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College Basketball Preseason Top 25: #11 Florida
- Updated: September 24, 2013
Patric Young will try and lead the Gators past the Elite Eight. (Courtesy of University of Florida Athletics)
11. Florida Gators
The Gators lost 2,000-point scorer Kenny Boynton (12 ppg), NBA Draft pick Erik Murphy (12.2 ppg, 5.2 rpg), and microwave-scoring guard Mike Rosario (12.5 ppg) off of last year’s team, yet somehow will be in the Final Four hunt yet again. That’s because a veritable fleet of talent is making its way towards the Florida campus this season to join Patric Young (10.1 ppg, 6.3 rpg), already one of the nation’s top big men. Three transfers will help the Gators immediately. Rutgers transfer Eli Carter should more than make up for the loss of former Rutgers transfer Mike Rosario. He’s a quick, bounding guard with a knack for scoring the ball. South Carolina transfer Damontre Harris (6-10, 228 lbs.) was an All-Defense pick two years ago, and will help on the interior. And Virginia Tech transfer Dorian Finney-Smith (6-8, 212 lbs.) was an ACC All-Freshman selection in 2011-12.
But it’s the incoming freshman who should have the biggest impact on this team. McDonald’s All-American Chris Walker (6-10, 225 lbs.) is rated as one of the nation’s top incoming big men, and fellow burger boy Kasey Hill (6-1, 181 lbs). has the potential to help Florida fans forget about Boynton in the backcourt. The Gators also have plenty of returning talent, including defensive dynamos Will Yeguete and Scottie Wilbekin, though Wilbekin was suspended indefinitely this summer for a violation of team rules.
BOTTOM LINE: There’s a lot of talent on this roster, but also a lot of moving parts. If head coach Billy Donovan can get everyone on the same page, this team has the potential to break the string of back-to-back-to-back Elite Eight appearances and finally return to the Final Four. The tough part is going to be getting everyone to gel. Florida could struggle early, but once roles are defined and a go-t0-guy steps up on offense (Carter? Finney-Smith?), this team will have more than enough weapons to challenge Kentucky in the SEC race.
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