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Wednesday, January 31, 2001
Dupay's presence gets Gators in gear
By Andy Katz
ESPN.com
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GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Teddy Dupay shuffled out to take a few 3-pointers
earlier Tuesday at the O'Connell Center. He made nearly every one, but
didn't look too limber, certainly not enough to run up and down the court
later that night against No. 7 Tennessee.
When he sat up against the scorer's table, the natural question was asked.
"Are you going to play later this month?" Dupay was asked.
"Yeah. I'll play this month," he answered with a smirk.
The idea was February. Dupay knew Florida had only one game left
in January.
Twenty days after having back surgery to relieve the pain a herniated disc
was placing on a nerve, Dupay took No. 14 Florida on his secured back and
emotionally lifted the Gators to their most important win of the season.
"I was circling Kentucky because that was 27 days," Dupay said of next
Tuesday's game in Lexington. "That was my goal. The doctors said, 'Be careful.' They said you'll feel OK, but you're not OK. He said (Monday night) if
everything went well (Tuesday) then I could get a few minutes.The whole
point wasn't to come in and contribute. I was just going to come in and let
the guys know I was OK. To hit some shots and steals was a plus."
Matt Bonner might have been the unsung hero with his 21 points, but it was
the pesky 5-foot-11 junior guard, Dupay, who was the X-factor Tennessee couldn't match in an 81-67 Gators' must-win. He scored 10 points in 15 minutes, including
two 3-pointers.
He did this after back surgery less than three weeks ago.
"They cut a hole through my muscle and tissue to get to my disc,"
Dupay said. "It healed as soon as they went in there and moved the disc. The
trauma from the surgery -- the muscles that hold your spine together have to
heal. I'm not totally out of the clear and that's why I had to play only 15
minutes. I'm stiff because I haven't played in three weeks, not because of
the surgery."
Dupay was in the hospital for three days and couldn't do anything
for a week. He had four or five layers of stitches in his back. But that
didn't sway him from being himself during the game.
And his leadership seemed to bring the Gators back into focus for the first time in months.
Dupay's importance began before tipoff. A buzz around the arena was circulating that he would play, creating an even more frenzied atmosphere.
But there was still the anxiousness that he was out in warm-ups just for
show to challenge the Volunteers. Florida had done the same thing with Brent
Wright for a game or two when he was coming back from a stress fracture.
But the myth turned into reality when Dupay ripped off his sweats and
entered the game nearly eight minutes into the first half and the Gators
ahead by one.
Three possessions later, Dupay was flat on his back -- but for good reason.
He was trying to draw a charge on Tennessee's Ron Slay.
"I had to make some contact right away to get it out of my mind of any
doubts," Dupay said. "After that it was all instinctive."
Then, later in the half, he hit his first bucket on a running floater along the baseline. He followed that with a bounce-pass feed to Wright and then a gutsy steal to set up a Brett Nelson free throw in 32 seconds and two possessions. The steal came when he dove on the floor, surgically repaired back and all, and flipped the ball to Nelson.
Dupay's second-half minutes were even more maximized. He hit a 3-pointer to
break a tie after Tennessee had clawed back. He hit another trey to give the
Gators a five-point lead. And then, when the Vols were within seven with
1:16 remaining, it was Dupay who got the Gators together and told them to keep
their heads after Bonner was pushed by Isiah Victor after a rebound.
"It takes a lot of pressure off me, because the whole perimeter defense
can't focus on me when he's knocking down and creating shots," Nelson said.
"He's always gotten the crowd into it and is an emotional leader for this
team."
Getting Dupay back means the Gators are finally the team that they will be
for the rest of the season. The Gators won't get Justin Hamilton back after
he tore his ACL. They'll miss his defensive pressure and ballhandling
skills, allowing Nelson to play more shooting guard. LaDarius Halton was a
liability Tuesday by not being in the right places in the offense and making
some iffy decisions. But he's still a vet who will likely log more time.
The Gators had to beat Tennessee or face the real possibility that they wouldn't make the NCAA Tournament. Dupay said making Tennessee a makeup win
after home losses to Vanderbilt and Georgia was asking a lot of the Gators.
"We definitely felt an urgency with this game," junior center Udonis Haslam said.
Florida didn't have a quality win outside of Gonzaga before Tuesday. The Gators had
already lost twice at home and couldn't afford another home SEC loss even
with wins at Auburn and Mississippi State.
"In all three of our losses every second counted," Bonner said.
Florida's next two games are at Georgia (Saturday) and Kentucky (next
Tuesday), which could lead to another roller-coaster ride.
"If we beat Georgia then we're playing for the (SEC East) lead at
Kentucky," Nelson said. "Our goal is to win the conference championship, and
to do that you've got to win games on the road."
They've got to find Haslam more often in the post, tighten their
defense and make the extra pass. They were able to press more often with
Dupay back and the Gators should be able to play their style more often at home
or on the road.
But nothing will match the adversity they have gone through thus far. The
season began with the tragedy in the Donovan family when Billy and Christine
lost their baby on the eve of delivery. Dupay was suspended for offcourt
problems and then Wright, Dupay and Hamilton went down with their injuries.
"To beat a Tennessee with their record and their talent level was a good win
for us, but it was one game and one game won't make your season," Donovan
said.
"The one thing you realize after going through a season like we have
is, as a coach, you have nothing figured out. When I look at what we've been
through, a lot of it has been out of our control. You realize how fragile
winning and losing is and how close it is. Two years ago, we lose to Gonzaga
on a tip-in to go to the Elite Eight. Last year, Mike Miller hits a runner
to beat Butler in the first round. Our first five SEC games were played at
the buzzer, and you realize how fragile it is."
Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com.
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