Dorian Finney-Smith to return to Florida Gators

The Florida Gators basketball program received good news on Thursday when the school announced that redshirt senior to be forward Dorian Finney-Smith will return to school for the 2015-16 seasons.

An All-SEC 2nd team selection, Finney-Smith led the Gators in scoring (13.2 ppg) and rebounding (6.1 per game) while playing in 28 contests a season ago.

The news gives the program a big boost after guard Michael Frazier II announced last week that he would be leaving school early to enter the NBA Draft.

Finney-Smith took on a new role for the Gators last season, moving from sixth-man to starter and team leader. The Virginia Tech transfer struggled to assume his new role. He was suspended indefinitely for three games late in the season, the second suspension in as many seasons for Finney-Smith.

“I got all the information I needed to make a decision,” Finney-Smith told Chris Harry of GatorZone. “He didn’t pressure me into anything, but rather let me be a grown man. Coach D is a mentor to me, I trust him and I’m happy and anxious to have another year with him.”

As a fifth-year senior, Finney-Smith will once again be asked to take in a leadership role for the Gators as they try to rebound from a disappointing 16-17 season.

Nick de la Torre
A South Florida native, Nick developed a passion for all things sports at a very young age. His love for baseball was solidified when he saw Al Leiter’s no-hitter for the Marlins live in May of 1996. He was able to play baseball in college but quickly realized there isn’t much of a market for short, slow outfielders that hit around the Mendoza line. Wanting to continue with sports in some capacity he studied journalism at the University of Central Florida. Nick got his first start in the business as an intern for a website covering all things related to the NFL draft before spending two seasons covering the Florida football team at Bleacher Report. That job led him to GatorCountry. When he isn’t covering Gator sports, Nick enjoys hitting way too many shots on the golf course, attempting to keep up with his favorite t.v. shows and watching the Heat, Dolphins and Marlins. Follow him on twitter @NickdelatorreGC