Casey Prather entered last season with the expectation of evolving into the Gators’ next big, slashing forward in the line of Corey Brewer and Chandler Parsons.
In a role originally meant to create scoring avenues for Florida, the 6-foot-6 Prather instead found only frustrating ways to turn the ball over. Lost in a concoction of bad passes, poor shots and freshman jitters, he poisoned his playing time down to 6.7 minutes per game. By the end of the year, he had more giveaways (18) than made field goals (17).
After just a handful of practices this year, coach Billy Donovan can barely recognize that player.
“He’s playing his best basketball since he’s been here,” Donovan said.
Rather than worrying about how he was going to fit into the Gators’ lineup, Prather, now a sophomore, looked at the things he could control during the offseason. He tried to cut back on the forced shots and passes and simply let the game come to him.
“It’s amazing: He’s actually been more productive in practice, offensively, by taking a whole less amount of shots,” Donovan said. “Last year, just his handling, passing decision-making made it very difficult for him to play on offense. … He was a turnover factory.”
Though it appears Florida will have no shortage of talented shooters this season, Prather isn’t including himself in that arsenal right now. He went from averaging 29 points per game his senior year at Jackson (Tenn.) North Side High, to 1.2 points each outing at Florida.
His .267 3-point shooting percentage was the lowest on the team of any player who attempted a shot behind the arc, and he also never made it to the free-throw line in 222 minutes on the court. But he’s not concerned with either this year.
“It’s kind of easy now since we’ve got so many other scorers,” Prather said. “I really don’t have to do as much.”
Instead, Prather can focus on filling the rebounding void left by Florida’s departed frontcourt. In a four-guard set, which Donovan has hinted at using, Prather said he could play any position from shooting guard to power forward.
With one big man on the court, Prather would have the chance to provide a larger impact on the boards than he did bringing in 1.1 rebounds per game last season.
“These guys all come out of high school, and they’re able to score a lot, and they can do it based on their athleticism,” Donovan said. “But when you get to this level, understanding how you’ve got to impact the game … it’s different.”
So far, Donovan said Prather is buying into his new role. Along with redshirt freshman Cody Larson, he is taking the fewest amount of shots during practice but is still being effective running the floor and moving the ball on offense.
It appears Prather is finally bringing something to the team neither he nor his teammates saw from him last season.
When asked what changes he has seen in Prather, junior guard Kenny Boynton said: “His confidence.
“He’s not forcing anything. It’s not like he’s scoring a lot of points, but he’s taking the right shots. He’s finishing.”
Contact John Boothe at jboothe@alligator.org.
Florida sophomore forward Casey Prather finished his freshman campaign with more turnovers (18) than field goals (17).
