Recruit Reaction: Crowd impresses as Florida tops Kentucky
One of the byproducts of Florida hosting Kentucky? Everyone is watching, including prospects. After the Gators beat the Wildcats in a sold out Exactech Arena Saturday night, Inside the Gators reached out to targets who attended the game to get their reactions.
"It was great. The environment was electric, it was crazy. The game was intense, it was real fun. I went into the locker room to speak to the players, I got to speak to Kasey, and pick their brains about the school and stuff like that. It was real fun talking to the players."
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"Amazing game," said Nassir Little a four-star Orlando Christian Prep small forward. Little was especially impressed with the student section. "They bring so much energy. It's getting me pumped."
"They've got a good crowd. That was the loudest game I've been at so far. When we pulled up I saw a lot of people in Gator jerseys. They have diehard fans, who really care."
Walker was invited into the locker room after the game."It was good to see them celebrate. The coach gave a good speech they ended with a prayer, I liked that. We got a chance to talk to them (the coaches), they were pretty down to earth. It was a good atmosphere after the game too."
Oak Ridge High School junior combo guard Michael Devoe was also impressed by the Rowdy Reptiles."They are insane," the three-star guard said before adding "Great game. The atmosphere is crazy."
* Samuel Griffin, a 2019 point guard at Miami Norland said "I'm very grateful for the experience. I have watched those players on TV, but to see them up close and personal, playing hard and to be in the crowd with fans and supporters was really motivating."
* Holy Trinity 2019 forward Seth Coleman said "I thought it was a great game, and the atmosphere was very high-energy."
* Byron Smith, a 2019 combo guard at P.K. Young was a bit more specific about what he observed. "The Florida versus Kentucky game was a great experience for me, I watched all the guards and how hard they work on offense and on defense. How they communicate, they were vocal on both sides of the ball tonight and brought a lot of energy tonight."
* Titusville freshman Kario Oquendo added, "I had great time at the game. It was a packed game, fun to watch and I bet it was fun to play in as well."
* Jose Placer, a 2018 guard at The Master's Academy in Orlando said: "Yesterday's game was great. The atmosphere was incredible, you could barely hear anything it was so loud. Florida played with more energy and effort looked like they wanted it more getting on the floor for loose balls and grabbing rebounds. They shut Kentucky down with some tremendous defense. Had a great experience, looking forward to playing at that level."