When Mike Rosario was at Rutgers, playing weak defense was the only way he could rack up more minutes.
On a Big East team just trying to stay afloat most nights, Rosario would save his energy for the offensive end, where he carried the Scarlet Knights’ shooting and scoring loads for two years.
“I had to basically be an offensive threat the whole game in order for us to stay in the game and in order for us to try and win,” Rosario said. “Plus, playing 37 to 40 minutes a game and plus trying to do both ends of the court, it was a little bit too much for me.”
After transferring to Florida, Rosario soon realized his days of lackadaisical defense had to be over if he wanted to avoid moving further down UF’s bench, and worse, into coach Billy Donovan’s dog house.
In his first five games, Rosario played 20 or more minutes three times against mostly over-matched competition. But as the Gators hit the meat of their non-conference schedule,
Rosario’s minutes declined due to his poor effort on the defensive end of the floor.
Heading into No. 17 Florida’s (14-4, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) home clash with LSU (12-6, 2-2 SEC) on Saturday at 6 p.m., Donovan said he has seen a change in the junior guard’s approach to playing tough defense.
“It’s all stemmed from practice — he’s really been pretty consistent, pretty responsible, pretty reliable,” Donovan said. “He’s built up a lot of trust in myself and his teammates. I think earlier in the year, probably, some of his limited minutes had to do with a lot of his defensive focus.”
While ankle and back injuries slowed his progress during the last month, a finally healthy Rosario recorded three steals in UF’s wins against Georgia and at South Carolina last week.
As a result, Donovan was able to play Rosario for 19 minutes against the Gamecocks, enough time for him to reach double figures for the first time since Dec. 7. Rosario said his coach recognized how hard he was working and how far he would go to change his game.
“It bothered me a little bit because it hurts me — the fact that I can’t go out there and compete to my best of abilities for my teammates and the program,” Rosario said. “I’m embracing the fact that I can do that, and now I know when I come off the bench, I can spark the game and take the game to another level.”
With Rosario finally buying in to Donovan’s philosophy, the Gators have held their last two opponents — Georgia and South Carolina — to a combined 39.1 percent shooting.
Florida will have the chance to extend its strong defensive run against LSU this weekend, which comes into Gainesville with the third-worst field goal percentage in the SEC.
“One of the most important things is guarding the ball and guarding off the ball, so that’s what I’ve been trying to conquer the last couple weeks,” Rosario said. “When I get in the game, I bring a lot of energy to that aspect of the game, especially to the defensive end. I feel it could bring positive energy to my teammates.”
Contact John Boothe at jboothe@alligator.org.
Now healthy, Florida guard Mike Rosario has improved his play defensively, helping UF hold Georgia and South Carolina to less than 40 percent combined shooting.
