, if I go to Florida, I’m going to have the opportunity to live my dream and go be a top NFL draft pick.” Those participating were part of a transitional class for Dan Mullen and staff. Some were already in the program when Mullen arrived in 2018. Others were part of the first signing class for the staff, from freshmen to rookies. Regardless, they leave now having helped set the foundation and standard for what the Gators program should be, according to Mullen. “It shows the character that the guys have and the work and the development of those guys. It wasn’t like every one of these guys was a five-star guy coming out of high school but they have great character, great work ethic, and they developed to a really high level to go live their dreams.” Kyle Pitts The Gators All-American tight end was the star of the show, as he was for much of the season as he shattered records. Projected to be a Top 10 pick in the upcoming draft, Pitts didn’t disappoint on Wednesday. Here were his final numbers. Height: 6’ 5.5” Weight: 245 Hand: 10 5/8 Arm: 33 1/2 Wing: 83 3/8 40-yd dash: 4.44/4.44 (NFL scout) Vertical jump: 33.5 Broad jump: 10-9 Shuttle 4.30 3 Cone: 7.12 Benchpress: 22 reps Pitts was always going to be a special talent, but it really took the 2020 offseason to transform him from “special” to “transcendent.” The Philadelphia native credits an acknowledgment of what was wrong with his game, and therefore what needed to be done to improve. ”I would say maybe last year. I knew I still had some things to fix and I knew once I fixed them that no one's gonna be able to stop me. So, once I put the work in, you know, during this pandemic that we went through and we weren't here in this building, I took that time, I feel like that helped me a lot, gaining weight, getting stronger, faster, so that when I came back, when we did have a season, that was great and I improved on what I wanted.” Other things of note from Pitts: He does plan to attend the NFL Draft in person. It will be held in Cleveland, Ohio this year. Pitts says he hasn’t talked to every team but “a couple.” He’s projected in most mock drafts to the Atlanta Falcons (4) or the Cincinnati Bengals (5). He says no team has talked to him about switching to receiver. Everyone wants to keep him at tight end. Marco Wilson Wow. What a day from the former Gator corner. He dominated the workouts and drills, putting up numbers that would have been some of if not the best amongst his position had the NFL Combine been held in Indianapolis this year. Here were his final numbers. Height: 5’ 11.5” Weight: 191 Hand: 9 5/8 Arm: 30 3/4 Wingspan: 73 1/2 40-yard dash: 4.37/4.37 Vertical jump: 43.5 Broad jump: 11-4 Shuttle: 4.13 3 Cone: 6.80 Benchpress: 26 reps Wilson knew he needed a show stopper of a day to erase the image of him throwing a shoe, leading to a Gators loss to the LSU Tigers. He also needed to remind coaches and scouts of his skill set, leading to them checking his tape, looking beyond the strange 2020 season when he gave up big plays, and back to his first three seasons when he was one of the best corners in the college game. “The A&M game was just a mix of miscommunication on the back end. No problem with play-making ability there. Sometimes the LSU play kind of gets brought up. But I don’t run away from it. It’s part of my life, and things happen. I just answer them in the way I need to, which is the LSU game, had a lot of energy. Made a good play. I was excited and just made an unfortunate mistake. That’s how that is. I wished it never happened, but things happen. “Everything’s not going to go your way. Are you going to face adversity in life and see how this can affect my team, affect me, affect my family, stuff like that. It opened my eyes to a lot of things. Certainly not something I’d ever do again. If you watch my play, people might think I have mental issues, like, character issues, but that’s never the case. I’ve never gotten a personal foul like that in my life. You can cut the film break down and see that. I’m unhappy that it happened but happy at the same time, because it taught me a lot of lessons for moving forward in my life.” Other things of note from Wilson: He has been training at EXOS in Phoenix, Arizona Despite running a STAT in the 40-yard dash, Wilson thinks it could have been faster, possibly even a 4.29, based on times he had in training. The 22-year old has created a presence on Twitch and YouTube as a gamer the past few months Kyle Trask The Heisman finalist who broke numerous Florida passing records is considered the sixth best quarterback in the upcoming draft. He got a chance to remind teams on Wednesday though what he can do with a ball in his hands and a receiver streaking down the field. Here were his final numbers. Height: 6’ 5.2” Weight: 236 Hand: 10 1/8 Arm: 33 Wingspan: 80 5/8 40-yard dash: 5.10/5.12 Vertical jump: 31.5 Broad jump: 9-5 Shuttle: 4.60 3 Cone: 7.08 Bench press: DNP When asked why Trask wasn’t receiving as much praise and hype as the five other top quarterbacks in the draft, offensive lineman Brett Heggie shook his head and said “I don’t get it. I just don’t get it.” It is one of the befuddling questions this draft, as quarterbacks who performed below Trask are projected to be drafted much higher. Does his game not translate to the NFL? Do teams think he’s a one-hit wonder? It’s an enigma. He began to make a better case for his stock on Wednesday. "I just wanted to show that I'm not just a statue back there, that I can move,” said Trask of what he wanted to show coaches and scouts. “I thought I tested well, thought my cone drills were solid. Also, I just wanted to show that I can burst out of the pocket, have little movements within the pocket and still be able to deliver an accurate ball consistently, and I thought I did a pretty good job of that today." Other things of note from Trask: The quarterback said he did not have surgery on his ankle after the offseason, but just did rehab for 8-10 weeks to address his high ankle sprain. Since training for the draft, he’s dropped about 15 pounds. He’s talked to most of the teams in the NFL through Zoom. Could he end up in Philadelphia with former offensive coordinator (and current Eagles quarterback coach) Brian Johnson? Trask laughs, “We'll see. I know that draft is crazy and I'll be happy where ever I go." Kadarius Toney One of the most electric guys to ever put on a Florida uniform is ready to do the same in the NFL. Toney has always been seen as a “gadget” player, but his precision and surgical like route running his senior year proved he can be a traditional receiver as well. And his performance on Wednesday made it clear he’s just as strong and capable as he is shifty. Here were his final numbers. Height: 5’ 11.5” Weight: 193 Hand: 9 1/4 Arm: 31 1/4 Wing: 74 3/4 40-yd: 4.41/4.39 (NFL scouts) Vertical jump: 39.5 Broad jump: 11-4 Shuttle: 4.25 3 Cone: 6.88 Bench press: 9 reps Toney has risen up draft boards the past couple of months, with many mock drafts now having him taken in the first round. The only real concern that comes up now is his music. Toney, in addition to being a dynamic football player, has credited a discography of popular rap songs. “[Music] a hobby, but I’m going to carry it over throughout my life. That’s really gotten me through college in a way, as far as being able to express myself and different stuff I go through. I’ve always been there, like since I was younger. I never really took it serious until I got to college where I knew I had kind of a platform in a way and I was touching peoples’ lives. A few teammates love my music. Fans definitely love my music. I have DMs all the time, like, bro your music is so inspirational and stuff like that. I know the impact that it has on people, so I’ve been trying to keep it consistent.” For Toney though, as much as he loves music, he thinks it’s insane to imagine it taking away from his devotion to football. “I feel that was real disrespectful,” he said of the narrative. "Like I don’t really, like come out here, make myself like ‘oh I’m an artist, I’m this and that.’ Know what I’m saying, like, that’s not my first priority. Like you see this right here, see this behind me, this is what I do 24/7. This is what I was born to do. Like I was almost born at the Senior Bowl, most people don’t know, but I was born really to play football. So it’s like, that’s kind of disrespectful when you try to tell me exactly what I do, how I do it and why. So I feel like I had to set the record straight, really just more of a, know what I’m saying, like don’t try to slander my football skills because I’m just as good at music. You know what I’m saying, like that’s dead wrong, that’s wrong.” Other things of note from Toney: He plans on spending draft night in Mobile with his family and friends According to the former quarterback, he can throw 80-90 yards, something Kyle Trask kind of corroborated. Trevon Grimes The Gators deep-field threat finds himself in a crowded pass catching crew looking to be drafted in the coming weeks. Grimes knew he needed Wednesday to show his strength and set himself apart with a strong frame, so he set about to do exactly that. Here were his final numbers. Height: 6’ 4” Weight: 220 Hand: 9 3/8 Arm: 31 3/8 Wingspan: 76 5/8 40-yard dash: 4.51/4.49 Vertical jump: 35.0 Broad jump: 9-10 Shuttle: 4.28 3 Cone: 6.98 Bench press: 15 reps Not only is the draft top heavy with pass catchers, Grimes own receiving corps was that way. He shared a field with Pitts and Toney, knowing it would be difficult to take too many reps away from generational talent. However, receiver coach Billy Gonzales has always preached to his guys that their reps might be less because of the rotation, but they would be of better quality. Grimes can attest to that, knowing his tape shows a downfield threat who was about to out muscle countless SEC defensive backs, particularly in the redzone. He also knows so many eyes being on Pitts and Toney could work to his advantage. “Definitely playing with the best tight end in the country is going to be eyes on him. But you know that's also an opportunity for me because watching him, they also see me too, which is a very good thing for me and I've kind of capitalized on that. Teams have seen, seen what I can do when it comes to blocking and making those big catches and stuff like that so I kind of feel like having Kyle Pitts with me as well as Kadarius Toney helps me out a lot, just given the fact that who they are and who I am and all three of us, help each other out a lot.” All stats are courtesy of Jim Nagy of the Senior Bowl. You can see his thread of stats for every Gator player’s Pro Day here.

A few thoughts to jump start your Friday morning: GATORS OPEN SERIES WITH 4-1 WIN OVER OLE MISS Kevin O’Sullivan’s unconventional approach to 3rd-ranked Ole Miss (20-5, 6-1 SEC) paid off for the Gators (17-8, 4-3 SEC) Thursday night at the Florida Ballpark. O’Sullivan started closer Franco Aleman and brought in his normal first game of the weekend starter Tommy Mace from the bullpen. The two righthanders combined to limit Ole Miss to four hits as the 10th-ranked (by Collegiate Baseball) Gators opened the three-game series with a 4-1 win. Aleman (1-1, 3.16 ERA) got the win, giving up three hits and an unearned run while striking out three in four innings. Mace (4-1, 2.25 ERA) got his first save of the year, giving up one hit, two walks and striking out seven in the final five innings. Mace struck out the side in the top of the ninth to cap his strong effort in relief. Freshman Colby Halter got the game-winning RBI in the fourth when he singled to right field to drive home Jordan Butler, who had reached on an error and stole second. The Gators added two insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth when Jacob Young tripled to drive home Jordan Carrion and Nathan Hickey grounded out to second. Hickey had Florida’s other RBI with a run-scoring double in the bottom of the first. O’Sullivan plans to use the same unconventional approach against Ole Miss tonight when Christian Scott (0-1, 1.35 ERA) gets the start with typical second-game starer Jack Leftwich (4-1, 2.23 ERA) coming in from the bullpen. The Gators remained two games behind No. 1 ranked and SEC East leader Vanderbilt (21-3, 6-1 SEC), which clobbered LSU in Baton Rouge, 13-1. Despite the loss, Ole Miss remained in the top spot in the SEC West as 4th-ranked Arkansas (20-4, 5-2 SEC), dropped a 2-1 decision to Auburn (12-11, 1-6 SEC). SCOTTIE LEWIS DECLARES FOR THE NBA Scottie Lewis, who came to Florida as 5-star recruit in 2019, is leaving the program. Lewis has declared for the NBA Draft and will hire an agent after two years at Florida which offered plenty of promise but ended with far too much inconsistency. With the departure of Lewis, Florida coach Mike White has lost six players from the 2020-21 Gators. Noah Locke, Omar Payne, Ques Glover and Osayi Osifo have placed their names in the NCAA transfer portal while Tre Mann has declared for the NBA and is hiring an agent. Colin Castleton will go through the draft evaluations but he’s not hiring an agent and almost certainly will return to UF after getting feedback on what needs to improve next year from NBA coaches and scouts. Lewis averaged 8.2 points and 3.4 rebounds in his 51-game Florida playing career. He scored in double figures in five of Florida’s first six games in the just completed season but managed to score 10 or more just three more times the rest of the season. He averaged 5.0 points in the final seven games of the season but 15 of those came against Virginia Tech in the first game of the NCAA Tournament. Lewis was scoreless against Oral Roberts in the 81-78 loss in the final game of the year. From a strictly athletic standpoint, Lewis is a tremendous prospect, but he was hindered by a lack of consistency throughout and failed to show much in the way of improvement this past season. Lewis’ draft stock has plummeted this season but because the NBA puts so much stock in potential and athleticism, Lewis will almost certainly be offered a free agent contract and a chance to develop his game in the G-League. Roster update: With six gone and Keyontae Johnson unlikely to return due to health