When Florida faces Georgia Tech on Saturday in a private scrimmage in Valdosta, Ga., guard Eli Carter could finally see some full-court action.
Coach Billy Donovan said Thursday that Carter, who has been limited in practice due to a broken leg he suffered while at Rutgers, would likely play against the Yellow Jackets.
“We’d like to try and throw him in there and see what he can do,” Donovan said.
“He has practiced some on and off. … The injury’s fully healed, but he still labors a bit.
“I think it’s still in the back of his mind. But he’s doing better.”
Since returning to practice, Carter has been subbing in for spurts of about three or four possessions during full-court drills.
But due to the quick transition from an eight-month layoff, he has developed shin-splint issues.
“The biggest thing, for us, is trying to get him to the point where he’s moving, cutting and sprinting in a way where he’s somewhat back to where he was,” Donovan said.
“He’s fully healed, so he’s not in harm’s way of re-injuring himself, but he needs to get more strength in his foot. He needs to get more strength in his calf. He needs to be more explosive.”
Forward Will Yeguete, who suffered a knee injury during the offseason, has participated in practice recently in a limited capacity but will not play Saturday.
“I don’t think he feels he’s ready for that yet,” Donovan said.
After having only six players available in practice earlier this week, Donovan expects eight or nine to be available for the scrimmage.
Several others continue to battle injuries.
Forward Casey Prather has missed the past three practices with a hamstring injury, while guard Dillon Graham (ankle) will likely return to practice Monday.
Dorian Finney-Smith is day-to-day with a strained tendon in his ankle. Donovan said the redshirt sophomore forward suffered the injury Wednesday in practice when landing awkwardly after trying to chase down a player from behind.
“I don’t think it’s anything too serious,” Donovan said.
Center Damontre Harris (hamstring) returned to practice earlier this week after missing about a week of full-contact drills.
Since the shorthanded Gators have often relied on 4-on-4 sets during practice, they are excited to compete in a rotation against players not on their roster Saturday.
“It’s going to feel pretty good to go and beat up on somebody else other than ourselves,” center Patric Young said.
Added guard Michael Frazier II: “Georgia Tech is supposed to be a good team, so it should be a good measurement for us.”
Frazier healthy after scare: The idea of possibly contracting mononucleosis had Frazier frightened.
But after tests came back negative last week, Frazier, who battled virus-like symptoms for a couple of days, was relieved.
“It was scary,” Frazier said. “I was praying that I didn’t have it. Luckily, I didn’t have it.”
When he was sick, Frazier had body aches, headaches and a sore throat.
“I was in bed for most of the day,” he said.
Frazier returned to practice Oct. 17 and is now feeling 100 percent.
The guard’s current goal is getting back into game shape.
Since the summer, Frazier has dropped 10 pounds. His weight is now 198 pounds.
Frazier added that his body-fat percentage has dropped by about 3 percent from last year.
“I’m lighter, jumping higher, quicker, faster,” he said. “It’s definitely helping on the court.”
Follow Landon Watnick on Twitter @LandonWatnick.
Eli Carter poses for a photo during Florida’s basketball media day. The junior shooting guard, who transferred to Florida from Rutgers in the offseason, is expected to participate in a scrimmage against Georgia Tech this weekend in Valdosta, Ga.
