REPORT: DeVon Walker lost for the season

Florida junior DeVon Walker will miss the 2014-15 season after suffering a torn ACL, according to a report from CBS Sport’s Jeff Borzello.

Walker played in 35 games a season ago, including his first career start in the season opener. Walker only averaged 12.1 minutes a game last season but finished fourth on the team in blocks (13) and three pointers (19). Walker’s three-point shooting and defense will be missed on a team that is trying to replace four senior starters from a Final Four run.

ACL surgeries are more common these days but even an ultra-aggressive timeline would only have Walker being able to return sometime in March, around the SEC Tournament and NCAA tournament. It is much more likely, if the report is true, that Walker will miss the entire season following surgery.

This puts additional pressure on incoming freshman Devin Robinson to step into a big role, especially defensively, for the Gators this upcoming season. Additionally, the roles of Eli Carter (who missed last season coming back from injury), Dillon Graham and incoming freshman Brandone Francis will be increased this 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