There were times last season when Will Yeguete felt like a single mistake would land him on the bench.
Though he was a freshman and still just a couple years removed from living in his native France, Yeguete’s playing time wasn’t cut by a language barrier or lack of chemistry with his new teammates. If anything, he quickly became known for his defensive aggressiveness and a good habit of hustling in practice.
However, none of those qualities helped rid Yeguete of a bad reputation whenever he was passed the ball. Each time the 6-foot-7 forward tried to dribble or fire a pass, Florida coach Billy Donovan expected the worst.
“His biggest problem a year ago was he led our team in turnovers per minute and it became very difficult to play him, because, when he touched the ball, there was a good chance he was going to turn it over,” Donovan said.
While Yeguete saw the second fewest minutes on the team — ahead of only walk-on Kyle McClanahan — he still gave away the ball 19 times and in a team-high 29 percent of the possessions he played.
If he wanted to become a player Donovan could trust, Yeguete knew he needed to make better decisions.
Now a sophomore and seeing starter’s minutes in four straight games for the Gators, Yeguete is turning the ball over just 13.6 percent of the time and has limited himself to 13 giveaways over UF’s 21 games.
“I just slowed down, just taking my time on offense,” Yeguete said. “And sometimes when you see somebody’s open but you try to rush the pass, just make sure and take your time passing the ball.”
Donovan has relied on Yeguete to start nine games this season in place of forward Erik Murphy and, most recently, injured center Patric Young. In the extended minutes, Yeguete’s teammates have grown more confident in giving him touches on offense.
“He’s made tremendous progress and coach has continued to work with him,” said senior guard Erving Walker. “He’s done a great job since he’s been here. Last year, we were a little deeper at his position and he worked hard every day in practice. He’s getting the opportunity this year, and I think that he’s making the most of it.”
While Donovan said Yeguete is far from becoming a feared scoring threat, the drop in turnovers has allowed the Gators to use his defensive skill-set more. Yeguete ranks second on the team with 25 steals and he also has seven blocks on the season.
Against Mississippi State last Saturday, Yeguete held the Bulldogs’ leading scorer Arnett Moultrie below his season average and forced his worst field-goal percentage in eight games. Donovan praised Yeguete’s ability to keep Moultrie away from the basket and not give up deep entry passes in the post.
“Once Will gets a guy in an area of the floor where he’s away from the basket, he’s good enough physically to take on contact and then obviously he’s really good with his hands in terms of slapping and deflecting balls,” Donovan said. “So he’s a really, really good defender. As good of a post defender as I’ve had since we’ve been here. He takes great pride in taking on those challenges.”
Contact John Boothe at jboothe@alligator.org.
Gators sophomore forward Will Yeguete’s 25 steals are the second-most of any Florida player this season.
