Guards Erving Walker, Kenny Boynton Are Key To Florida's SEC Tournament Run

The SEC Tournament: A test of skill and survival. Unless your team finishes in the top two of its division, to win it, a team must win four games in four days. This will be especially challenging for Florida guards Erving Walker and Kenny Boynton.

In Saturday games following Thursday night games televised by ESPN, Walker and Boynton have struggled mightily from the outside. Color analyst Mike Gminski noticed last Saturday at Ole Miss that all of their shots were hitting the front rim. "Tired legs" was his explanation.

"Tired legs from playing two games in less than 48 hours will cause those outside shots to come up short," Gminsk said about why the Gators could not buy a three-pointer.

UF ended the game vs. Ole Miss with one three-point shot made all day. Dan Werner hit a three with less than five minutes on the clock to extend Florida's streak to 605 games with at least one three-pointer made.

On previous Saturday games following Thursday night games, the shooting was similarly bad. Walker made one three-pointer against Mississippi State. He was 1-for-8, while Boynton was 0-for-5.

Against South Carolina back in January, Walker fared a little better, going 3-of-4. Boynton, however, was again 0-for-5. The team in those three games shot 4-for-15, 3-for-17, and 1-for-13 from downtown.

Interestingly, however, UF won all three games. The Gators went to a new secret weapon in those games: Vernon Macklin.

Macklin was a beast inside against Ole Miss and Mississippi State. Against Ole Miss, he was 8-of-11 from the field and 6-of-6 from the free-throw line for 22 points and seven rebounds.

In the MSU game, he went toe-to-toe with one of the best defenders in college hoops history in Jarvis Varnado. He totaled 20 points on 10-for-14 shooting, with six rebounds.

The SEC Tournament is in two weeks. To win it, Florida will have to win four games in four days. It is fairly safe to assume that after the first game, should UF survive, it will need to feed Macklin the rock. The Gators won't be able to rely on three-point shooting from the guards.

Instead, the guards will need to penetrate and make lay-ups, dish to Macklin, and get to the line. Walker and Boynton are nearly automatic from the line, especially at crunch time. Boynton knocked down three straight to tie the South Carolina game with 11 seconds left. And Walker converted several one-and-ones to keep UF just ahead of Ole Miss.

This would be Florida's best chance to make a nice run in the SEC Tournament. Coach Donovan needs to convince Walker and Boynton to drive to the hoop as much as possible and make the sure Macklin gets a touch in all half court situations. The legs are sure to get tired, and that's not the time to start jacking up bombs.