Damontre Harris knew he would have to sit out the season when he transferred to Florida from South Carolina in May, but he hoped he could at least help the team during practice.
“This is a great year for me to get real better so I can have an opportunity to show all my talent next year when I have the opportunity to play,” Harris said on Oct. 10. “I just love to compete, so I think I’ll be able to help [the team] out a lot.”
However, Harris will no longer bring depth to Florida’s practices. Coach Billy Donovan announced on Wednesday that Harris dislocated his shoulder and suffered a labrum tear when a teammate fell on him during a weekend practice.
Harris plans to consult his family and a doctor before deciding whether he should have surgery. If he undergoes surgery, the junior would be out of practice until at least March.
“If he doesn’t have surgery, the likelihood of it popping out again is a pretty high percentage,” Donovan said. “[Torn labrums], if you do do surgery, are a long, long time to heal. You’re probably talking him being out for four to six months.”
Harris would have sat out this year regardless because of NCAA transfer rules, but he hoped to contribute in practice.
The 6-foot-10 center was an ideal opponent for junior Patric Young because of his size and talent as a shot-blocker. Last season with the Gamecocks, Harris was second in the Southeastern Conference with 71 blocks, averaging 2.3 per game. He trailed only Kentucky’s Anthony Davis, who made 186 blocks.
As a team, the Gators tallied only 124 blocks last season.
“Just offensively playing against Patric, it was good for Patric and it was good for [Harris],” Donovan said. “That’s a real significant loss in my opinion to us in practice … because he was doing pretty well in the first couple of practices. Now with him being gone, I think it hurts his development and it hurts our team a little bit.”
Contact Katie Agostin at kagostin@alligator.org.
Damontre Harris poses at media day on Oct. 10. Harris, who transferred to Florida from South Carolina in May, suffered a dislocated shoulder and a torn labrum on Saturday.
