Advertisement

Jones: Florida's impressive season ends in NCAA Tournament's Elite Eight

 
As UF’s Justin Leon walks off, South Carolina celebrates after rallying to reach the Final Four. The Gators ends a 27-9 season with reason for optimism.
As UF’s Justin Leon walks off, South Carolina celebrates after rallying to reach the Final Four. The Gators ends a 27-9 season with reason for optimism.
Published March 27, 2017

NEW YORK — Two years ago, Mike White showed up in Gainesville to take over a once-proud basketball program that had lost its way.

It wasn't going to be easy. There were no shortcuts. The process was going to be long and difficult with setbacks and growing pains. The old coach, Billy Donovan, even warned him of the potholes that laid ahead on the road to restoration.

The team lacked toughness. It lacked character. It lacked the heart and desire and discipline that used to be routine at Florida. The players spent more time whining than winning.

Eventually, but surely, White changed the culture. He did it the right way, reconstructing the program on a foundation of determination and will and tenacity. He built the Gators back into a winner. This season showed that Florida basketball is back.

But that only made Sunday in Madison Square Garden hurt all the more.

"Very, very heartbreaking," White said after the Gators came oh-so-close but ultimately missed out on going to the Final Four with a 77-70 loss to South Carolina in the East Region final.

The swing of emotions over the past two years, two weeks and two days left White pondering exactly what he was feeling after the Gators' run in the NCAA Tournament came to an abrupt end.

White pause for a moment and then answered: "Hectic. Whirlwind. Exhausting. Gratifying. Exciting. Emotional. … Rewarding."

It has been all those things, but he left out the one word that fits better than any other: successful. The Gators found themselves a heck of a good coach who knows how to run a program.

The Gators ended up 27-9, finishing second in the SEC with a 14-4 record, including a victory over league champ Kentucky and the same South Carolina that is going to the Final Four. They followed that up with two solid NCAA Tournament victories before Friday night's dramatic buzzer-beating overtime win against Wisconsin — the program's greatest moment since Donovan's back-to-back title teams a decade ago.

Yet, it was hard for White to feel good about any of that Sunday.

"I'm not celebrating anything right now," White said. "I'm like our guys. I feel as lousy as I could feel with just being so close."

So close, indeed. It was there for the taking. No. 4 seed Florida took a seven-point lead into halftime. The game was still up for grabs in the final minute. But the comeback season finally ran out of comebacks, with UF's second-half numbers including getting outscored 44-30 and going 0-for-14 on 3-pointers.

What happened? A little of this and a little of that.

Maybe the Gators ran out of juice after Friday's emotional victory. Maybe they finally missed injured big man John Egbunu. Maybe they just ran into a team with a better sense of destiny in seventh-seeded South Carolina.

Maybe it just wasn't meant to be.

"They were just the better team, honestly," Florida guard Kasey Hill said. "That's all it was."

Stay updated on Tampa Bay’s sports scene

Stay updated on Tampa Bay’s sports scene

Subscribe to our free Sports Today newsletter

We’ll send you news and analysis on the Bucs, Lightning, Rays and Florida’s college football teams every day.

You’re all signed up!

Want more of our free, weekly newsletters in your inbox? Let’s get started.

Explore all your options

While the ending was disappointing, the season was not.

While these specific players did what they needed to do on the court to get Florida to the Final Four, they did everything right off the court to get Florida back among the nation's elite.

White said he has been around the college game for 17 years and has never had a season like this.

"There has just been no drama," he said.

No midnight phone calls saying a player had done something stupid. No players banging on his office door threatening to transfer if he doesn't get more playing time. No fights in the locker room between teammates. No hastily called news conferences to explain why this player or that has been suspended for cheating on a test or tweeting something he shouldn't.

Credit goes to White. But it also goes to players such as juniors Devin Robinson and Chris Chiozza, who matured to become reliable and poised. It goes to seniors Justin Leon and Hill, who provided essential leadership. It goes to graduate transfer Canyon Barry, who exemplified a never-quit mentality. It goes to sophomore KeVaughn Allen, who developed into a go-to scorer. Every player deserves credit.

"Our culture is back to where it needs to be to just give us a chance," White said. "It's fun to be a part of. I'll feel better about it in a couple of days."

For now, White is going to head home and do things he hasn't done it a while. He'll get rest. He'll kiss his wife. He'll hug his kids. He'll tell his daughter, Rylee, happy birthday. She turned 10 Sunday; he turned 40 earlier this month.

Then he'll get back to work.

The heavy lifting is done. White has built the program back to where it needs to be. The foundation is solid. The future is bright. Florida basketball is back.

He has every reason to feel good.

Even if it stings a little right now.