Franz Beard’s Basketball Confidential

Now that Marreese Speights has moved on to the NBA, the Florida Gators have to figure out what they’re going to do to replace the big guy in the low post. The Gators have three large freshmen and at least one of them is going to have to establish himself in the low blocks.

The leading candidate is probably going to be Kenny Kadji, who has the size (6-10, 246) and the good hands to play early. Against AAU competition, Kadji played up against good competition and down against mediocre to bad competition. He had a game in Ohio last summer in which he absolutely destroyed Ohio State’s prize recruit B.J. Mullens on both ends of the floor. Getting consistency out of the Cameroon native will be the real trick. He’s still a work in progress so he will be a roller coaster.

Allan Chaney, who checks in just a shade under 6-9 and 228 pounds, came on strong in the final third of his high school season in Connecticut. He had a 55-point game in the Connecticut playoffs that was an eye-opener. Chaney has serious offensive skills. The question will be on the defensive end.

Click here to read the rest on our exclusive, members only Full Court Press forum!

Not a member? Join Gator Country today and get the REAL inside scoop…

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.