Say 'Hey' to Gators' New Walk-Ons

Managers Andrew Fava (left) and Mak Krause (right) were cleared this week to join the UF basketball team as walk-ons.

Say 'Hey' to Gators' New Walk-Ons

Friday, November 10, 2017 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry

Mak Krause and Andrew Fava were added to the 2017-18 roster this week.

By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — It was a Thursday basketball practice, but not the usual Thursday practice for a couple University of Florida managers.

Make that, former UF managers.

"When one of the guys hit the floor, my first reaction was to to run and wipe up the wet spot," Andrew Fava said. "I kind of had to catch myself and remember to be more dialed into the drills we were running."

That's because about an hour earlier, Fava and one of his colleagues, Mak Krause, officially joined the Gators as players. The formal paperwork and compliance "i's" and "t's" had been dotted, thus allowing Fava and Krause walk-on status.

Gators coach Mike White informed the team in a meeting before practice.

"It was just cool to see the guys' reactions when Coach told them," Krause said. "They were really excited for us."

That excitement likely was just as much rooted in appreciation, given how much the duo has invested in the program while working in their former roles.

"Just really proud and really happy for these guys," White said. "All our managers work really hard, so it's nice to see a couple of them get an opportunity like this."

Both Krause, from Atlanta, and Fava, out of Towson, Md., played basketball in high school. Both had chances to chase lower-level college opportunites, but chose to come to UF and, eventually, joined the team as managers. Krause is in his fourth season with the Gators, Fava his second.

And both have been fixtures on the court for the "noon ball" games between the support staff and coaches. It was just two weeks ago that Krause drove and kicked a pass in the corner to Fava, who drilled a 3-pointer at the horn that handed White and his (always stacked) team a rare defeat.

Maybe one day this season, they'll get to do it for real in the O'Dome.

Florida, ranked eighth, opens Monday night at home against Gardner-Webb. Krause and Fava will be on the bench, instead of behind it.

"This is incredible," Fava said. "I jumped on the Gator bandwagon when they won those championships in '06 and '07. I was a 9-year kid in the third grade and from then on had Gator stuff plastered all over my room. So, as you can imagine, it's a dream come true."