issues, White has six scholarship players returning (Castleton, Anthony Duruji, Tyree Appleby, Jason Jitoboh, Samson Ruzhentsev and Neils Lane) if no one else departs. Kowacie Reeves is the lone high school signee. OTHER UF SPORTS Gymnastics: The Gators are the No. 1 seed nationally as they begin their quest for the fourth NCAA championship in school history at the Athens Regional tonight. Men’s Tennis: The No. 1 ranked Gators (15-1, 9-0 SEC) will face Vanderbilt (6-11, 0-8 SEC) in Nashville today and return home to face No. 22 Kentucky (14-5, 4-4 SEC) Sunday. Softball: The 5th-ranked Gators (25-3, 8-1 SEC) will be in Athens this weekend to face 20th-ranked Georgia (22-5, 3-3 SEC). Lacrosse: The 10th-ranked Gators (8-2, 5-0 AAC) got a 20-9 American Athletic Conference win over East Carolina (3-8, 1-4 AAC) Thursday afternoon in Gainesville. The two teams will meet Saturday at 11 a.m. at Donald Dizney Stadium. Women’s tennis: The 15th-ranked Gators (10-6, 8-3 SEC) won their fifth straight match Thursday afternoon by taking out No. 21 Kentucky 5-1 at the Ring Tennis Complex. The Gators face 19th-ranked Vanderbilt (12-5, 4-5 SEC) Saturday morning at the Ring Tennis Complex. Soccer: The Becky Burleigh era at the University of Florida comes to an end Saturday at Miami. Burleigh is the only coach the Gators (5-8-3) have had since taking up the sport in 1995. OVER, UNDER, AROUND AND THROUGH THE SEC (FOOTBALL, HOOPS) Alabama: Defensive coordinator Pete Golding got a raise in pay to $1.5 million and a contract extension to remain at Alabama until 2024. Arkansas: Arkansas got a huge transfer when Pitt small forward Au’Diese Toney (6-6, 210) committed to the Razorbacks Thursday night. Toney averaged 14.4 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game for Pitt last season. Auburn: As an April Fool’s joke on the Auburn nation, a tweet was sent out showing blue turf on the football practice field, obviously a takeoff from the Smurf Turf at Boise State where HBC Bryan Harsin is an alum and former head coach. Georgia: The Bulldogs took a big hit when forward Toumani Camara (6-8, 210) put his name in the transfer portal Thursday. Camara averaged 12.8 points and a team-high 7.7 rebounds. Kentucky: Keon Brooks is likely to test the NBA draft waters but probably won’t hire an agent. He is likely to return to Kentucky. Davion Mintz is deciding whether to come back to Kentucky for what will be his sixth year or turn pro. LSU: Wide receiver Terrace Marshall and corner Kary Vincent both ran 4.38 in the 40 at LSU’s pro day. Mississippi State: Small forward Jalen Johnson (6-6, 210) put his name in the transfer portal. Johnson averaged 5.2 points per game last year and has 1,061 points in a career that includes stops at Saint Louis and Louisiana-Lafayette. Missouri: The Tigers finished spring football practice Thursday. Ole Miss: Power forward Romello White (6-8, 235) has declared for the NBA Draft. South Carolina: Guard Jermaine Couisnard will go through the NBA draft process but will not hire an agent. He averaged 10.1 points and 3.0 rebounds per game. Texas A&M: Jimbo Fisher will be looking to replace a 4-year starting quarterback and four starters from his offensive line as spring practice begins in College Station. FINAL FOUR PICKS Houston (28-3) vs. Baylor (26-2): Don’t expect a lot of scoring as both these teams play in your face defense and are content to grind out wins. I like Baylor’s guard three some of Jared Butler, MaCio Teague and Davion Mitchell, plus I think Mark Vital is as solid a non-shot blocking defender in the paint as there is in the country. Plus, I think Scott Drew will outcoach Kelvin Sampson. Baylor wins but it’s white knuckles. UCLA (22-9) vs. Gonzaga (29-0): The Zags are on a mission to become the first unbeaten team since 1976 Indiana. They have won 27 consecutive games by at least 10 points and have had only one game decided by fewer than 10. They’re favored to win this one by 14. UCLA’s only hope is to slow this to a crawl the way they did against Michigan when they held the Wolverines to 49 points. The Zags really don’t care what the other team does. They’re the ones that dictate the pace and they will run UCLA out of the gym. ROY WILLIAMS RETIRES AT NORTH CAROLINA; TEXAS HIRES CHRIS BEARD Roy Williams isn’t going out on top like he probably planned but he is retiring because he feels in his heart that he isn’t the coach he wants to be or thinks the University of North Carolina deserves. He leaves the college game with 903 wins which ranks fourth all-time and three NCAA championships. He’s going out on his own terms, just four years removed from the NCAA title that gave him one more than his mentor Dean Smith. So who replaces Roy? If Carolina decides to stay within the family, the two obvious names are UNC-Greensboro coach Wes Miller and current UNC assistant Hubert Davis. Miller played for Williams at UNC and was a member of the 2005 national championship team. His UNC-G teams have won 104 games in the last four years. He makes $301,500 at UNC-G. Davis spent nine years on Williams’ staff, played for Dean Smith and is paid in the neighborhood of $400,000. If UNC goes outside the family, here are two names that will check nearly all the boxes – Virginia coach Tony Bennett and Maryland coach Mark “The Sturgeon” Turgeon. Bennett has won a national championship at UVa and is one of the most respected coaches in the college game. He’s won big without near the kind of talent he could attract to Chapel Hill. Bennett has a career record of 364-136, 295-103 at Virginia where he makes $4.15 million per year. The Sturgeon was a Williams assistant at Kansas. Prior to Maryland, he was the head coach at Jacksonville State, Wichita State and Texas A&M. Turgeon is 471-272 in 23 years as a head coach with a salary of $2.7 million. Chris Beard leaving Texas Tech came as a surprise since he was a Bobby Knight assistant for ten years at Tech and was being paid just a tad less than $5 million. He is 207-84 in a coaching career that had HBC gigs at McMurry, Angelo State and Little Rock prior to Texas Tech, where he went 112-55 and was the NCAA runner-up in 2019. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: My grandmother, the sage Ivey Van Sickle, used to say that some people have more money than they have brains or common sense. She didn’t realize at the time that she was talking about University of Texas boosters, who ponied up more than $15 million to buy out the football contract of Tom Herman back in January. Once Herman was a goner, Texas gave Alabama offensive coordinator a 6-year deal worth $34.2 million. Shaka Smart, who could have gotten $7.1 million had he allowed Texas to fire him, left a few days ago to become the head coach at Marquette. Shaka’s replacement is former Texas Tech coach Chris Beard. His buyout was a mere $4 million but he was making a tad less than $5 million in Lubbock. No details were available Thursday night, but it is expected Beard will be paid something in the $6.5-7 million range. The numbers remind us of that old saying in the state of Texas: Only God has more money than the Longhorns.

