Franz Beard’s Basketball Confidential

Billy Donovan could be only a few administrative steps away from getting the clearance he needs to sign Israel combo guard Nimrod Tishman to a scholarship. Tishman, who is averaging 18.6 points per game for the Israeli national team at the FIBA 18-and-under European tournament in France, has apparently filled out all the necessary paperwork and submitted a valid TOEFL score. Tishman’s graduation documentation will be slow arriving, according to a couple of folks who are familiar with international students, but this is not uncommon and something Florida admissions and the NCAA handle on a routine basis.

Tishman was scouted by Larry Shyatt at the FIBA European tournament where he has shown the ability to hit the three (8-15 in five games) and consistently get to the foul line (47 times in five games). He is a solid offensive player but if there is a negative, it is an unfavorable assist to turnover ratio (about 1:1). Still, he’s got a tremendous upside and would give the Gators the depth they need to compete in the Southeastern Conference this season.

With Tishman on board, the Gators would have four guards on the roster and three with point guard experience in sophomore Erving Walker, freshman Kenny Boynton and Tishman. Ray Shipman is a two guard who can play small forward. He’s a decent ball handler but not point guard experienced.

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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.