Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Florida may have its best rebounder back just in time for Saturday’s game at one of the toughest places to play in the Southeastern Conference.

UF coach Billy Donovan said forward Will Yeguete was cleared to return to practice on Friday for the first time since suffering a concussion against Tennessee last Saturday. If Yeguete doesn’t have a setback during practice, handles Friday’s chartered flight to Arkansas well and feels well on Saturday morning, Donovan said he could be cleared to play against the Razorbacks.

"How he feels tonight, tomorrow morning is going to have a large impact on whether or not we can play him," Donovan said. "If it continues on this path, he could be OK."

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- We like to keep track of Gators in the pros. Here are some ESPN links to help you do just that. We start with two Gators in the NBA whose names have surfaced in recent trade speculation for the biggest of fish -- Orlando's Dwight Howard.

Noah for Dwight? (Insider)
Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah is suggested as one of many trade possibilities for Howard. Another scenario would include Houston Rockets forward Chandler Parsons going back to his hometown of Orlando in a three-way deal with the L.A. Lakers (Insider).

PTI: Five good minutes with Noah
Noah joins Michael Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser to discuss a variety of topics, including staying with the Bulls through the trade deadline, beating the Heat and his notorious hair.

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A 2010 documentary that chronicled a season with a legendary New Jersey high school basketball program will return to the spotlight this weekend. An updated version of "The Street Stops Here" along with a post-film roundtable with Hall of Fame coach Bob Hurley Sr., will air at 8 p.m. ET Sunday on ESPNU. That St. Anthony team featured Florida Gators shooting guard Mike Rosario.

Despite possessing seven Division I-bound seniors -- Rosario, Madut Bol, Jio Fontan, Tyshawn Taylor, AJ Rogers, Alberto Estwick and Travon Woodall -- the 2007-08 squad was in danger of becoming Hurley's first class to graduate without a state crown. What's more, a financial crisis threatened to shut down St. Anthony.

Much to Hurley's satisfaction, this unscripted drama ended up reinforcing the message he constantly imparts upon his players. Without discipline and goals, success in sports can be hard to come by. Without academics, everything done on the court ultimately won't matter.

Also see: "The Street Stops Here" four years later: Where are they now?

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Tuesday's victory over Alabama was a significant one for Florida coach Billy Donovan -- and not only because it snapped a two-game losing streak and helped the Gators remain in second place in the Southeastern Conference.

It was UF's 20th victory of the season, and that extended Donovan's streak of consecutive 20-win seasons to 14. That puts him among some elite company in college basketball history.

According to ESPN Stats & Information, Donovan is one of only eight coaches in NCAA Division I history who have won at least 20 games in 14 or more consecutive seasons. It's an impressive list, headed by Dean Smith, who won at least 20 games for a record 27 consecutive seasons at North Carolina from 1971-1997. Arizona's Lute Olson is second with 20 consecutive seasons of at least 20 victories.

Some other interesting tidbits about the list:

Minnesota's Tubby Smith won at least 20 games in 17 consecutive seasons from 1994-2010 while coaching four teams: Tulsa, Georgia, Kentucky and Minnesota.

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All 14 Southeastern Conference football coaches gathered at conference headquarters Thursday and posed for this awesome photo with commissioner Mike Slive. Naturally, this made Page 2 wonder what each coach was thinking when the flash popped. Here's one example:

Will Muschamp, Florida: "Leather casual for the win. You're looking good, Will. You're looking damn good."

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- It's that restless time of year for so many Florida fans. You know, the ones who don't really care so much about basketball or baseball as they do football and recruiting. Well, we here at ye olde Worldwide Leader have sympathy and plenty of football stories to sink your teeth into -- like spring football and the NFL draft, and did you hear the one about the British sports book that listed Florida's odds to win the 2012 BCS National Championship ...

Best (and worst) early BCS bets (Insider)
ESPN Insider Will Harris looks at the contenders and pretenders based on a top oddsmakers' favorites. Florida is on the radar, but Harris isn't buying it.

Schlabach: Time for spring football again
The weather might not agree, but it’s springtime for college football. And there are plenty of questions to be answered, like how much will new offensive coordinator Brent Pease help Florida's offense?

Rainey a late-round steal? (Insider)
Steve Muench looks at five running back prospects who could offer good value and become solid contributors in the NFL. He says Florida’s Chris Rainey could help the Buccaneers.

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- A.C. Leonard is the ninth Florida player arrested since coach Will Muschamp took over for Urban Meyer in January 2011. It is by far the most serious of the transgressions committed. Here's a look at the list of arrests:

Janoris Jenkins: Arrested twice for possession of marijuana (Jan. 22, 2011 and April 23, 2011). He was dismissed from the team.

Kedric Johnson: Arrested for possession of marijuana Jan. 27, 2011. Still on the team. Team punishment not announced.

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Florida has the best team in college baseball. Nearly everyone says so.

The Gators sit atop the Collegiate Baseball, Baseball America and USA Today/ESPN Coaches preseasons polls and had an NCAA-record seven players named preseason All-Americans by Louisville Slugger and Baseball America. Perfect Game tabbed five UF players preseason All-Americans, and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association had five on its list.

UF returns seven position starters and nine pitchers from last year’s team that finished runner-up to national champion South Carolina in the College World Series. The Gators also have 14 players who are projected to be drafted in June -- including seven who could go in the first three rounds.

With all that talent and experience, expectations for the Gators are pretty high in 2012. Just making the College World Series -- something UF has done only seven times in school history -- isn’t even enough. It’s almost national title or bust.

“This isn’t the first time they’ve had expectations. They’ve been through this before, especially last year,” UF coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “Hopefully they’ll draw from their experiences last year and be well prepared for it this year. We’ve talked about it. It’s Florida. There’s expectations. We want to be in Omaha every year and compete for a national championships.”

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