Gators plan no late-season swoon

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida’s Chandler Parsons won’t dare talk about the NCAA tournament.

Not now. Not this early. Not after what happened last year.

The Gators started 18-3 last season, including 5-1 in the Southeastern Conference, and looked like one of the best teams in the league. Parsons and his teammates figured they were a lock for the tournament.

But they didn’t even end up on the bubble. Coach Billy Donovan’s team lost eight of its next 11 games and missed the tournament for the first time in a decade.

Florida, which finds itself in the same spot heading into Saturday night’s game at Tennessee (12-7, 3-2), doesn’t expect it to happen again. Although the Gators are wary of overconfidence, especially with the toughest part of their schedule ahead, they believe they’re better prepared to avoid another late-season collapse.

“I think so,” Parsons said. “We have a lot of guys that went through that last year and maybe looked ahead to some games, thought just because we play at Florida we’re going to get to the NCAA tournament. Obviously, that didn’t happen.”

Feeling his players had settled into a state of complacency and entitlement, Donovan kicked them out of the team’s plush practice facility following a first-round loss in the SEC tournament. The Gators responded by making it to the NIT semifinals, and Donovan thinks his team has turned things around since.

“I don’t think we’re the same team we were last year,” Donovan said. “The only thing that mirrors last year’s team is our record. I didn’t like the path that we went down last year when were 18-3 because I thought our practice habits started to lax.

“I could see the slippage, and you’re trying to tell them about it and show it to them and expose it. They had to go through it. I don’t sense that slippage right now from our team.”

Parsons and teammate Nick Calathes have set the tone by putting in late-night shooting sessions during the week. Others have followed, Donovan said, and practices have been much more intense. He feels guys are investing more, working harder and learning from their mistakes.

The results agree. Florida has improved in just about every aspect on the court. The Gators are shooting better, passing better and rebounding better. Although half-court defense remains Donovan’s biggest concern, he’s been able to mask some of those deficiencies with trapping, pressing and switching zones regularly.

The Gators have allowed just one SEC opponent to reach 70 points, and that came on a game-winning, buzzer-beating layup against South Carolina. Aside from that 70-69 shocker, only Georgia Southern has scored at least 70 points against Florida in the last 16 games.

“One thing about last year and this year is we’re playing heck of a lot better defense,” forward Dan Werner said. “Coach showed us some stats from where we were last year to this year. It’s just a big jump, and we want to keep getting better.”

Tennessee should provide a good test. The Volunteers have won three in a row against Florida and five of the last six in the series. If the Gators reverse that trend, it might be a strong indication that they’re going to avoid another late-season slump.

“We still have a lot of room for growth and improvement,” Donovan said. “There’s still some things we’ve got to do better. There’s still some signs of immaturity that I see that have got to get better to reach their fullest potential.”