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Florida walks off the court as UCF celebrates the Knights 57-54 victory over the Gators at Amway Center in Orlando, Fla. Wednesday, December 1, 2010.  (Gary W. Green/Orlando Sentinel)

To see more pictures from the game, click here.

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The 18/16 University of Florida men's basketball team dropped its second game of the season, 57-54 to the UCF Knights at the Amway Center in Orlando, Fla. The loss was Florida's first against UCF in 10 meetings.
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Donovan didn’t mince words when asked about his team’s performance Wednesday night. (Gary W. Green/Orlando Sentinel)

The Florida Gators’ issues are bigger than a poor showing against UCF, Billy Donovan says. The Gators fell to the Knights 57-54 at Amway Center as they struggled from the three-point range (2-of-13), the free-throw line (10-of-18), and protecting the ball (14 turnovers).

Donovan, in the most blunt he’s been about his team this season, said his seniors are being too selfish.

“Those older guys are, to me, less concerned about trying to do something great collectively as a group and are more wrapped up in what’s going to happen to me,” Donovan said. “All of our older guys are way, way too wrapped up in their offense.”

While center Vernon Macklin was nearly unstoppable on the low block — he scored 20 points on 10-of-11 shooting — the Gators’ guards failed to keep feeding the big man. Instead, Donovan said, perimeter guys Erving Walker, Kenny Boynton and Chandler Parsons were concerned with creating shots for themselves.

The trio combined to shoot 34.6 percent.

“Let’s get Vernon the ball,” Donovan said. “But we’re too wrapped up in I didn’t get a shot now or I missed my last one.”

Donovan continued: “They’re not playing together and they’re not utilizing each others’ individual talents. The disappointing part is these guys all played together last year.

“We have a bunch of guys on the floor that make nobody better.”

The players didn’t disagree.

“We have a lot of talent,” Parsons said. “But to be a great team, you have to be a team. You can’t have any selfishness.”

So where do the Gators go from here?

They have to get better, obviously. And they have to be less selfish.

But more consequently, Donovan didn’t rule out the possibility of shifting the rotation.

“We’ve got try to find a way to get it corrected, and I’m not saying make a bunch of changes right now,” he said. “I got to get some of these other guys more looks to play right now. We do have a deeper bench and we have been trying to utilize it.”

Zach McCann can be reached at zmccann@orlandosentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ZachMcCann.

Content provided by Swamp Things – Gators Blog.

Florida's Chandler Parsons returns to his hometown when the Gators play UCF in Orlando tonight. (Orlando Sentinel photo)

Florida plays UCF in the new Amway Center tonight, but it will feel like home for one Gator.

Orlando-native Chandler Parsons returns home to find his own impressive cheering section. The senior forward said his grandparents purchased at least 70 tickets, meaning many family and friends will be in attendance – aunts, uncles, cousins, brothers, high school coaches, teammates and teachers. Even his barber, who has cut Parsons hair since he was 13, is coming.

“I got a huge family. All of my family’s in Winter Park,” said Parsons, a Lake Howell graduate. “I got the whole city coming.”

Added to the excitement is playing in the Magic’s new arena. Parsons went to a preseason game this year, and his family has owned season tickets since the team’s creation in the late 1980s.

“It’s unreal,” he said of the new arena.

The game – which has the 16th-ranked Gators (5-1, 0-0 SEC) facing the unbeaten Knights (5-0, 0-0 Conference-USA) – also pits Parsons against friends. He said that he worked out with several of the players over the summer, and he knows Keith Clanton and Taylor Young from playing against each other in high school.

So with all the build-up for Parsons around this game, does he feel anymore pressure?

“I want to play well,” he said. “But I’m not going to force everything.”

The Gator Men's Basketball team heads to Orlando to take on UCF at the brand new Amway Center on Wednesday at 7pm, and there are multiple options available to follow the game live.
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