A few thoughts to jump start your Thursday morning: PITTS DOESN’T DISAPPOINT ON UF PRO DAY The head coaches and scouts that came to Gainesville for Florida’s pro day expected Mackey Award winning tight end Kyle Pitts to make a good showing. If there were skeptics in the bunch, they left impressed because Pitts looked every bit the part of an kind of athlete who can become an instant star in the National Football League. By no means was Pitts the only Gator who had a good day Wednesday. Here are some snippets of the top performers: Kyle Pitts, TE: Pitts wowed the 58 NFL coaches and scouts with his measurables, speed, agility and the ease that he ran his routes and caught the football. He ran a 4.44 on both 40 runs, which only solidified him as the highest rated tight end perhaps in the history of the draft. Pitts had measured an 83-3/8 wingspan (just a shade under 7 feet) while checking in at just a hair under 6-6 and 245 pounds. His hands measured 10-5/8 inches. He posted a 33-5 vertical, benched 22 reps of 225 pounds, did a 10-9 standing broad jump and ran a 4.3 three-cone shuttle. To say he was impressive would be the understatement of the last decade. Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus says, “He is the best tight end prospect to come along in years and has the skill set to win against cornerbacks in the slot or lined up as a true wideout. Pitts can be an impact player in the passing game, the likes of which we may not have seen before if he lands in the right situation with a coach capable of maximizing that impact.” Kadarius Toney, WR: Toney’s straight-line speed of 4.39 probably surprised a few scouts, who know him more as a herky-jerky make you miss kind of guy. He did a 39.5 vertical and an 11-4 standing broad jump, plus showed he can run nice route and catch the ball. Barring something unforeseen and totally out of character between now and draft day, he’s solidly in the first round and probably going somewhere between picks 16-22. Toney on showing off his athletic skills to the scouts: “I came in and handled business like I was really supposed to. I feel like teams got a better feel of the kind of person I am and the kind of skill set I bring to the table. Really, the feedback from teams has been very positive. They tend to have a high interest. First-round would definitely mean a lot to me because I feel like I worked hard enough to get there.” Kyle Trask, QB: The 40 time wasn’t great (5.1) but a lot of quarterbacks don’t run sub-5.0. Trask measured out at 6-5, 236, but the scouts already knew he will stand tall in the pocket. The biggest thing Trask needed to do was show how he can throw accurately and quickly outside the pocket and grasp a concept and immediately implement it on the field. Mission accomplished on both ends. He solidified himself as a second rounder who, in the right situation, will have a chance to develop into a starter. Trask on what he showed the scouts: “Really I just wanted to show that I'm not just a statue back there. That I can burst out of the pocket, have little movements within the pocket and still be able to deliver an accurate ball consistently, and I thought I did a pretty good job of that. I want to make sure they knew that I have a strong arm.” Trevon Grimes, WR: He didn’t have blazing 40 speed but 4.49 to go with 6-4, 220 size is probably better than what was expected prior to Wednesday. He showed decent athleticism and average physical strength, but he ran good routes and caught the ball. The speed probably solidified him as a fourth round guy. Grimes on running a 4.49 40: “I’m pretty sure I proved them [scouts] wrong. I’m excited with what I ran. What I’ve been working on is my 40 time. To get out here and get back throwing with the quarterback that got me through my college career [Trask] I’ll cherish this experience the rest of my life.” Marco Wilson, CB: This was the surprise of the day. The official clock had Marco with a pair of 4.37s in the 40, the fifth best time for a corner since 1999. He had a 6.8 in the 3-cone shuttle, a most impressive 43.5-inch vertical and did 26 reps of 225 in the bench press. He made it a point to show off an NFL-ready body (a shade under 6-0 and 191 pounds) the entire workout. Depending on how he interviews, his draft stock is moving on up in a hurry. Wilson on running a 4.37: “I wish I could have run a little bit faster in my 40. But other than that, I was really happy for what I did. The work doesn’t stop here.” Stone Forsythe, LT: Forsythe measured 6-8 and weighed in at 307. His 5.14 40 time was average but he showed real agility with a 4.65 on the short shuttle and 7.47 on the 3-cone shuttle. His wingspan of 83-3/8 is an eye opener for scouts. That’s above average for an NFL left tackle. He is probably a fourth round guy who has the chance to move up to the lower half of the third. Brad Stewart, S: His 40 times (4.68 and 4.59) weren’t all that impressive nor was his physical strength (11 reps of 225). He’s either a seventh round guy or a free agent in all probability. Shawn Davis, S: Davis had an exceptional vertical (39.5) and broad jump (10-8) but he popped a hamstring during his 40 run, which is not going to help his draft stock. It might be difficult to get drafted unless he has a chance to do some private workouts. Most likely he will be a free agent signee. Donovan Stiner, S: His speed wasn’t impressive (a pair of 4.59s) and he didn’t show much in the way of agility or athleticism. He has to hope for a free agent contract that will give him a chance to prove himself in training camp. Tedarrell Slaton Jr., DT: He checked in a mere shadow of his Florida self at 6-4, 330. He ran a 5.09 in the 40 which is very good for someone his size and he did 27 reps on the bench. He’s a third day guy who might make it into the late fourth round. Kyree Campbell, DT: He showed up at 287 pounds, and the lost weight (played at somewhere around 305-310 last season) didn’t equate into a better time in the 40 (5.46). He didn’t participate in the bench and his agility wasn’t very good. He may get a free agent contract. O’SULLIVAN SHAKES UP THE ROTATION FOR OLE MISS The usual suspects won’t be on the mound for 10th-ranked Florida (16-8, 3-3 SEC) at least at the start of the first two games of the Gators’ three-game series with 3rd-ranked Ole Miss (20-4, 6-0 SEC). After the Gators’ abysmal showing on the road at South Carolina last weekend, head coach Kevin O’Sullivan elected to send out a pair of new starters for the Thursday and Friday night games. Instead of Tommy Mace (4-0, 2.91 ERA), O’Sullivan will send out Franco Aleman (0-1, 4.58 ERA) tonight. Getting the start Friday instead of Jack Leftwich (4-1, 2.23 ERA) will be Christian Scott (0-1, 1.35 ERA). Hunter Barco (3-2, 5.58 ERA) will remain the Saturday starter. Although the Gators are just six games into the 30-game SEC grind, it’s a critical series as the Gators are already two games down in the loss column to SEC East tri-leaders Vanderbilt, Tennessee and Kentucky (all 5-1). The SEC is so competitive this season that losing a series at home is tantamount to disaster. The Gators will be on the road next weekend to face 9th-ranked Tennessee in Knoxville. ADAMS LEADS GATORS PAST JU, 5-1 Hannah Adams continued her tear at the plate Wednesday night with a 3-3 effort that included a 2-run homer to lead the 5th-ranked Gators (25-3) to a 5-1 win over Jacksonville University (17-10) in Jacksonville. Adams is now hitting .472 on the season with five homers and 23 RBI. Natalie