TWO BITS: Murphy’s playing time, UF’s dynasty

1 » Florida Gators basketball fans may have noticed that freshman forward/center Erik Murphy’s minutes have diminished over the last few games. After a pretty awful performance against the Arkansas Razorbacks to games ago, Murphy only received two minutes of playing time against the South Carolina Gamecocks on Saturday. Head coach Billy Donovan denied claims that Murphy’s injury was hindering his performance or affecting his minutes. “I’ve got total confidence in Erik,” Donovan said. “He’s a freshman, he’s going to be a very, very good player. You know I think this is great opportunity for him to rebound as a player to understand that you know the last two games, maybe he didn’t play a great game against Arkansas and didn’t get a chance to play in the second half against South Carolina. But we still need him and he can still make a really positive impact on our team.”

2 » Stewart Mandel of Sports Illustrated wonders where former hoops dynasties like Florida, the North Carolina Tar Heels and the UCLA Bruins have gone in his latest column. He then goes on to make many of the same points that OGGOA has in the past about the Gators’ recent struggles in recovering from the departure of the Oh-Fours.