Coach Billy Donovan's No. 11 Gators back to "playing the right way"

GAINESVILLE ? In spite of his team's 8-0 start and rise to No. 5 in the national rankings, Gators coach Billy Donovan knew something was not quite right.

The results were there, but too often Donovan's winning formula was missing.

But as the Gators hit the SEC road for the first time, Donovan sees glimpses of the style of basketball he demands.

The No. 11 Gators (11-2, 1-0 SEC) enter their matchup with LSU (9-3, 0-1) at 4 p.m. Saturday in Baton Rouge coming off consecutive games where ball movement and teamwork led to easy wins against Yale and Georgia.

"There's always going to be a level of unselfishness on any team that you have to display," Donovan said. "You've got to really rely on each other and play together and utilize each other's strengths and talents on the floor. Then you become a lot more difficult to defend."

The Gators' were unstoppable in Wednesday night's SEC opener against Georgia. Florida jumped to an 11-0 lead and led by 30 points or more during the game's final eight minutes.

When the dust settled, Florida had compiled 17 assists and made just seven turnovers. Four players scored in double figures, while point guard Scottie Wilbekin chipped in eight points and six assists.

In a 79-68 last Sunday at Yale, Florida had a season-high 19 assists, including 10 by Wilbekin.

"The big thing for us is playing the right way," Donovan said. "I've always been a big believer (in) the more you can utilize the five guys on the floor and not be a team that becomes one dimensional."

The Gators have the lineup to play the right way every night.

Eight players have scored in double figures this season for Florida, and five players have led Florida in assists.

Still, the Gators fell into bad habits during their fast start to the season that would catch up to them.

In a 74-56 win against Wisconsin, Florida had just nine assists and 20 turnovers. During a 72-47 rout at Florida State, Florida had 15 assists and 15 turnovers.

Following the FSU win, the Gators had 24 assists and 23 turnovers during back-to-back losses at Arizona and Kansas State. Those losses gave Donovan the ammunition to convince his team things had to change.

In three games since then, Florida has 48 assists, 30 turnovers and has shot 55.8 percent from the field.

"It just speaks to our chemistry and the selflessness of each player on the team," said Wilbekin, who has 16 assists and five turnovers in the past two games. "A lot of players on this team could average a lot of points somewhere else or be the main guy getting points, but we're trying to do something different here."

Even if Florida's offense struggles, though, Wilbekin said the Gators showed against Georgia their defense can set the tone for any game. The Bulldogs finished the night with more turnovers (19) than field goals (14).

When things are clicking, no team in the SEC might be as complete as the Gators.

Entering Saturday's game against a physical LSU squad, forwards Erik Murphy (broken rib) and Will Yeguete (knee tendinitis) are nursing injuries. Otherwise, the Gators seem to be back on track.

"I think we started the SEC out right and came out and played the right way, played hard," Wilbekin said. "We just want to continue it through the season."

Source: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/os-uf-lsu-preview-0113-20130111,0,4513787.story?track=rss

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