GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Desperate to improve Floridas free throw shooting last season, coach Mike White tried a little bit of everything.He tweaked some of his players mechanics. He increased repetitions in practice. He had guys shoot while tired and winded and with some team accountability at stake. He even considered bringing in a sports psychologist.I didnt want it to become more mental than it already was, White said Tuesday.So he waited until the offseason.Over the summer, White brought in renowned sports psychologist Spencer Wood to work with the Gators.If you can train your mind, use different methods to understand how to stay in that place -- whatever that place is for you or whatever that trigger word is for you -- or get you back into that place of calm, or confident, those type things, I think it can help you with the rest of your game as well, said White, whos in his second season in Gainesville.So far, its made a noticeable difference for Florida (2-0), which plays St. Bonaventure (1-0) in Lakeland on Thursday night.After ranking 323rd (out of 346 NCAA teams) from the foul line last season, shooting a meager 64.7 percent, Florida is up to 78.6 percent so far this season. Two games are hardly enough of a sample size to make White a believer, but he wants to think there is improvement.You hope that moving forward we can be in the same mindset, White said. Im not sure its fixed. I dont want to sit here and think were a great free throw shooting team. But what weve seen the first two games is what weve been in practice. You want that to continue, of course. Our guys are in a pretty good place.White said feedback was positive, especially from center John Egbunu, point guard Kasey Hill and forward Justin Leon. Egbunu (53.2 percent), Hill (53.8) and Leon (46.2) were among Floridas worst foul shooters last season. All three are above 70 percent through two games.Leon said Wood worked with players to find their hype meter on a scale of 1 to 10, telling them they needed to play defense at a more frantic pace than offense, especially at the line.He gave me a lot of different breathing patterns, Leon added. So thats really been working for me. ... Its good to see it impact the game. That means the stuff weve been doing is working, and it shows weve taken the time to put the effort in the gym.Woods resume includes a number of college and professional teams. He worked with the Gators previously, getting invited by former Florida coach Billy Donovan before the 2010 season and helping that team deal with the psychological aspects of trying to get back to the NCAA tournament after a two-year absence. The Gators, led by Chandler Parsons, Kenny Boynton and Erving Walker, returned to the tournament.White blamed free throw shooting for his team missing the NCAA tournament last season. The Gators blew several leads, failing to put teams away late from the line, and had double-digit misses in 10 games.The Gators look considerably more confident this season. If not for newcomer Canyon Barry missing three of his first four underhanded free throws in the opener because of nerves, the Gators would have shot at least 80 percent from the charity stripe in both games.Very nice, very nice, White said. Knock on wood we continue shooting it this way. We have in practice. We just hope we continue to see that carry over. You can see it [in] their body languages, a little more confident at the foul line. ... Its a big factor for us. It kept up out of the NCAA tournament last year, single-handedly, and hopefully this year we continue shooting like this. Lester Hayes Youth Jersey . Numbers Game examines the deal that sees Michael Del Zotto and Kevin Klein switch places. The Predators Get: D Michael Del Zotto. Antonio Brown Youth Jersey . Pert has formerly spent time as an assistant coach with Cardiff City, Coventry City, and Bahrain mens national team. 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TOKYO -- Second-seeded Gael Monfils overcame an ankle injury to beat Gilles Simon 6-1, 6-4 Thursday and advance to the quarterfinals at the Japan Open.Monfils trailed 4-1 in the second set when he injured an ankle and had to call for the trainer. He won the next five games after receiving treatment.Somehow I got through my shots better when I came back, because maybe I was a bit worried, Monfils said.The Frenchman will face Ivo Karlovic in the quarterfinals. The big-serving Croat had 24 aces while beating Janko Tipsarevic 7-6 (9), 7-6 (5), and has now gone to a tiebreak in all five sets he has played in Tokyo.Last year I was losing a lot of tiebreaks. This year Im a little more relaxed in them and trying not to panic, the seventh-seeded Karlovic said. My game plan today was that I would go to the net more often but it didnt work out like that, so I had to be at the back a little more.Monfils beat Karlovic in Washington in July, the only time they have met since 2011.I wass leading by a set and a break in Washington, Karlovic said.dddddddddddd I was doing really well technically, hitting hard balls and he didnt like it. Hopefully, I can also do that tomorrow and close out the match this time.Also, Gilles Muller of Luxembourg defeated Marcos Baghdatis 6-3, 6-4 to set up a match against Nick Kyrgios, who progressed when Radek Stepanek withdrew because of a back injury.Top-seeded Kei Nishikori, who retired from his second-round match on Wednesday, pulled out of next weeks Shanghai Masters. He said he still hopes to be able to play at the season-ending ATP finals in London.The tests show I have a light strain in my left glute muscle, Nishikori said in a statement. The doctor is recommending at least 10 days rest and heavy rehab. I will do everything I can to get back on court and be ready for the end of the season. ' ' '