Lugo (7-1) got the win, allowing four hits and an unearned run in six innings while striking out five. Rylee Trlicek pitched a hitless seventh. The Gators travel to Athens to face 23rd-ranked Georgia in a three-game weekend series starting Friday. OVER, UNDER, AROUND AND THROUGH THE SEC (FOOTBALL/HOOPS) Alabama: Football Scoop is confirming that Nick Saban will hire Drew Svoboda from Memphis to be his new special teams coordinator. Arkansas: Desi Sills, who averaged 7.5 points per game for the Razorbacks who made the Elite Eight, has placed his name in the NCAA transfer portal. Auburn: Former Arkansas head coach and last year’s Auburn offensive coordinator Chad Morris is the new head coach at Allen High School in Texas. Georgia: Wide receiver Jermaine Burton’s injured knee will keep him out the rest of the spring but he’s expected to make a full recovery prior to the fall. LSU: Wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase ran a 4.38 40 to go with a 41-inch vertical and a broad jump of 11 feet at LSU’s pro day. Missouri: Yet another Mizzou basketball player is transferring out. Reserve guard Torrence Watson became the fifth to leave since the end of the season. Watson averaged 1.8 points per game. South Carolina: Redshirt sophomore guard TJ Moss has placed his name in the transfer portal. Playing in 18 games, Moss averaged 4.3 points and 1.8 rebounds per game. He is the third player to transfer out since the SEC Tournament. THINKING OUT LOUD ABOUT THE FINAL FOUR Gonzaga (29-0): The Zags are prohibitive favorites to win the tournament and finish as the first unbeaten team since Indiana 1976. Gonzaga has been established as a 14-point favorite to upend UCLA in Saturday’s semifinal … Former Florida point guard Andrew Nembhard is fifth on the team in scoring at 9.1 per game. He averages 4.3 assists per game and has turned the ball over only 35 times in 29 games … As a team, the Zags are shooting 55.1 percent and averaging 91.6 points per game, winning by a margin of 23 per game. The Zags worst shooting game of the year was in their second round tournament win over Oklahoma when they hit a mere 49.1 percent. UCLA (22-9): Johnny Juzang, the Kentucky transfer who leads the team in scoring at 15.5 per game, is averaging 21.6 per game in the tournament. He scored 28 of UCLA’s 51 points in the win over Michigan Tuesday night … In taking down Michigan, the Bruins scored 14 points off of 14 Michigan turnovers while holding the Wolverines to 39.2 percent shooting overall and just 27.3 percent from the 3-point line … UCLA is 5-0 in the NCAA Tournament. Heading into the tournament they had lost four consecutive games. Baylor (26-2): Baylor has been established as a 5-point favorite to take down Houston in their Saturday semifinal … The Bears average 83 points per game while allowing just 65.5 … Baylor was the worst job in the country when Scott Drew took over in 2003. The school was on probation and was reeling from one of its players murdering a teammate … Mark Vital averages only 5.7 points and 6.7 rebounds per game, playing power forward at barely 6-5, but he may impact a game without scoring more than any player in the Final Four … Jared Butler is the leading scorer and a finalist for the Wooden Award, but Baylor’s two most important players are Vital and point guard Davion Mitchell. Houston (28-3): Houston made its first Final Four since Guy V. Lewis was the coach and Phi Slamma Jamma was the calling card thanks to its defense, which allows opponents to hit only 37.3 percent from the field overall and 28.3 percent from the 3-point line … Houston ranks sixth in the country at 40.9 rebounds per game, third in the country in offensive rebounding at 14.48 per game … Leading scorer and MVP Quentin Grimes (18.0 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists per game) started his career at Kansas ... Head coach Kelvin Sampson is 667-333 in his collegiate coaching career, 167-63 at Houston. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: The NCAA, which has a long and distinguished history of getting its butt handed to it on a platter in court cases, tried to argue that there is nothing wrong with its attempt to regulate the education-related benefits a student-athlete can receive and that amateur athletics will cease to exist if its model is overturned. From all accounts, the justices of the Supreme Court were unimpressed. If the NCAA loses – and it probably will – it will open the door for the schools in Division I to break away and form their own organization. It’s about time.

A few thoughts to jump start your Wednesday morning: FEELING THE PAYNE According to reports, Omar Payne told Florida basketball coach Mike White that he intended to return for the 2021-22 season. Either the reports were erroneous or else there was a disconnect over the weekend because Payne announced Tuesday that he is putting his name in the NCAA transfer portal. Payne joins Noah Locke, Ques Glover and Osayi Osifo in the transfer portal. Tre Mann has declared for the NBA Draft and is going to hire an agent so he won’t be back. Colin Castleton will test his draftability but won’t hire an agent. His lack of a consistent 10-15-foot jump shot almost certainly means he won’t get a favorable draft grade and will return to UF. Keyontae Johnson’s status is unknown but getting a medical clearance to play again might be the longest of shots. Although he hasn’t made his intentions known, Scottie Lewis is also expected to transfer out, perhaps announcing as early as today. Should Lewis go and Johnson’s status up in the air, White will have only seven scholarship players and that is only if no one else decides to leave. Expected to stay are Anthony Duruji, Tyree Appleby, Jason Jitoboh and most likely Castleton. Neither Samson Ruzhentsev nor Neils Lane have indicated whether they are staying or going but right now, it’s expected both will be returning. Kowacie Reeves is Florida’s only signee. Right now the Florida program gives the appearance that the wheels are coming off. White needs to stabilize things in a hurry because he can’t go another month not knowing who will be here and who will be gone or else he will miss out on any remaining quality high school kids and most of the good transfer prospects. Keep an eye on these transfers: Point guard Brandon McKissic (6-3, 195) averaged 17.2 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game at Missouri-Kansas City. He hit 50.8 percent of his shots, 42.9 percent from the 3-point line. He has scored 1,181 points in his career. In addition to the Gators, McKissic is being recruited by Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, LSU and Saint Louis … The Gators are in the hunt for Pitt small forward Au’Diese Toney (6-6, 200), a Jasper, Alabama native who averaged 14.4 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game while shooting 46.4 percent from the field. Georgia, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Ole Miss and Wisconsin are among the teams in the hunt. SOMETHING TO PROVE AT UF PRO DAY TODAY Kyle Pitts, Kadarius Toney and Kyle Trask are pretty well set for the NFL Draft no matter what happens today when Florida holds its pro day (11 a.m., SEC Network). Having a great pro day could be a real difference maker for several other Gators. Here are the guys who most likely will be on an NFL roster next year: Kyle Pitts, TE: He has a chance to be one of the highest drafted tight ends in history. If he runs today and turns in anything close to 4.5 