Franz Beard’s Basketball Confidential

Now that Allan Chaney is in the fold, the Florida Gators have only one slot remaining in the basketball recruiting class of 2008. With four already in the fold, the last spot seems a toss-up between Colton Iverson, who visited this weekend, and Eloy Vargas, who is scheduled to be here Friday for his official visit weekend.

It wasn’t the commitment heard around the world, but when Allan Chaney (6-9, 225, New London, CT) committed to Coach Billy Donovan and the Gators last week it caused immediate changes on the Florida recruiting landscape. With Chaney in and Colton Iverson (6-10, 245, Yankton, SD) not only scheduled to visit but pretty much down to the Gators and Minnesota, the immediate reaction in South Florida was a change of plans for Eloy Vargas (6-10, 220, Plantation, FL American Heritage).

The Chaney commitment and Iverson’s official visit to the Florida campus this past weekend, caused Vargas to promptly move up his official visit to the Florida campus. Originally scheduled for September 15, the same weekend commitments Kenny Kadji (6-10, Bradenton, FL IMG Academy), Ray Shipman (6-5, 205, Opa-Locka, FL Monsignor Pace) and Erving Walker (5-7, 140, Middle Village, NY Christ the King) will be in town for their officials, Vargas is now scheduled to visit Florida this weekend when the football Gators host Western Kentucky.

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Franz Beard
Back in January of 1969, the late, great Jack Hairston, then the sports editor of the Jacksonville Journal, called me on the phone one night and asked me if I wanted to work for him. I said yes. The entire interview took 30 seconds. It's my experience that whenever the interview lasts 30 seconds or less, I get the job. In the 48 years that I've been writing and getting paid for it, I've covered Super Bowls, World Series, NCAA basketball championships, BCS championship games, heavyweight title fights and what seems like thousands of college football, baseball and basketball games. I'm a columnist and special assignments editor for Gator Country once again, writing about the only team that ever mattered to me, the Florida Gators.