USS BATAAN — When the Gators retook the court for the second half of their season opener on Friday, they quickly discovered that the hardwood was unplayable.
Center Patric Young dragged his feet around the court, shaking his head at the lack of traction as more than a dozen workers tried to towel the floor dry.
After multiple meetings, the coaches and officials agreed to call Florida’s game against Georgetown after a half. Florida was leading 27-23. The game will not be reflected in the standings, counting essentially as another exhibition.
“There’s no question it was the right decision,” coach Billy Donovan said. “You could see the water coming up on top of the floor, and somebody was going to slip. Once one person slipped, they were going to end the game anyway.”
After the decision was made, Donovan and Georgetown coach John Thompson III took center court and addressed the fans.
“Obviously very disappointed,” Donovan said. “We do not want anybody to get hurt out here right now. … If you were down here, you’d have a realistic understanding of how slippery it is and what kind of jeopardy these guys would be placed in.”
Added Thompson: “It’s dangerous out here. It’s very dangerous, and we don’t want anyone to get hurt.”
By the time the coaches were done talking, the court had developed another layer of fog.
The two teams came out to warm up for the second half as normal before being asked to leave the court to give workers a chance to dry it off. After a period of toweling, the game was scheduled to continue, and Florida ran through drills without issue.
However, the portions of the court that were not being run on suffered significant moisture buildup, leading to the decision to call the game.
“Our concern was because the whole floor was not being run on, there were going to be patches that are going to sit there unplayed on, and what happens when someone comes across one of them?” Donovan said.
As the decision was made, assistant coach Matt McCall took two quick steps before sliding a distance of about 3 feet, displaying the slippery nature of the playing surface.
Whether the issue will be corrected to allow for future games of this nature is unclear.
“There’s going to be some serious concerns right now,” Donovan said. “It was a great idea. … So much of playing outside in these situations is the weather.”
WILBEKIN’S LIKELY OUT SUNDAY: Donovan said after Friday’s game that point guard Scottie Wilbekin is unlikely to play on Sunday against Alabama State.
Donovan said he was still gathering information on Wilbekin, who was suspended on Thursday for undisclosed reasons.
“Unless something drastically changes, I would say he’s definitely out Sunday,” Donovan said. “I’m not sure about anything else going forward.”
Contact Greg Luca at gluca@alligator.org.
