2008–09 Florida Gators men's basketball team

The 2008–09 Florida Gators men's basketball team represented the University of Florida in the sport of basketball during the 200809 college basketball season. The Gators competed in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They were led by head coach Billy Donovan, and played their home games in the O'Connell Center on the university's Gainesville, Florida campus. The Gators were looking to build on their 24–12 record from the 2007–08 season.

2008–09 Florida Gators men's basketball
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
DivisionEast
2008–09 record25–11 (9–7 SEC)
Head coach
Assistant coachLarry Shyatt
Shaka Smart
Rob Lanier
Home arenaO'Connell Center
2008–09 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
East
South Carolina106 .625  2110  .677
Tennessee106 .625  2113  .618
Florida97 .563  2511  .694
Vanderbilt88 .500  1912  .613
Kentucky88 .500  2214  .611
Georgia313 .188  1220  .375
West
No. 21 LSU133 .813  278  .771
Auburn106 .625  2412  .667
Mississippi State97 .563  2313  .639
Alabama79 .438  1814  .563
Ole Miss79 .438  1615  .516
Arkansas214 .125  1416  .467
† SEC Tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll

Preseason

Entering the season, the Gators had to overcome the loss of Marreese Speights, who after his sophomore season, left for the 2008 NBA Draft. Speights was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers. To help replace his presence on the court, the Gators welcomed six freshmen to the team. The Gators won their two preseason games against Rollins and Warner.

Class of 2008

[1][2][3]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Allan Chaney
PF
New London, Connecticut New London HS 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Aug 23, 2007 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 95
Kenny Kadji
C
Douala, Cameroon IMG Academy 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Jun 30, 2007 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 96
Ray Shipman
SF
Pace, Florida Pace HS 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 204 lb (93 kg) Jun 21, 2007 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 96
Eloy Vargas
PF
Moca, Dominican Republic American Heritage School 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Sep 26, 2007 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 96
Erving Walker
PG
Middle Village, New York Christ The King Regional HS 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 140 lb (64 kg) Dec 29, 2006 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 93
Overall Recruiting Rankings:     Scout9     Rivals10 [4]     ESPN2 

Roster

Name Number Position Height Weight Class Hometown
Adam Allen 14 F 6–8 225 Sophomore Milton, Florida
Nick Calathes 33 G/F 6–6 194 Sophomore Winter Park, Florida
Allan Chaney 24 F 6–8 231 Freshman Baltimore, Maryland
Hudson Fricke 40 G 6–1 193 Sophomore Greenville, South Carolina
Walter Hodge 15 G 6–0 170 Senior Guaynabo, Puerto Rico
Kenny Kadji 30 F/C 6–10 235 Freshmen Douala, Cameroon
Vernon Macklin 32 F 6–10 230 Junior Portsmouth, Virginia
Kyle McClanahan 4 G 6–1 185 Freshman Maitland, Florida
Chandler Parsons 25 F 6–9 213 Sophomore Winter Park, Florida
Ray Shipman 3 G/F 6–5 212 Freshman Miramar, Florida
Alex Tyus 23 F 6–8 220 Sophomore St. Louis, Missouri
Eloy Vargas 1 F/C 6–10 215 Freshman Moca, Dominican Republic
Erving Walker 11 G 5–8 161 Freshman Brooklyn, New York
Dan Werner 21 F 6–7 230 Junior Middletown, New Jersey

Coaches

Name Type College Graduating year
Billy Donovan Head Coach Providence College 1987
Larry Shyatt Associate Head Coach College of Wooster 1973
Shaka Smart Assistant Coach Kenyon College 1999
Rob Lanier Assistant Coach St. Bonaventure University 1990
Darren Hertz Assistant to the Head Coach Florida 1997
Adam Beaupre Video Coordinator Florida 1999
Matt Herring Strength & Conditioning Coordinator University of Texas Southwestern 1994
Dave Werner Athletic Trainer Eastern Kentucky University 1991
Tom Williams Academic Counselor Florida 1978

After the season, assistant coach Shaka Smart left to become head coach of the VCU Rams.

