Florida hoops visitors list: 1.18.13

This weekend’s game against Missouri is arguably the Florida Gators biggest test of the season so far.

Not only is Billy Donovan looking to secure win No. 400 against the 17th-ranked Tigers, but three 2014 recruiting targets will be visiting campus to see the Gators in action.

Jacksonville (Fla.) Providence shooting guard Grayson Allen will be in attendance. Allen, a 6-foot-4, 185-pound junior, has been of the Gators main targets for 2014. He was offered by the Gators back in July and took a prior unofficial visit to Florida in August.

“I definitely have a strong interest in Florida,” Allen said back in December. “I feel like I have a great relationship with the coaches, so the next step for me is to make it to a game.”

Florida will also receive unofficial visits from two 2014 point guards: Richard Lee and B.J. Taylor.

The Gators have shown interest in Lee (Blanche Ely/ Pompano Beach, Fla.) since he was a sophomore and the 6-foot-3, 200-pound guard has a close connection with current Gators guard Kenny Boynton, who also is from Pompano Beach.

“I liked the run-and-gun transition threes [from Florida],” Lee said. “Florida also has a great coaching staff. They put you in situations to be successful.”

Taylor, a junior point guard from Orlando (Fla.) Boone High School, was last on Florida’s campus for its team camp in the summer, where Donovan was impressed by the play of the 6-foot-2, 180-pound guard.

“[Donovan] liked my court vision, command of the ball, ability to score in bunches and high basketball IQ,” Taylor said after the camp.

The game will be televised on ESPN at 2 p.m. on Jan. 19.

drewlaing
Drew is a senior at Samford University in Birmingham, Ala. When not at school, Drew resides in Lakeland, Fla. Ever since working on his high school yearbook, Drew has had an interest in pursuing a journalism career after college. In addition to being Editor-in-Chief of his school newspaper, The Samford Crimson, Drew has also been with Gator Country as an intern for one year. He enjoys the finer things in life like Tampa Bay Rays baseball and always making sure to make fun of the Atlanta Braves to Andrew Spivey’s face.