GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Gators have won four games in a row at the most important time in the season. The late push is putting them in great position to make the tournament when the notion looked more like a dream than a reality three weeks ago.
Despite the recent success and increased potential toward the postseason, Florida is not allowing it themselves to lose focus on the task at hand.
“First possession against Vanderbilt; that’s all it is,” head coach Mike White said of his message to his players. “It’s the scouting report on the Commodores. Finding (Aaron) Nesmith early and not losing Matt Ryan in transition. That’s all it is.
“I’m not talking about any other noise with out guys, period. Anything else would be a distraction from us doing our jobs at a high level, giving us a chance to be successful. That’s it.”
Despite that message, it’s unrealistic to think the Gators do not hear the noise surrounding the tournament and the big picture. It’s only natural. However, it is not always a negative.
“I think that depends on the individual,” White said. “I bet there’s a couple guys in our locker room that struggle with it more than other guys. Maybe a couple of our guys could use maybe some extra motivation and excitement.
“So I’m not saying it’s always a negative, but I think for the most part it will be a negative if that’s what we’re thinking about, the big picture stuff. You spend time on it, but if you spend too much time on it then all of a sudden you talk about not talking about it.
“It’s about this afternoon, film tonight, shoot-around tomorrow; that’s it. Anything else will take care of itself.”
Some guys welcome the postseason conversation. Some stay away from it. Others can find themselves distracted by it. One guy that has no issue dealing with the postseason discussion is Isaiah Stokes.
“Honestly I go day by day,” Stokes said. “I’m just a day-by-day person, minute by minute. You know, like ‘I’m about to work out before practice, I'm just focused on this workout.' Then, practice. I just let it come little by little. I don’t look at the big picture yet.”
Stokes doesn’t simply block everything out though. It’s not really possible nowadays, but to him it doesn’t matter. You can control it if you’re disciplined enough.
“I mean we hear and see everything,” Stokes said. “You know social media is a big thing nowadays. But it’s up to you and yourself to either let that come in or not, or block it. So, it’s really up to the person.”
The Gators will have to be as locked in as they have been throughout this four-game winning streak if they want to avoid another road loss to Vanderbilt. White has never beaten the Commodores at Memorial Gym, not even as a player he believes.
Florida took the first match 66-57 on February 13 and hasn’t lost since. If they want to continue the streak they will have to remain focused and take it one step at a time.
