Before he knew Will Yeguete’s left foot was indeed broken, Billy Donovan rattled through the list of backup point guards and little-used substitutes he could call on to replace Florida’s injured power forward.
Some were undersized — even at Yeguete’s 6-foot-7 standard — for the job.
Scottie Wilbekin usually comes off the bench for other guards and is just 6-foot-2, while forward Casey Prather checks in an inch shorter than Yeguete.
Others, like redshirt freshman Cody Larson, have seen limited playing time in UF’s 13 Southeastern Conference games.
“We’re going to have to make some adjustments, like Casey Prather playing the four,” Donovan said. “Scottie playing the four. Cody Larson needs to step up and provide a little bit more.”
When the results from Yeguete’s hospital visit came back Tuesday night after UF’s 16-point win against Auburn, Donovan learned those players would be his last resource in the final months of the season.
Yeguete, the Gators’ leader in both steals and rebounding percentage, broke the fifth metatarsal in his foot, according to a UF report, and is unlikely to return for the rest of the year.
“There’s going to be some things that we’re going to need to practice,” Donovan said. “Because it’s not like, OK, how do you get by for a week or a couple games? Now it’s like, OK we’re dealing with this for the rest of the season.”
The foot injury came just 10 days after Yeguete suffered his second concussion of the season in a loss to Tennessee. While Florida could not recover from his absence against the Volunteers, the Gators were able to scratch out a road win against Alabama following three days of practice with the smaller lineup.
Donovan’s main worry for his increasingly depleted bench is getting healthy before Florida steps back out on the road this weekend. In his postgame press conference Tuesday, he said Wilbekin (hyperextended knee), Prather (ankle sprain) and Larson (bursa sac on knee) have all been limited in practice lately.
“Larson was out of practice on Sunday, Prather missed part of shootaround, Patric [Young] was somewhat hobbled,” Donovan said. “We’ve been dealing with some issues here and there.”
With Yeguete out for most of the Tennessee and Alabama games, Florida was out-rebounded by a combined margin of eight boards. Though he doesn’t lead the Gators in rebounding average on a per-game basis, Yeguete is the lone UF player to haul in a rebound on at least 20 percent of his defensive possessions, according to Kenpom.com.
In Yeguete’s absence against Auburn, Florida was able to get quality minutes from Prather, who normally grabs a defensive rebound in 7.7 percent of his possessions. Prather had two rebounds in six minutes Tuesday and also scored his first field goal since Dec. 9.
“When Will was in the game, he helped us rebound a lot in the first half,” junior guard Kenny Boynton said.
“I’m happy for Casey because he’s been working hard in practice all season long. For him to get in and do good, I’m happy for him.”
Contact John Boothe at jboothe@alligator.org.
