Florida Gators Basketball: As Practice Starts, USA Today Coaches Poll Ranks Gators No. 7

Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement – USA Today Sports

Beleaguered football fans rejoice! The Gators retain their national dominance and prestige in one sport, as the USA Today coaches poll released this afternoon has Florida at No. 7, showing that head coach Billy Donovan has built an elite program that doesn’t need to rebuild — just reload.

Last year the Gators were led by a group of upperclassmen who could rely on experience to counter the one-and-done lineups of several of the other top teams with NBA players-in-waiting. This year, with practice starting Friday, Donovan will have to find ways to utilize younger players. But the talent he’s assembled has his fellow coaches believing another great season of basketball is in store for the Gators.

This Year’s Team

Gone are the four seniors that led Florida back to the Final Four, where they lost to eventual champion Connecticut. Michael Frazier II is the only starter to return to the lineup, but he’ll be getting help from players who got significant playing time last year.  Dorian “Doe-Doe” Finney-Smith was the SEC Sixth Man of Year and is expected to play the ranging, glass clearing role that Will Yeguete played last year.

This year’s squad will also be getting a boost from Chris Walker, who some thought could be a NBA draft pick last year. But with academic issues, the 6-foot-10 center sat out the first part of the season and his return didn’t make a big impact on what was by then a well-oiled Gator basketball machine that won all of it’s SEC games. Kasey Hill will be building on the momentum of a strong 2014 NCAA Tournament performance and the learning experience of learning from fellow point guard Scottie Wilbekin, last year’s SEC Player of the Year.

Familiar Names, New Faces

The Gators were set to have four freshman play this year, but yesterday the team announced that shooting guard Brandon Francis will be academically ineligible this year. Another highly touted freshman, forward Devin Robinson, is a five-star prospect with a knack for shooting three pointers, a staple of the Donovan offense. Younger brothers of former Gator stars are also set to join the team, as forward Alex Murphy will try to show fans that his game can be every bit as good as his older brother, former sharp shooting forward Erik Murphy. Transferring from Michigan, Jon Horford will try to make Gator fans nostalgic for his older brother Al Horford, who won two national titles at Florida in 2006 and 2007.

Season’s Greetings

Gator basketball practice starts Friday and as the USA Today rankings show, they will have a lot to play for. After a Nov. 6 exhibition game against Barry University, the Gators will tip off regular-season play the following week in Gainesville against William & Mary. Early season test will include Miami and No. 5 Kansas, as well as the Battle 4 Atlantis, an 8-team tournament that will match them up against Georgetown, with No. 4 Wisconsin and No. 6 North Carolina being other potential opponents in that draw.