Gator Hoop Teams Open Seasons Today

Both Gator basketball teams will open their seasons today with a home doubleheader in the O’Connell Center.

The Gator women open things up this afternoon when they take on Michigan at 4:30pm. The Gators return all five starters from a season ago but the team depth has taken a hit with injuries. In fact, all of coach Amanda Butler’s freshman class will not be available as two players were lost to season ending injuries and another had to fly home to Spain to grieve the death of her mother.

Florida was 20-15 and 7-9 in the SEC a year ago and it was picked to finish fifth this season in the SEC.

The Gator men are preseason ranked and will face Jackson State in a game you can hear on Country 103-7 The Gator at 6:25pm. The Gators return veterans like guards Kenny Boynton and Erving Walker and front court players like Patric Young and Erik Murphy but fans might get excited at freshman newcomer Bradley Beal and transfer guard Mike Rosario as well.

The Gators should shoot the three and score well and with a deeper team, coach Billy Donovan should be able to press and trap more. But this is also a smaller team and rebounding could be a concern all year long.