Gator Country

Gators forward Will Yeguete and guard Scottie Wilbekin attempt to force a turnover in Florida's 77-44 home win against Georgia at home on Jan. 9. / Gator Country photo by Curtiss Bryant

Billy Donovan appeared on the SEC teleconference this morning and discussed this week’s schedule, which includes a road game against Texas A&M and a home test against Missouri.

Donovan started off the teleconference by calling this week a challenge with the Thursday road game and the quick turnaround of having to travel back home for the game against a top-15 Missouri team.

The beginning of this week will be a key to the team, as it will game plan for both the Aggies and the Tigers.

Man up, man down

Injuries have begun piling up for the Gators as Mike Rosario, Will Yeguete and Casey Prather have all been sidelined recently.

“Rosario’s got an ankle sprain. I’ll probably find out a little more here this week of his availability for A&M,” Donovan said. “[Prather has] got a high-ankle sprain. We’ll have to see how he progresses. Yeguete is still dealing with some tendinitis and swelling there, so I don’t know how much we’ll get out of him here this week.”

With all of those injuries, the Florida Gators only had a limited bench to work with in their 74-52 win at LSU this past Saturday, but Donovan expects two of three injured players to play.

“I would say right now Prather is out. He’s not playing it doesn’t look like,” Donovan said. “I’d say right now going into the Texas A&M game, there’s a good chance that Rosario and Yeguete would, but I would probably say Prather is out.”

Guarding the arc

Donovan also touched on the defense this year which ranks fourth in the country in scoring defense, allowing just 52.7 points per game.

Point guard play is one of the reasons for the improvement. Last year, Erving Walker’s size gave him some limitations on the defensive side that junior Scottie Wilbekin doesn’t have.

“There was some limitations for Walker on the defensive end of the floor in man and zone, because it’s easier to shoot over him,” Donovan said. “This year you have Wilbekin playing a lot more, and he’s bigger and more physical guard who can guard a lot of different people.”

Experience is something that Florida is using to its advantage on defense, but Donovan also said the team has more speed this year compared to last season.

“You got maybe some more experience there with a guy like Prather. Boynton’s been around,” Donovan said. “I think last year playing with Brad Beal, as terrific as he was, I think being a freshman there were areas that he had to improve in defensively and he got better as the year went on. We probably have a little bit more size, and I think we’re a little bit older.”

About the author

Andrew Spivey

Andrew always knew he wanted to be involved with sports in some capacity. He began by coaching high school football for six years before deciding to pursue a career in journalism. While coaching, he was a part of two state semifinal teams in the state of Alabama. Given his past coaching experience, he figured covering recruiting would be a perfect fit. He began his career as an intern for Rivals.com, covering University of Florida football recruiting. After interning with Rivals for six months, he joined the Gator Country family as a recruiting analyst. Andrew enjoys spending his free time on the golf course and watching his beloved Atlanta Braves. Follow him on Twitter at @AndrewSpiveyGC.

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