SIX BITS: Tough loss, Stamper, Wuerffel, 2011

1 » One year ago, the Florida Gators women’s basketball team upset the then-No. 12/17 Tennessee Lady Vols 66-57 in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. Looking to repeat history, a much younger Florida team (9-8, 2-2 SEC) had the game tied at 64 against a significantly more experienced No. 4 Tennessee squad (15-1, 3-0 SEC) until Lady Vols guard Angie Bjorklund hit a reverse lay-up with 2.3 seconds left in the second half to pull ahead and ultimately win 66-64. Four Gators scored in double figures, and Florida led for much of the second half but could not hold on.

2 » In a news item that OGGOA broke Thursday via twitter, former Gators linebacker Ryan Stamper was invited to be a participant in the 2010 East-West Shrine Game on Jan. 23 at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, FL. Stamper is currently slated to play in the game but may have to pull out if the ankle injury he suffered in the 2010 Sugar Bowl flares up. The game will air live on ESPN2 at 3 p.m. In other Stamper news, he has decided to sign with agent Garriet Blair of GMB Sports and Entertainment. Quarterback Tim Tebow has declined an invitation to the East-West Shrine and will instead participate in the 2010 Senior Bowl in Mobile, AL.

All-Americans, Wuerffel, 2011 recruits and Gators in the pros after the jump!

3 » Former Florida center Maurkice Pouncey, tight end Aaron Hernandez and cornerback Joe Haden have been named to the ESPN.com All-America team. All three juniors have decided to forgo their final year of collegiate eligibility and declare for the 2010 NFL Draft. Other UF juniors who have decided to declare for the NFL include defensive end Carlos Dunlap and safety Major Wright.

4 » Revealing article by The Gainesville Sun‘s Diane Chung who has profiled the “friendship & fame” experienced by both Tebow and fellow Gators Heisman Trophy winning QB Danny Wuerffel. Wuerffel’s sons now look up to Tebow as the same type of role model he once held Wuerffel up to be a decade earlier.

5 » 2011 defensive end recruit Jeoffrey Pagan (Asheville, NC) has received a scholarship offer from Florida according to JC Shurburtt of ESPN. UF currently has two athletes committed for 2011, De’Ante Saunders (Deland, FL) and A.C. Leonard (Jacksonville, FL).

6 » New York Knicks forward/center David Lee was considered all but a goner after this season as the Knicks look to free up cap space for a run at the Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James. Should it come down between Lee and another party (like Chris Bosh), head coach Mike D’Antoni may prefer to run with the talent he knows. In other professional news, Miami Dolphins inside linebacker Channing Crowder is rehabbing both foot and knee injuries and should resume running in a month.