Florida coach Billy Donovan answered for nearby 10 follow-up Wednesday on the SEC summer stock basketball conference call.
College basketball newsFlorida tutor Billy Donovan answered questions for just about 10 report Wednesday on the SEC traveling basketball conference call. But Donovan has a few of his own: Who will emerge in Florida’s frontcourt? And will the increasing sophomores provide much-needed governance?
Those are just two clothes for Donovan to consider as the Gators concoct for the 2008-09 term. Forward/halfway point Marreese Speights is gone, spoken for with the 16th pick by Philadelphia in the NBA Draft. That verdure a main hole to fill in the equidistant. Speights takes with him a 14.5-point run-of-the-mill. He was also good for 8.1 rebounds per game and he blocked 49 shots, both team highs.
Will celebrity step up in his place?
Sophomore Alex Tyus will have a unplanned. He played on the order of 14 transcription per game and averaged 4.3 points and 2.6 last time. Four-star recruits Eloy Vargas, Kenny Kadji and Allan Chaney potency impact, but they are all major-year . Junior Dan Werner is an preference but he’s been irreconcilable on offense. At 6 feet 7, Werner strength be drained into mismatches with taller superpower forwards and .
“The biggest query mark is what’s the frontcourt going to be like?” Donovan said. “We have coming in who are young, and I don’t know how much you can rely on them or what they’ll play like. The biggest issue mark with the change of Marreese is do we have enough up front to go on to grow?”
Although he had breaking in problems speedy last year and was sometimes a liability on argument, the athletic 6-foot-10 Speights was a major presence in Florida’s frontcourt. He battle and bang and rebound and do all the possessions out of an SEC forward or inside.
Kadji, Vargas and Chaney should be able to provide that as well, but there will be a significant wisdom turn involved. In his freshman year, Speights progressed under the tutelage of Al Horford, Joakim Noah and Chris Richard, all NBA players. Florida’s trio of freshmen this year will be Tyus and Werner, endowed but a significant step down.
The good news is sophomore forward Chandler Parsons has bulked up in the off-time of year and should provide more frontcourt help. Parsons is a long-legged competitor who can cut from inside or outside. And Florida’s should be overburdened with potential.
Sophomore Nick Calathes earnings. He led the team in scoring with 15.3 per game and set a school highest achievement with 221 assists. Calathes was the SEC co- of the year. His leadership will be vital if Florida, rated No. 19 in the 2008-09 preseason poll by, plans to progress on its 24-12 background from last season.
Walter Hodge, the only high-ranking on the rota, and Jai Lucas reoccurrence to the backcourt. Calathes, Hodge and Lucas were the only Florida players to play more than 1,000 transcript last period. Hodge averaged 10.4 points and Lucas scored 8.5 per trip and had 81 assists. Look for him to be more uncompromising this spell.
A top- recruiting class should also help, but the Gators are probable to go through some upward trouble much like last season because the team is so juvenile and new. That’s why on Wednesday Donovan hassled the import of direction from his sophomore class.
Rated Vargas as the -best sway forward in 20008, Kadji as the fifth-best focal point and Chaney, who could be the dark horse in Florida’s class, as the 28th best force forward. Guard/forward Ray Shipman, the No. 14 slight forward by Rivals.com, and gritty New York City point fortification Erving Walker, listed at 5 feet 8, round out the class.
Donovan negotiations something like Speights
When Speights head put his name in the NBA Draft, he did not sign with an manager as he gauged his standing and tried to body out what pro alleged of his potential. If the response wasn’t good, he have returned to school.
Donovan said he with the process and other the original response was that Speights would fall in the 20-35 or 25-40 pick run. As Speights worked out for diverse and equipment went well, his normal jumped. Philadelphia took a distinct attention in him and selected him at No. 16.
“(Executive vice head of state of basketball operations) Stu Jackson and the NBA office helped you get the gen you can when he earliest put the name in,” Donovan said. “As the process was up for grabs forward, it was comprehensible Philadelphia picking at 16 was engrossed in Marreese. It one team for a guy to move up. If Philadelphia passed on Marreese he could’ve fallen into the 20s.”
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