Franz Beard’s Basketball Confidential

When the season began, Billy Donovan thought the Gators would be improved if for no other reason, adequate depth. After struggling through last year with only nine scholarship players, Donovan had 12 on scholarship to start this season plus he had Georgetown transfer Vernon Macklin to mentor his three young big men. Nine games into the season, the Gators are minus Jai Lucas (transfer), Adam Allen (knee) and Eloy Vargas (recovering from ankle surgery), leaving Donovan to work with a short bench once again.

The Lucas transfer was a huge shock to Donovan, particularly since Lucas had started all 36 games of his Florida career. That has opened the door for freshman Erving Walker to back up Nick Calathes at the point and the 5-8 New Yorker is starting to show why he was considered the best long range shooter in the country last year.

Allen, who has a deep bone bruise in his knee, had an MRI about 10 days ago that came up negative. He tried to work out last week but the day after he was so sore that he has not been able to work out since. Allen’s slow recovery has made him a likely candidate to redshirt. If Allen doesn’t improve enough to work out and contribute within the next two to three weeks, Donovan will go ahead and redshirt him. The 6-8, 225-pounder said Wednesday that he’s extremely disappointed. Allen had put together an exceptional summer and was expected to be one of Florida’s most improved players this year.

Vargas might be ready to contribute at least a few minutes within a week or two. He has started participating in full practices with the team and although he’s still not physically strong (bone spur surgery in the summer on his ankle caused him to miss four full months), he’s improving to the point that it is expected that he will be able to contribute at least a few minutes per game once the SEC schedule starts. At 6-10, Vargas will give the Gators much-needed height. He’s a skilled offensive player who isn’t afraid to bang, even though he is a skinny 215 pounds.

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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.