Schedule and results

Retrieved from Gatorzone.com

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Exhibition games
November 3, 2008*
7:00 pm
No. 19 Warner W 108–49 
O'Connell Center 
Gainesville, FL
November 6, 2008*
7:00 pm
No. 19 Rollins W 82–53 
O'Connell Center 
Gainesville, FL
Regular Season
November 14, 2008*
6:00 pm, ESPNU
No. 19 Toledo W 80–58  1–0
O'Connell Center 
Gainesville, FL
November 16, 2008*
2:15 pm, ESPNU
No. 19 Bradley W 81–58  2–0
O'Connell Center 
Gainesville, FL
November 20, 2008*
8:00 pm, SUN
No. 18 Southern Utah W 64–50  3–0
O'Connell Center 
Gainesville, FL
November 24, 2008*
7:30 pm, ESPN2
No. 17 vs. Syracuse
CBE Classic Semifinal
L 83–89  3–1
Sprint Center 
Kansas City, MO
November 25, 2008*
7:45 pm, ESPNU
No. 17 vs. Washington
CBE Classic Consolation Game
W 86–84  4–1
Sprint Center 
Kansas City, MO
November 30, 2008*
1:00 pm, SUN
No. 17 vs. Missouri-Kansas City W 86–65  5–1
Amway Arena 
Orlando, FL
December 2, 2008*
7:00 pm, SUN
No. 23 Florida A&M W 73–58  6–1
O'Connell Center 
Gainesville, FL
December 7, 2008*
6:00 pm, FSN
No. 23 at Florida State L 55–57  6–2
Donald L. Tucker Center 
Tallahassee, FL
December 10, 2008*
8:00 pm, FSN
Florida Gulf Coast W 94–60  7–2
O'Connell Center 
Gainesville, FL
December 20, 2008*
6:30 pm, FSN
vs. UCF W 89–61  8–2
Veterans Memorial Arena 
Jacksonville, FL
December 22, 2008*
7:00 pm, FSN
Georgia Southern W 88–81  9–2
O'Connell Center 
Gainesville, FL
December 28, 2008*
6:30 pm, FSN
vs. Winthrop W 74–45  10–2
BankAtlantic Center 
Sunrise, FL
December 30, 2008*
1:00 pm, FSN
Stetson W 78–57  11–2
O'Connell Center 
Gainesville, FL
January 3, 2009*
4:00 pm, CBS
NC State W 68–66  12–2
O'Connell Center 
Gainesville, FL
January 6, 2009*
7:00 pm, SUN
Longwood W 95–69  13–2
O'Connell Center 
Gainesville, FL
January 10, 2009
6:00 pm, FSN
Ole Miss W 78–68  14–2 (1–0)
O'Connell Center 
Gainesville, FL
January 14, 2009
8:00 pm, Raycom
at Auburn W 68–65  15–2 (2–0)
Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum 
Auburn, AL
January 17, 2009
2:00 pm, Raycom
Arkansas W 80–65  16–2 (3–0)
O'Connell Center 
Gainesville, FL
January 21, 2009
7:00 pm, Raycom
No. 24 at South Carolina L 69–70  16–3 (3–1)
Colonial Life Arena 
Columbia, SC
January 25, 2009
1:30 pm, CBS
No. 24 at Vanderbilt W 94–69  17–3 (4–1)
Nashville, TN 
Memorial Gymnasium
January 28, 2009
8:00 pm, Raycom
Georgia W 83–57  18–3 (5–1)
O'Connell Center 
Gainesville, FL
January 31, 2009
9:00 pm, ESPN
at Tennessee
ESPN College GameDay
L 63–79  18–4 (5–2)
Thompson-Boling Arena 
Knoxville, TN
February 3, 2009
9:00 pm, ESPN
South Carolina W 97–93  19–4 (6–2)
O'Connell Center 
Gainesville, FL
February 10, 2009
9:00 pm, ESPN
at Kentucky L 65–68  19–5 (6–3)
Rupp Arena 
Lexington, KY
February 14, 2009
3:30 pm, ABC
at Georgia L 86–88  19–6 (6–4)
Stegeman Coliseum 
Athens, Georgia
February 18, 2009
7:00 pm, SUN
Alabama W 83–74  20–6 (7–4)
O'Connell Center 
Gainesville, FL
February 21, 2009
3:00 pm, Raycom
Vanderbilt W 82–68  21–6 (8–4)
O'Connell Center 
Gainesville, FL
February 24, 2009
9:00 pm, ESPN
at LSU L 75–81  21–7 (8–5)
Pete Maravich Assembly Center 
Baton Rouge, LA
March 1, 2009
2:00 pm, CBS
Tennessee L 75–79  21–8 (8–6)
O'Connell Center 
Gainesville, FL
March 4, 2009
8:00 pm, Raycom
at Mississippi State L 71–80  21–9 (8–7)
Humphrey Coliseum 
Starkville, MS
March 7, 2009
2:00 pm, CBS
Kentucky W 60–53  22–9 (9–7)
O'Connell Center 
Gainesville, FL
<span style=background-color:#003087;color:#FA4616;box-shadow: inset 2px 2px 0 #FA4616, inset -2px -2px 0 #FA4616;|>SEC Tournament
March 12, 2009
9:45 pm, Raycom
vs. Arkansas
SEC Championship round 1
W 73–58  23–9
St. Pete Times Forum 
Tampa, FL
March 13, 2009
9:45 pm, Raycom
vs. Auburn
SEC Championship round 2
L 58–61  23–10
St. Pete Times Forum 
Tampa, FL
<span style=background-color:#003087;color:#FA4616;box-shadow: inset 2px 2px 0 #FA4616, inset -2px -2px 0 #FA4616;|>National Invitation Tournament
March 18, 2009
8:00 pm
No. 1 No. 8 Jacksonville
National Invitational Tournament round #1
W 84–62  24–10
O'Connell Center 
Gainesville, FL
March 20, 2009
7:00 pm, ESPNU
No. 1 No. 4 Miami
National Invitational Tournament round #2
W 74–60  25–10
O'Connell Center 
Gainesville, FL
March 24, 2009
9:00 pm, ESPN
No. 1 No. 2 Penn State
National Invitational Tournament Quarterfinal
L 62–71  25–11
O'Connell Center 
Gainesville, FL
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

Rankings

Ranking Movement
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. ██ Not ranked the previous week.
PollPreWk 1Wk 2Wk 3Wk 4Wk 5Wk 6Wk 7Wk 8Wk 9Wk 10Wk 11Wk 12Wk 13Wk 14Wk 15Wk 16Wk 17Wk 18Wk 19Final
AP 19 19 18 17 23 NR NR NR NR NR NR NR 23 NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR
Coaches 21 21 19 19 NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR

References

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