Michael Frazier II made the final cut on Sunday, before being selected for the team on Monday evening.
Florida sophomore guard Michael Frazier II is among 12 players who have been selected for the USA Basketball U19 World Championship team.
The 2013 FIBA U19 World Championship will be held June 24-July 6 in Prague, Czech Republic./ The team will be coached by Florida's Billy Donovan, VCU coach Shaka Smart and Virginia coach Tony Bennett.
Frazier, the former Plant standout and Montverde Academy graduate, was among 24 players invited to compete for a spot on the team. He made the final cut on Sunday, before being selected for the team on Monday evening. …
If you want to see Florida play Miami for the last time in the forseeable future, you still have that chance.
Florida football tickets for five of the Gators' games away from Ben Hill Griffin Stadium are currently on sale.
The LSU game on Oct. 12 is sold out.
Tickets for the general public are sold on a first-come, first-serve basis. You can order online, or by calling (352) 375-4683, ext. 6800, or toll free (800) 344-2867, ext. 6800, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Tickets can also be purchased at the Gator Ticket Office, located at Gate 1 of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Florida sophomore guard Michael Frazier II, of Tampa, has made the first cut for the 2013 USA Basketball Men's U19 World Championship team.
Frazier is among 16 players still vying for a spot on the team. Originally, 24 of the nation's top 19-and-under players were invited to tryouts.
After four training sessions, 16 finalists remain. The roster will be pared down to 12 before the squad leaves on June 19 for three days of training at the Washington Wizards practice facility in Washington, D.C.
The 2013 FIBA U19 World Championship will be held June 24-July 6 in Prague, Czech Republic. The finalists, who must be 19-years-old or younger (born on or after Jan. 1, 1994) and a U.S. citizen to be eligible for this team, were selected by the USA Basketball Men's Developmental National Team Committee.
"We had 26 really, really good players and all of the guys made the selection very, very difficult," said USA U19 and University of Florida head coach Billy Donovan. "I think the things that stand out about this team is just the athleticism; the speed and quickness; the ability to defend and put pressure on people; and offensive rebound. …
Florida sophomore linebacker Antonio Morrison is facing a battery charge after he was arrested early Sunday morning for allegedly punching a bouncer at a local nightclub.
“GPD arrested UF LB Antonio Morrison after he punched a nightclub bouncer at the Kava lounge,’’ the Gainesville Police Department said in a statement on its website. He was charged with simple battery.”
According to the police reports, Morrison was identified by several witnesses who said he argued with a bouncer outside of the Kava Lounge on W. University Ave. in downtown Gainesville early Sunday. The argument was reportedly over the cost of the club’s cover charge. Witnesses said Morrison was heard saying: ''Do you know who I am? I am a UF football player. I am Antonio!''
When told by the club’s bouncer that he was expected to pay the full cover price, Morrison allegedly punched the bouncer in the head. He was later identified from the UF website, according to police reports.
Morrison, a native of Bolingbrook, Ill, was later arrested at his dorm. He reportedly told police officers he got into a scuffle, but “it wasn’t that big of a deal.” …
Florida head coach Mike Holloway today was named the 2013 U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) National Outdoor Men’s Coach of the Year.
This is the secon straight season Holloway has received the outdoors award, the fifth time Holloway has been honored by the USTFCCCA. He won three consecutive indoors honors rom 2010-12.
In his 11th year as the Gators’ coach, Holloway guided Florida to its second straight NCAA outdoor track & field national team title. The Gators scored 53 points for the crown, tying Texas A&M for the title. Florida won the final event - the 4x400-meter relay - to help secure its first-place finish. The Gators had trailed the Aggies by nine points before the finale.
Florida is the first team since 1978 (UTEP, UCLA) to share an NCAA outdoor title and Saturday was just the fourth time in NCAA history a tie occurred.
The Gators won three individual NCAA titles: the men’s 4x100-meter relay, 4x400-meter relay and senior Omar Craddock won his third career NCAA title in the men’s triple jump and second straight outdoors. Craddock’s jump of 16.92m/55-6.25, a new personal best for him, is the third-best jump in the U.S. in 2013. …
Mike Zunino most recently played for the Tacoma (Wash.) Rainiers of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League, where he had a .238 average in 47 games, with team-highs in RBI (43) and home runs (11).
