Well, I don't know about you, but I've been waiting for this day since the Gators lost to Butler in the Elite Eight on March 26th. After our offensive barrage against Catholic University last Thursday, the Gators will have plenty of momentum going into today's game. The Jackson State Tigers, a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), was 17-15 last year. They return Jenirro Bush, a 6'7" senior who averaged 14 points per game last season. They also bring in Kelsey Howard, a 6'3" freshman guard who had a double-double in their exhibition game. Look for the Tigers to be quick on defense and with the ball, but they lack experience as they lost four out of their five starters from last year. The only meeting between the Gators and Tigers came in the first round of the 2007 NCAA Tournament, which was the second of back-to-back championships for Florida. Jackson State will definitely have their hands full trying to contain Florida's guards and big men.
The Gators, on the other hand, will have everyone active and ready to go. Scottie Wilbekin will dress and I'm looking forward to seeing him provide great defense as always, but also being agressive on offense. He has been working on his shooting over the offseason and this will definitely make him a bigger threat. Like I mentioned in the Catholic game recap, I expect Erik Murphy and Brad Beal to increase their rebound totals. I'm interested to see how Erik adjusts to being a starter and hopefully he can start the game off like he did against Catholic: with a three-pointer. We'll get our usual double-figure scoring from Erving Walker and Kenny Boynton, and Brad Beal might have some nerves, but he should settle down and play like the future top-10 draft pick he will be. Patric Young will give us intensity and his non-stop motor will keep on going. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that he gets his first double-double as a Gator. Mike Rosario will give us instant offense off the bench and will probably play between 20-30 minutes; he is going to be a microwave with his scoring ability. Will Yeguete will figure to get 10-20 minutes and he could grab 10+ rebounds in that time; he averaged the most rebounds per minute on the team last year; the guy's a rebounding machine! Casey Prather will provide energy on defense and should get a couple of steals and fastbreak points. Cody Larson and Walter Pitchford will have to give us quality minutes in the post and play under control in their first collegiate games.
Tune in at 6:25 on WRUF 850 AM for the Gator pregame show with Mick Hubert and Mark Wise, and then either listen to game or watch it on FSN-Florida at 7:00, with Larry Vettel and Bill Koss calling the action. I look for the Gators to get off to a quick start and not take this game lightly. Their press will be in full force and hopefully we can shoot the ball as well as last Thursday. Look for a game recap tomorrow and GO GATORS!
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