it could assure that he will be taken in the first six or seven picks. Kyle Trask, QB: Everybody knows he can throw accurately. Scouts will be looking to see how poised he is with so many NFL head coaches in attendance, plus they’ll want to see how easily he processes information, conceptualizes and then implements on the field. If he has a good day he could cement himself as a first half of the second round. Kadarius Toney, WR: Most projections have him last third of the first round. He runs well and has that make-you-miss wiggle to his game. He’s got slot written all over him, but if he shows he can make the catches downfield and run good routes, he could move up to rounds 10 through 20. Trevon Grimes, WR: He’s got the size (6-5, 220) to be a mismatch on the outside. He needs to run well enough to project that he can get separation against NFL DBs. If he runs 4.55 or less, he could go 4th or 5throunds. If he’s closer to 4.6 he’ll be a 6th or 7th-rounder. Stone Forsythe, LT: At 6-9, 315, Forsythe has ideal size for a left tackle. He needs to run well, get up 20 or more reps of 225 pounds and interview well. He could move up as high as the 4th round but he’s more likely to go 5th or early 6th. Brad Stewart Jr., S: He’s a good tackler with decent speed but lacks ball hawk instincts. He’s got to run a sub-4.6. He figures to be a 7th-rounder or free agent. Kyree Campbell, NT: Campbell doesn’t figure to be an NFL starter, but he’s got good size and plays the run well enough to get drafted in the 6th or 7th round. He has to run well and get a good number of 225-pound reps. Tedarrell Slaton Jr., DT: His size alone (6-5, 350) will land him on an NFL roster next year. Whether that’s as a draftee or a free agent has to be determined. He needs good reps on the bench press and to run well. Evan McPherson, PK: Basically, he’s trying to earn a free agent contract. Unless he goes into a kicker’s coma and nails a few from 55 yards or deeper, he’s not going to be drafted. He will have numerous free agent opportunities. Marco Wilson, CB: He had a poor 2020 season and hurt himself with that stupid penalty that helped doom the Gators against LSU. He hasn’t made much progress since his freshman year. Needs to run something in the 4.45-4.50 range in the 40 to have a shot at getting drafted. Late rounds or free agency. Brett Heggie, C/G: He has size (6-4, 330) and has played both guards and center in the SEC. There isn’t much he can do to get drafted today but he can catch the eye of several teams who are in need of a backup O-lineman. Heggie has a chance to make it on an NFL roster as a free agent. Martez Ivey, G: He was on the Tampa Bay Bucs practice squad in 2019. He was out of football last season after the XFL suspended operations. He’s a long shot to get a free agent contract. MEN’S TENNIS TEAM RANKED NO. 1 The Gators (15-1, 9-0 SEC) have taken over the No. 1 position in the Oracle/ITA rankings. Florida will take a 12-game winning streak on the road this weekend when they face Vanderbilt (5-11, 0-8 SEC) Friday and Kentucky (14-5, 4-4 SEC) Sunday. Other UF spring sports: Softball: The 5th-ranked Gators (24-3) travel to Jacksonville for a non-conference game this evening. OVER, UNDER, AROUND AND THROUGH THE SEC (FOOTBALL/HOOPS) Alabama: Heisman Trophy winner Devonta Smith caught passes from Mac Jones at Alabama’s second pro day. Also participating was running back Najee Harris. Wide receiver Jaylen Waddle did not participate. All four are expected to go in the first round of the NFL Draft. Arkansas: The second scrimmage of the spring will be open to the public on Saturday. Auburn: New defensive coordinator Derek Mason has Auburn operating out of a 3-4 base this spring with a 2-4-5 nickel package. Georgia: Wide receiver Jermaine Burton, who caught 27 passes for 404 yards and three touchdowns as a true freshman, injured his knee at practice Tuesday. The extent of the injury is unknown at this point … Juco center Braelin Bridges (6-10, 220) is transferring to Georgia from Northwest Florida State College. Kentucky: Former starting quarterback Terry Wilson is transferring to New Mexico. Wilson had a 17-8 record as a starter, passing for 3,346 yards and rushing for 1,015. LSU: HBC Will Wade expects Cam Thomas, Trendon Watford, Javonte Smart and Darius Days to all declare for the NBA Draft. Mississippi State: A pair of transfers are standing out on Mississippi State’s defense this spring. Randy Charlton, who transferred in from UCF, is making a mark at tackle while former Texas DB Jalen Green has settled in at the hybrid safety/linebacker position. Missouri: Point guard Mark Smith (6-5, 220) is transferring to Kansas State. Smith averaged 10.3 points and 4.0 rebounds while playing in 69 career games at Mizzou ... Edward Chang (6-8, 220), who never saw any playing time after transferring in from Salt Lake Community College, has put his name in the transfer portal. Ole Miss: Jeremy James has been moved outside from right guard as Ole Miss tries to plug some holes in the offensive line. South Carolina: Point guard Trae Hannibal (6-2, 217) has placed his name in the transfer portal. Tennessee: Jeremy Banks, Tennessee’s top returning linebacker, is sidelined indefinitely with an unspecified injury. Banks has been in on 38 tackles in his UT career. Texas A&M: Shooting guard Jay Jay Chandler (6-4, 183) is transferring to South Alabama … Wide receiver Demond Demas, who was arrested two weeks ago for possession of marijuana, has been cleared to return to the football team. Vanderbilt: Power forward Ejike Obinna (6-10, 243) is transferring to Saint Joseph’s. ZAGS, UCLA TO THE FINAL FOUR Gonzaga (30-0) won its 27th consecutive game by at least 10 points, methodically destroying Southern California (25-8), 85-66, Tuesday night to win the West Region and punch their ticket to the Final Four. In getting to the 30-win plateau for the fourth consecutive year, the Zags shot an efficient 50 percent from the field and assisted on 23 of 34 made baskets. Watching Gonzaga run its offense and fast breaks is like a clinic on spacing and unselfish passing. This is the best passing team in college basketball since the 2006-07 Florida back-to-back national champions. The Zags space so well and move the ball constantly, making it next to impossible to prevent them from getting clean, open shots. Gonzaga might be the best finishing team on the fast break since UNLV in 1990. Saturday’s Final Four opponent for Gonzaga will be UCLA (22-9), which outlasted No. 1 seed Michigan (24-5), 51-49, to win the East Region. UCLA becomes only the second team (VCU in 2011 was the other) to make the Final Four after starting out with a play-in game. It is the first trip to the Final Four for UCLA since 2008. The Bruins have won more national championships (11) than any other team. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Currently, there are 19 women who have filed a lawsuit against Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson, alleging sexual assault and inappropriate conduct. Houston GM Nick Caserio says the lawsuits are “certainly troubling” and says the Texans are taking the allegations “very seriously.” It is interesting that all 19 lawsuits have been filed by the same attorney, Houston lawyer Tony Buzbee. Did all these women just happen upon the same attorney? Or was this coordinated? It seems a bit strange, but either way, Caserio should be troubled when there are these kind of allegations against someone he’s paying more than $30 million per year.