Former Florida catcher Mike Zunino was called up to the Major Leagues by the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday, one year after he was drafted in the MLB Draft first round with the third overall pick.
Zunino most recently played for the Tacoma (Wash.) Rainiers of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League, where he had a .238 average in 47 games, with team-highs in RBI (43) and home runs (11). He also had 34 runs, 12 doubles and a .503 slugging percentage.
Playing for Peoria of the Arizona Fall League, Zunino helped lead the Javelinas’ to the league title and was named to the AFL’s Top Prospects Team. In the championship game, he finished 3-for-5 with a pair of RBI as Peoria defeated the Salt River Rafters, 4-3.
Baseball America rated him No. 1 on the Mariners’ list of top-10 prospects at the beginning of December and said that he was the best power hitter and the best defensive catcher within the organization. …
Scottie Wilbekin, a native of Gainesville, averaged 9.1 points and five assists as a junior this past season.
Florida junior point guard Scottie Wilbekin has been indefinitely suspended from the basketball team for an undisclosed violation of team rules, Florida coach Billy Donovan announced today.
This is the second suspension for Wilbekin in the past seven months. He was suspended on Nov. 8 - the day before the Gators were scheduled to play Georgetown on the USS Bataan at Mayport, and eventually missed three games before he was reinstated.
Wilbekin, a native of Gainesville, averaged 9.1 points and five assists as a junior this past season.
After he was reinstated, Wilbekin often talked about learning a valuable lesson after having something that's taken away that's vitally important in his life.
He has had significant playing time in three seasons with the Gators, starting in 29 of 35 games this past season.
Whether Wilbekin's suspension will carry over into basketball season is unknown. He was expected to be a vital part of the Gators' rotation in 2013-14, but with his absence expectations on incoming guard Kasey Hill will be greater.
Florida junior pitcher Jonathon Crawford was selected by the Detroit Tigers in the first round of the 2013 Major League Baseball Draft on Thursday night. Crawford, a native of Okeechobee, was the 20th overall selection.
Crawford becomes the highest selection for a Florida pitcher since John Burke was chosen by the Houston Astros at No. 6 overall in 1991.
This is the second consecutive year that a Florida player has been taken in the opening round. Former Gator catcher Mike Zunino went third overall to the Seattle Mariners and left-hander Brian Johnson was picked 31st by the Boston Red Sox last June.
After pitching just 3.2 innings as a freshman, Crawford made 19 appearances and 14 starts as a sophomore in 2012, going 6-2 with a 3.13 ERA and tied for second on the squad with 73 strikeouts in 77.2 innings. He started in nine of the Gators’ 10 SEC series and was 3-1 with a 2.56 ERA in 38.2 innings during league action. …
The Florida men's basketball team will get a chance to showcase itself nationally early this season when the Gators participate in the Jimmy V Classic on ESPN.
Florida is part of the men's doubleheader, which will be held on Dec. 17 at Madison Square Garden. Pittsburgh will play Cincinnati at 7 p.m., and Florida will play Memphis at 9 p.m.
Florida is ranked No. 6 in an early ESPN.com preseason Top 25, and Memphis is ranked No. 19.
Florida finished the 2012-13 season with a 29-8 record and won its sixth SEC Championship and fourth outright title. The Gators advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Championship for the third consecutive season, the only team in the nation to do so.
Memphis finished 31-5 overall and had a perfect 16-0 record in Conference USA. The Tigers swept the Conference USA regular-season and tournament titles and earned an NCAA Championship berth, advancing to the third round. Next year Memphis will begin competing in the American Athletic Conference. …
Three Florida athletic programs are among the 976 teams recognized by the NCAA today for high academic achievement based on the NCAA's APR (academic progress rate).
The Gators' softball,women's basketball and women's cross country teams were among the top performing APR's this year. Top performing APRs this year ranged from 978 to a perfect 1,000, with the majority of teams earning a perfect APR.
