"It was too much," Appleby said. "There was no way I could've responded to everybody."
And everybody, no doubt, would have understood. Appleby was inundated with congratulatory messages after sinking a dramatic 30-footer at the horn to beat Ohio State in the championship game of the Fort Myers Tip-Off. The victory kept the Gators unbeaten through five games in this young 2021-22 season and sent the team on its bus ride home up Interstate-75 on an emotional high.
When the Gators returned for practice Friday, it was time to level out and get back to their blue-collar ways.
"The biggest issues that we all face in college basketball is learning how to handle success," UF coach Mike White said after his team practiced for two hours at Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center. "There's so much stuff we need to improve on, both offensively and defensively. That should be our focus, rather than what our record is and who we've beaten."
Florida (5-0), which figures to rise from its No. 23 ranking in the next Associated Press poll, already passed one prosperity test this season when it followed an emotionally charged win over Florida State with a 36-point stomping of mid-major Milwaukee four days later. Now, the Gators need to use that approach as a reference point heading into Sunday's O'Dome visit from Troy (4-2), a fast-paced, hard-pressing team out of the Sun Belt Conference.
[Read senior writer Chris Harry's "Pregame Stuff" setup here]
Since the season began, Florida's players have embraced their makeup of a defensive-mind bunch that relies on grit and grime. If that's the case — and it has been through five games, for sure — it was time to get back to the grind Friday.
For Appleby, it wasn't hard. Though the grinding won't extend to teeth anytime soon.
The 6-foot-1, 163-pound fifth-year point guard had been dealing with a wicked toothache for about a month, and Friday morning finally provided some free time needed to get a root canal that kept him out of afternoon practice.
Talk about keeping a guy grounded. From big shot to Novocaine shot.
"It's been killing me for so long," he said.
Appleby will be back at practice Saturday and ready for Sunday. The Gators, as a unit, need to brace for a Troy team that is forcing 20.0 turnovers and 10.3 steals per game. The Trojans also have three rotational players who played either high school or junior-college basketball in the state of Florida, so they'll be looking for something to prove.
UF, meanwhile, will be looking to be the same force of tenacity that stared down a 10-point, second-half deficit against Ohio State and made the tough-guy plays down the stretch for one of the best shows of resolve — and victories— of the White era.
But that one's over.
"We just need to keep it up, keep doing exactly what we're doing," graduate transfer guard Phlandrous Fleming Jr. said. "We need to keep being us."
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Back to the Grind for Appleby, Gators - Florida Gators
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