Just two minutes into the second half of No. 16 Florida’s 67-53 victory against Southern on Monday night, point guard Kasey Hill suffered a high left ankle sprain after being fouled driving to the basket.
He did not return to the game, and coach Billy Donovan said he expects Hill to miss at least a month. If the initial diagnosis is correct, Hill would miss matchups with No. 18 Connecticut and No. 2 Kansas.
Before Hill fell to the floor, Donovan said he heard him screaming. Seconds after Hill dropped, the team’s trainer, strength coach and Donovan raced to his side. The freshman had to be helped off the floor and into the locker room.
“It’s one of those sprains where it’s certainly a longer healing process,” Donovan said. “And I know when you try to rush a guy back too soon, it really, really complicates things. ”
At the time of the injury, Hill was leading Florida with eight points on 4-of-6 shooting. Six of his eight points were results of layups. He also had three assists.
When Hill exited the game, Donovan played DeVon Walker and Michael Frazier II at point guard. Donovan said Walker has served as the backup point guard to Hill in practice this season, so he knows the most about running the position.
However, the offense will take a hit without Hill.
“The hardest part, for me, is it really eliminates a real opportunity to get creative on offense because you really have to shorten up the playcalls,” Donovan said. “For a guy like DeVon and Michael Frazier to know the two, the three and the point, their head would explode. It’s not fair to them.”
Scottie Wilbekin, the Gators starting point guard last year, was suspended indefinitely for violating team rules June 10, leaving Hill as the only other true point guard on the roster.
Despite the injury to his only remaining point guard, Donovan said Wilbekin will not be reinstated for Florida’s matchup against Middle Tennessee on Thursday.
Instead, Donovan will look to play bigger by having Dorian Finney-Smith play more minute, some coming as the team’s point guard.
Even before Hill’s injury, Florida’s offense was different than in previous games. Casey Prather, who entered tonight’s game averaging 22.3 points per game, had only 10 on 2-of-10 shooting. The senior forward consistently got to the foul line, going 6 of 7 from the charity stripe.
Prather contributed in other ways, leading the team with nine rebounds and four assists.
Patric Young was UF’s leading scorer with 12 points, but Donovan still said he saw some problems with the center’s offensive capabilities.
“We got him the ball in some really good areas, and he kept getting it and holding it,” Donovan said. “And after two or three seconds, he was getting trapped. He allowed himself, in my opinion, to get trapped way too much in the game. He didn’t need to be trapped that much.”
In addition to losing Hill, Florida will be without sophomore Dillon Graham for the rest of the season. Graham will redshirt after being ruled out for the year because of bone spurs in his hips. His recovery is expected to take about four months.
Follow Jonathan Czupryn on Twitter @jczupryn.
Kasey Hill lies on the ground after suffering an ankle injury during the second half of Florida’s 67-53 victory against Southern in the O’Connell Center on Monday. Hill is expected to miss at least one month due to a high ankle sprain.