A few thoughts to jumpstart your Tuesday morning: TRASK CAN STATE HIS CASE WEDNESDAY MORNING Trevor Lawrence (Clemson) is the surefire No. 1 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. Urban Meyer and the Jacksonville Jaguars have made it perfectly clear that Lawrence is the guy they plan to build the franchise around. BYU’s Zach Wilson is all but certain to go to the New York Jets with the second pick and all indications are that Alabama’s Mac Jones will be taken third by the San Francisco 49ers, who made some trades to move up last week. Nearly every draft expert has North Dakota State’s Trey Lance and Ohio State’s Justin Fields going in the top ten. There was a time when Florida’s Kyle Trask was on everybody’s first round radar, but his stock has dipped since the Cotton Bowl and he’s now thought of as a second rounder. Wednesday morning at Florida’s Pro Day Trask will have a chance to state his case that he will be somebody’s NFL bargain. It will be a good setup for Trask, who will be throwing to three future NFL receivers in Kyle Pitts, Kadarius Toney and Trevon Grimes. Both Pitts and Toney are projected to go in the first round with Grimes expected to go either in the third or fourth. The scouts already know that Trask is one of the two or three most accurate passers available. They will ask him to make certain throws Wednesday but most importantly, they will have a chance to see how quickly he processes information and turns that into the right decision. With five quarterbacks expected to go in the first round, there probably isn’t room for another, but Trask can certainly show the scouts that he’s good enough to not only make an NFL roster but to factor in their future plans. UF BASEBALL FALLS IN BASEBALL POLLS A fall out of the top five was to be expected for the Florida Gators after getting swept by South Carolina last weekend. Only Collegiate Baseball kept the Gators in their top ten (10th). The biggest tumble came in the D1Baseball.com poll, which dropped Florida 10 spots to No. 15. The Gators will play host to Mercer (13-10) of the Southern Conference tonight at the Florida Ballpark. SEC play will resume this weekend when 3rd-ranked Ole Miss comes to town. D1baseball.com poll: 1. Vanderbilt 19-3; 2. Arkansas 19-3; 3. Ole Miss 20-4; 4. Texas Tech 19-4; 5. Texas 17-7; 6. Georgia Tech 13-7; 7. Louisville 16-6; 8. Mississippi State 17-7; 9. Tennessee 21-4; 10. UCLA 15-7; 11. East Carolina 17-5; 12. TCU 16-7; 13. Notre Dame 11-4; 14. South Carolina 16-6; 15. FLORIDA 16-8; 16. Oklahoma State 15-6; 17. Louisiana Tech 17-6; 18. Florida State 12-8; 19. Miami 12-8; 20. Oregon 12-6; 21. Oregon State 16-5; 22. Arizona 16-7; 23. Virginia Tech 13-8; 24. Pittsburgh 12-8; 25. Michigan 11-4 Collegiate Baseball poll: 1. Vanderbilt 19-3; 2. Ole Miss 20-4; 3. Texas Tech 19-4; 4. Arkansas 19-3; 5. Louisville 16-6; 6. Texas 17-7; 7. Tennessee 21-4; 8. South Carolina 16-6; 9. UCLA 15-7; 10. FLORIDA 16-8; 11. Oklahoma State 15-6-1; 12. Mississippi State 17-7; 13. Oregon State 16-5; 14. Arizona State 15-5; 15. East Carolina 17-5; 16. Michigan 11-4; 17. Notre Dame 11-4; 18. Georgia Tech 13-7; 19. Arizona 16-7; 20. North Carolina 13-7; 21. Kentucky 17-4; 22. Oregon 12-6; 23. Georgia 16-7; 24. Stanford 14-3; 25. TCU 16-7; 26. UC-Irvine 14-7; 27. Indiana 11-3; 28. Southern Illinois 19-3; 20. San Diego 17-4; 30. Florida State 12-8 USA Today Coaches poll: 1. Vanderbilt 19-3; 2. Arkansas 19-3; 3. Ole Miss 20-4; 4. Texas Tech 19-4; 5. Louisville 16-6; 6. Tennessee 21-4; 7. Mississippi State 17-7; 8. Texas 17-7; 9. UCLA 15-7; 10. Georgia Tech 13-7; 11. TCU 16-7; 12. East Carolina 17-5; 13. FLORIDA 16-8; 14. Notre Dame 11-4; 15. South Carolina 16-6; 16. Oklahoma State 15-6-1; 17. Oregon State 16-5; 18. Miami 12-8; 19. Louisiana Tech 17-6; 20. Oregon 12-6; 21. Arizona 16-7; 22. Florida State 12-8; 23. Michigan 11-4; Stanford 14-3; 25. LSU 16-8 Baseball America poll: 1. Arkansas 19-3; 2. Vanderbilt 19-3; 3. Ole Miss 20-4; 4. Texas Tech 19-4; 5. Mississippi State 17-7; 6. Louisville 16-6; 7. Texas 17-7; 8. East Carolina 17-4; 9. Georgia Tech 13-7; 10. Tennessee 21-4; 11. South Carolina 16-6; 12. Notre Dame 11-4; 13 Virginia Tech 13-8; 14. FLORIDA 16-8; 15. UCLA 15-7; 16. Arizona 16-7; 17. Pittsburgh 12-8; 18. Florida State 12-8; 19. Oregon 16-6; 20. Miami 12-8; 21. North Carolina 13-7; 22. TCU 16-7; 23. Louisiana Tech 17-6; 24. Michigan 11-4; 25. Indiana State 11-6 UF SOFTBALL REMAINS NO. 5 The Gators (24-3) remained 5th in the D1softball.com poll with their 3-game sweep of LSU over the weekend. The Gators will travel to Jacksonville Wednesday night and will be at Georgia for a 3-game SEC series over the weekend. D1softball.com poll: 1. Oklahoma 25-0; 2. UCLA 19-1; 3. Oregon 23-1; 4. Alabama 26-3; 5. FLORIDA 24-3; 6. Washington 24-4; 7. Florida State 20-6; 8. Arizona 18-5; 9. Arkansas 28-3; 10. Kentucky 24-4; 11. Oklahoma State 26-5; 12. LSU 18-11; 13. Texas 24-3; 14. Arizona State 19-8; 15. Virginia Tech 19-5; 16. Louisiana 20-6; 17. Duke 26-3; 18. Missouri 24-7; 19. UCF 24-6; 20. Northwestern 15-1; 21. Baylor21-5; 22. Texas State 20-3; 23. Clemson 22-4; 24. Tennessee 23-5; 25. Texas A&M 23-5 OVER, UNDER, AROUND AND THROUGH THE SEC (FOOTBALL/HOOPS) Alabama: For getting Alabama to the Elite Eight, head coach Nate Oates earned a $200,000 bonus ... Nick Saban is on the verge of hiring Drew Svoboda from Memphis as his special teams coordinator. Svoboda’s stay in Memphis was short as he left Rice for the special teams job at Memphis back in January. Auburn: Was there any doubt former Auburn All-American Charles Barkley was talking about Will Wade and LSU Sunday night when he said, “The NCAA, they are like the Barney Fife of the World. They do an awful job of administrating. We got guys on tape playing players – three years