Florida coach Billy Donovan isn’t worried about Brad Beal getting tired any time soon — at least in his legs.
As the lone freshman in Florida’s starting lineup, Beal is leading the Gators in steals, free-throw attempts and defensive rebounds all while scoring 14.1 points per game.
While Donovan has said that too much is expected of Beal at times, the 6-foot-3 guard hasn’t seen his playing time decrease six games into UF’s Southeastern Conference schedule. Beal leads Florida with 33.5 minutes played per game, which is also the fourth most in the league.
“Rest hasn’t really been a concern with Brad,” Donovan said. “I think the biggest thing that happens to those guys more than anything else is that they get mentally fatigued, and I have yet to see that mental fatigue on him, or the physical fatigue. I think right now he’s fine — not to say that couldn’t happen a couple weeks from now. I feel pretty good with where he’s at right now.”
On Monday, Beal was named the SEC Freshman of the Week for a league-high fourth time after scoring a combined 28 points in a pair of Florida victories against Ole Miss and Mississippi State.
The only other SEC player who has won the award more than once is Kentucky center Anthony Davis, a three-time freshman of the week who ranks 17th in minutes played.
While Florida is set to face three conference teams, including the Wildcats, in six days starting Thursday, Beal said the Gators have been able to ready themselves for the grueling stretch with tough practices.
“It was very physical at Ole Miss — they’re probably the most physical team we’ve faced,” Beal said. “Mississippi State has a bunch of big guys inside that are really physical, too. We just try to prepare ourselves — we battle each other in practice all of the time — so it’s really our preparation for the games.”
Pitchford injured: While minutes have been easy for one Florida freshman to come by recently, any chances backup forward Walter Pitchford had at seeing playing time this week were derailed when he sprained his right wrist in a scooter crash Monday.
According to a school report, the accident occurred just north of the intersection of University Avenue and 13th Street when Pitchford, a freshman, rolled his scooter while trying to avoid hitting a vehicle in front of him.
The 6-foot-10, 221-pound Pitchford also suffered a bad scrape to his arm and is expected to miss 10 days to two weeks with his injuries.
He has played a total of 15 minutes and scored four points in eight games this season.
Rankings update: Following a pair of wins against Ole Miss and Mississippi State, Florida (17-4, 5-1 SEC) moved up two spots to No. 12 in the Associated Press poll this week and made a dramatic 21-spot jump in the NCAA’s RPI standings.
Florida’s RPI is 15th in the nation after besting two top-40 teams in the Rebels and Bulldogs. The Gators own the SEC’s second-highest RPI behind the Wildcats, who are fifth in the standings.
No. 1 Kentucky (21-1, 7-0 SEC) maintained its top spot in the AP poll for the second straight week, while Mississippi State (17-5, 4-3 SEC) slid down four spots to No. 22. Vanderbilt (16-5, 5-1 SEC) entered the rankings for the first time since Dec. 18 at No. 25.
Contact John Boothe at jboothe@alligator.org.
UF freshman Brad Beal leads the team in steals (27), free-throw attempts (88), defensive rebounds (102) and minutes (33.5 per game).
