With two veteran players sidelined with injuries, Florida basketball is taking things one game at a time.
The next game on the No. 18 Gators’ (2-1) horizon is against Georgetown (3-0) on Wednesday, the first of three in the Bahamas as part of the Battle 4 Atlantis.
"I think there’s been a real focus, at least in home games for our fans, to have some really good non-conference quality games, and to try and play a national schedule. The last two years, there’s been a real strong feeling from inside the league, the commissioner and during our meetings, to boast non-conference scheduling," Florida coach Billy Donovan said. "Before Dec. 1, we’re going to know a lot about our team. Of course, we’ve had to deal with some injuries and some suspensions, but I still think we’re finding out things about our team, which is good."
The team traveled to Paradise Island on Monday and Donovan confirmed earlier in the day that both Eli Carter and Dorian Finney-Smith traveled with the team, although Donovan is unsure if either will see any playing time during the trip as they continue to nurse injuries. Donovan said both are not currently cleared to practice, meaning they sat out during the Gators’ five practices over the weekend, with three practices coming on Saturday.
Instead, they have been doing individual workouts.
Finney-Smith, who has only played in two of Florida’s four games so far this season, injured two fingers in his left hand early in Florida’s win against William & Mary on Nov. 14.
"I think Dorian’s hand does feel better," Donovan said. "He still has pain. I think a lot of it’s going to come down to, you know, where is he at in terms of what he can actually tolerate. I think it’s very, very difficult right now for him to catch, to dribble. … So where does he get to a point where he feels like the pain is manageable? Because he’s going to be playing with pain for some significant time, that’s definitely going to happen. Now how long it takes for him to be totally pain-free I don’t know."
Donovan said he expects Finney-Smith to continue sporting a brace on his hand for a few more weeks. Carter, who has a mid-foot sprain in his left foot, has been conditioning on the bike and elliptical machines. Since Florida doesn’t take the court until Wednesday, Donovan said he will have a better gauge as to whether Carter or Finney-Smith could return after practice today.
"So some of things that happened I really can’t fault them at all, I think it’s more of we kind of got some things exposed with that team in that game," Donovan said of Friday’s performance. "And now I think it’s my job to help them adapt to those changes and what teams are doing against them, and then hopefully we can get a little bit more cohesive and consistent."
Donovan isn’t looking ahead to possibly facing the nation’s No. 2 team, Wisconsin, on Thursday. Though he said he’s concerned with how Florida’s press style of play will stand up to three games in three days, Donovan is keeping his and his team’s focus off the holiday and off the Hoyas on Wednesday,
"Really, really good team. They’ve got a lot of things on offense that they can do. They can drive it, they can get to the free-throw line, they can throw the ball inside to two frontcourt players. They’re really good in transition," Donovan said, referring to Georgetown. " You know, John’s system is always difficult to go against. They can do a variety of different things defensively, so this will be a great test for us."
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The UF men's basketball team huddles prior to Florida's 61-56 overtime win against Louisiana-Monroe.