ago. They ain’t said nothing about it.” Georgia: Kirby Smart believes there is a possibility wide receiver George Pickens will be able to play in 2021 despite having surgery for a torn ACL. Kentucky: Kentucky landed the top shooting guard transfer Monday when Davidson’s Kellan Grady announced he will sspend a graduate year in Lexington. Grady has scored more than 2,000 points in his collegiate career. He joins West Virginia transfer Oscar Tshiebwe, a 6-9, 260-pound power forward who averaged 11.2 points and 9.3 rebounds in 2019 ... Forward Jacob Toppin, who averaged 5.1 points and 3.9 rebounds off the bench, announced he will return to UK next season. LSU: A 74-year-old grandmother who says she was sexually harassed by former LSU running back Derrius Guice says Coach O lied to investigators when he said he never had any direct communications with her about the incident. “Coach O is telling a lie,” Gloria Scott said. “He’s not telling the truth. I don’t have no reason to lie. I know who I was talking to. He knows he talked to me.” Mississippi State: A day after Mississippi State lost to Memphis in the championship game of the NIT, freshman forward Keondre Montgomery put his name in the NCAA transfer portal. Missouri: Starting guard Mark Smith, who averaged 10.3 points and 4.0 rebounds in three years at Mizzou, has placed his name in the NCAA transfer portal. Also in the portal is reserve Parker Braun, who averaged only 9.3 minutes and 2.8 points per game. Ole Miss: Wide receiver Elijah Moore, who caught 86 passes for 1,139 yards in only eight games last year, ran a 4.34 in the 40 at the Ole Miss Pro Day. South Carolina: Forward Keyshawn Bryant, who averaged 14.4 points and 5.4 rebounds, will make himself available for the NBA Draft but will not hire an agent so he will have the option to return to school. Tennessee: Former 5-star recruit Jaden Springer has declared for the NBA. Springer averaged 12.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.9 assists for the Vols as a true freshman ... Sophomore guard Davonte Gaines has put his name in the NCAA transfer portal, joining Drew Pember. Texas A&M: Tight end Jalen Wydermyer, who caught 46 passes for 506 yards and six touchdowns, will miss the rest of the spring after suffering a cut on his hand that required surgery to repair. Vanderbilt: Vanderbilt has already raised $200 million of the $300 million that will be spent to upgrade football and basketball facilities. AND THEN THERE WERE SIX The SEC bowed out of the NCAA Tournament Monday night when Baylor (26-2) knocked off Arkansas (25-7), 81-72, earning the school’s first trip to a Final Four since 1950. The Bears got 20 points off Arkansas turnovers, hit 13-17 of their free throws and 8-15 of their 3-pointers. The Arkansas loss leaves the Southeastern Conference with a 7-6 record in this year’s tournament. Houston (28-3) ended Oregon State’s magical run in the tournament by holding on for a 67-61 win over the Beavers (20-13) in the Midwest Region final Monday night. Houston became the first team in tournament history to beat four double-digit seeds to make the Final Four. Houston coach Kelvin Sampson becomes a member of a very small fraternity of coaches who make the Final Four after putting two previous schools (Oklahoma and Indiana) on probation. After the Indiana probation, he got a 5-year show cause from the NCAA. Baylor and Houston will face each other in one semifinal at the Final Four Saturday. Tonight, No. 1 seed Gonzaga (29-0) tries to keep its perfect season intact in the West Region championship game (7:15 p.m., TBS). No. 1 seed Michigan (23-4) will face No. 11 UCLA (21-9) in the East Region championship game (9:57 p.m., TBS). MORE BASKETBALL STUFF Indiana has its replacement coach for Archie Miller. Mike Woodson has been hired to be the new savior for the Hoosiers. He played for Bobby Knight and has been an NBA head coach but has never coached at the collegiate level. Of course, Juwan Howard never coached college basketball before taking the Michigan job and that’s worked out well. The 63-year-old Woodson got a 6-year deal. By taking the Marquette job, Shaka Smart avoided spending a lame duck year on the Texas hot seat. After that first round NCAA Tournament loss to Abilene Christian, the Texas people would have been looking for any excuse to fire Shaka next year. He gets a fresh start at Marquette, a place he can win with far less pressure. YOU CAN’T MAKE THIS UP Auburn has suspended its bass fishing team until 2022 for three violations of the school COVID-19 policies. Since no one on the team was kicked out of school, this is the definition of catch and release. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: When I heard that Howard Schnellenberger died, one of my first thoughts was what is it about Kentucky football and dumb decisions? Remember, it was the University of Kentucky that ran off Bear Bryant, still the winningest coach in school history some 68 years later. Do you think they may have regretted that decision? Howie played for Bryant at UK and was Bryant’s offensive coordinator at Alabama from 1961-65. Howie was also the offensive coordinator for Don Shula and the 1972 Super Bowl champion Miami Dolphins, still the only undefeated team in NFL history. Following that season, Howie wanted to become the head coach at UK, which had fired John Ray, but athletic director Cliff Hagan hired Fran Curci instead, which turned out to be a dumb move. Kentucky football had a couple of good seasons under Curci, but he was fired after a 9-year run. Howard Schnellenberger, meanwhile became the head coach at the University of Miami in 1979. He not only lifted UM off the ash heap at a time when the school was considering dropping football, but he won UM’s first national championship in 1983.