The 976 teams represent 594 women’s teams and 382 men’s or mixed squads.
“The NCAA’s quintessential student-athlete exhibits dedication and commitment both on the playing field and in the classroom,” NCAA President Mark Emmert said. “These teams and programs truly embody the overall values of the NCAA, and have exceeded standards to post fantastic academic scores. We are delighted by such a clear example of our membership’s commitment to providing well-rounded experiences to student-athletes.”
Nine NCAA national champions from 2012-13 are among the teams recognized as top performers including two SEC schools: Alabama (football and men's golf) and Georgia (men's swimming. …
The 14 member-schools in the SEC will share approximately $289.4 million as part of the league's revenue sharing plan for the 2012-13 fiscal year, SEC Commissioner Mike Slive released today.
The $289.4 million is the highest total ever distributed in SEC history.
The revenue sharing plans include money generated by football television, bowls, the SEC Football Championship, basketball television, the SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament, NCAA Championships and supplemental distribution. It does not include revenue individual schools generate through local media packages.
It also does not include $14.1 million retained by the schools which participated in bowls and $980,000 divided among all 14 member-schools by the NCAA for academic enhancement.
The average amount to be distributed to each school is $20.7 million.
In 2011, the then-12 member schools split &219.9 million, and last year the schools divided $244 million. This is the first year the league has included 14 member schools, with Missouri and Texas A&M joining the league last year.
Nick Saban said he's not bothered by the comments, but isn't sure why opposing coaches feel the need to make negative comments -- about him or any other coach.
Alabama coach Nick Saban said today he received a call from Florida atheltic director Jeremy Foley and head coach Will Muschamp after Florida offensive line coach Tim Davis made derogatory comments about Saban at a booster function earlier this month.
According to Florida Today, Davis, in an obvious attempt to get Gator fans in full football-season mode, told a gathering in Melbourne: "Will's got a plan. "Will coached under the devil himself for seven years. I only did three.''
Davis and Muschamp are both former assistants under Saban, who told a gathering of reporters at the SEC Spring Meetings that he was "disappointed" by the comments, but received an aplogy from UF.
"Will and Jeremy (both called), which I appreciated," Saban said. "And I said right off the bat that this is not a reflection of the University of Florida, Will Muschamp or the program there. And it’s really, that’s as much as needs to get said about it."
It was not the first time Saban had been referenced in such a manner. Last year, Vanderbilt coach James Franklin referred to Saban as "Nicky Satan." …
Aided by the No. 2 strength of schedule in the nation, the Florida baseball team today was awarded the No. 3 seed in the NCAA Baseball Tournament in the Bloomington (Ind.) Regional, despite a season of struggles.
"I don’t know if we’re relieved, but I think we’re awfully excited," UF coach Kevin O'Sullivan said. "It gives us a chance to get in the postseason for the sixth straight year and this team has worked awfully hard. We’ve had our ups, we’ve had our downs, but it’s a new season and they’re awfully excited to play (this) weekend."
The Gators (29-28) will play No. 2 seed Austin Peay (45-13) Friday at 1 p.m. The game can be seen on ESPN3. Top-seeded Indiana (43-14) will play fourth-seeded Valparaiso (31-26) at 7 p.m.
This is Florida’s sixth consecutive NCAA appearance under O’Sullivan – the first time in school history a coach has accomplished that feat.
The Bloomington Regional winner will face the winner of the Tallahassee Regional in a Super Regional series next weekend. …
Florida shortstop Katie Medina hit a walkoff single to help lead the Gators to a 4-3 victory over UAB in the NCAA Softball Super Regional Saturday afternoon in Gainesville.
The Gators are one win away from advancing to the Women’s College World Series. Florida (56-7) and UAB (40-18) will play today at noon. The Blazers need two wins to advance.
Florida Gators fans, welcome to the Gator Report for all your news about Gators football, basketball and all UF sports. It's written by University of Florida beat writer Antonya English and the staff of the Tampa Bay Times. We invite your comments and participation.
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