As the Florida men’s basketball team saw the newly renovated Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center for the first time collectively Tuesday afternoon for a shoot-around, the Gators were plastered with smiles.
After 11 trips on the road to start off the year while the O’Dome was being renovated – from Jacksonville, to Lakeland, to Tampa, to Orlando, back to Jacksonville, to New York City, to Tallahassee, and then to Sunrise – there's no doubt they are excited to finally play at home once again following a long wait.
And with how the $64.5 million renovation looks, it’s hard for the team not to get excited.
“We all get busy and we have obviously the utmost faith in our administration that we would be back in there and that it would be beautiful,” Florida basketball head coach Mike White said Tuesday. “Then all of a sudden, it’s right around the corner and I hadn’t seen it, so it was a late decision that, ‘Yeah, none of us have seen it. Let’s all go in at the same time for the first time.’
“Our guys are really jacked up. It’s a special place. It’s amazing. It shows the continued commitment from our administration for not only our basketball program, but our entire athletic department. I know it’s not all about athletics in this building, but it’s the University of Florida. It speaks to who we are at the University of Florida.”
On Wednesday night, Florida (8-3) will finally get to take the court in the O’Connell Center when it hosts Arkansas-Little Rock (9-3) at 7 p.m. ET in a game that will air on the SEC Network. For thousands of fans who will attend, it’ll be the first time they’ll see in-person how significant the renovations are to the O’Dome.
A nearly nine-month construction process saw the O’Dome undergo a more modern transformation. Although the seat count was reduced by about 1,000 to roughly 10,500, bleacher seating was eliminated, chair-backs were installed throughout the lower bowl and club seats were added. A $2 million video board hangs over center court, wile new video replay boards were added to each corner of the arena. In addition, new LED lighting has improved the viewing experience in the O’Dome.
------
* Position Review: Offensive line improving but still has room to grow
* Florida Football Mailbag Pt. 1: Discussing the two freshmen quarterbacks
* Bishop talks three finalists
------
“When you walk in, how bright it was. It just feels brand new,” White said. “I couldn’t believe that this was the same building. It’s amazing. I can’t believe that there are a few less seats. It feels even bigger. The chair backs, everything has been done first class. It looks like a brand new arena.”
"We’ll tell our guys that, we’ll tell our guys the rims in here are a little bit softer, a little bit easier to dunk in here, for whatever reason, teams come in here and turn the ball over a little bit more,” White added about the brighter lighting. “We’ll embrace all the positives. With anything, you feel the energy right now. Hopefully it carries over again into practice, assuming we can maintain some focus, but we’re ready to tip this thing tomorrow night, I know our guys are. I know we’ll play extremely hard, hopefully under control, we can keep our emotions in check.”
When the players first walked into the arena Tuesday, a number of aspects about the newly renovated O’Dome caught their eye.
“The court, it looked a lot brighter. And the size and stuff like that, it's very nice,” senior point guard Kasey Hill said. "It looks totally different. Kind of reminds me of Ole Miss a little bit, but I think it's a little bit nicer than Ole Miss."
Added junior point guard Chris Chiozza: "It looks like a totally new place. I'm excited to get in here tomorrow and play."
While White wants his team to stay focus on the task at hard Wednesday night and not get sidetracked, he’s aware of how significant the O’Connell Center renovation is for the future of his program.
“In the short-term, you would that we would embrace it, we would channel it correctly. We need to be thinking about UALR right now and it’s hard to, quite honestly, so we’ve really got to check our focus," White said.
“Long-term, I don’t know how you bring a recruit in here that doesn’t love this place. I think it instills probably even more pride into our players about what this place is all about, the opportunities that they have here. I think our former players will come back and embrace this place. I can’t wait to see our fans’ reactions to it tomorrow night. I know they’re going to be fired up. It’s a new, beautiful home for all Gators.”
UPDATE ON EGBUNU
White said Tuesday that redshirt junior center John Egbunu (hamstring), who missed Florida’s 87-46 win over Charlotte last Saturday, is questionable to play against Little Rock on Wednesday night.
“I guess, he’s questionable,” White said. “I think [athletic trainer David “Duke” Werner] is doing what Duke does, being very careful, of making sure that the hamstring injury doesn’t become worse than it already is. Hamstrings can be delicate, of course.”
------
Thank you for reading this Inside the Gators article. To discuss it, please visit the Alligator Alley Forum.
