Hoops Notebook: Rosario Looking For His Niche, Donovan and Miller Share History
Monday, December 5, 2011 | Men's Basketball
ROSARIO LOOKING FOR HIS NICHE
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- The next few games will be a pivotal stretch for Florida Gators junior guard Mike Rosario, who no doubt left Syracuse late Friday night with hurt feelings and a severely bruised ego.
Rosario, the McDonald's American who transferred to UF after high-scoring two seasons at Rutgers, was yanked from the game against the Orange after two ineffective first-half minutes off the bench and stayed there for the balance of UF's 82-78 loss to the No. 4 team in the country.
Gators coach Billy Donovan afterward said Rosario emotionally was not ready to play and “didn't seem himself,” hence the benching. After a weekend to review, reflect and reevaluate, Donovan said Monday he had spoken to Rosario and left no mystery as to what was expected of the junior from Jersey City, N.J.
“The bigger challenge for him is coming off the bench and that's somewhat new to him,” Donovan said. “I think he's fine with it for our team. He understands. But I think it's been something of a mental drain on him trying to figure out how he can carve his niche in [a role] he's never done before.”
Some background: Rosario averaged 18 points per game at St. Anthony's, which went 32-0 and was the nation's top-ranked high school team his senior season. He scored 18 points in the McDonald's All-Star Game. Rosario went to Rutger's and scored 1,000 points in two seasons.
Now he's at Florida surrounded by perimeter players every bit as prolific (some more so) at scoring than he. Rosario might be averaging double-figures (10.6 points) and shooting well from the outside (45.9 percent from 3-point), but going forward -- starting Wednesday when No. 12 Florida (5-2) faces Arizona (6-2) at the O'Connell Center on ESPN -- there needs to be a lot more.
In other words, the Gators need Rosario to worry less about being the man and more about guarding his man. That's just for starters.
“He needs to get more committed on defense. He needs to get more committed to doing little things. He's already a proven scorer, but what I've tried to explain to him is [that] we're not lacking for scoring, so even if he's not on the floor we're going to have guys who can make shots,” Donovan said. “When he does get in the game, his difficulty is he's got to get going right away. It's not like we have five or seven minutes to let him get warmed up and loose and go at his pace. He needs to go, he needs to be aggressive and on edge. He needs to be focused and defend at a [high] level. For him, he's always been a guy who's been out there and been able to play through things. That's not the case right now.”
That has to change. Quickly.
“As a team, we're all here for him -- and Mike is a tough kid. He's confident and tough,” senior point guard Erving Walker said. “He'll figure it out.”
MAKE WAY FOR MURPH
Donovan reiterated Monday that junior forward Erik Murphy will play against Arizona, assuming he has no setbacks during his first full-contact practices (Monday and Tuesday) since suffering a bruise on his right knee Thanksgiving Day. The 6-foot-10 Murphy, who was averaging 10 points on 53.8 percent shooting from the floor and 57 percent from the arc, missed the last three games.
“No question, having a player like Erik available, it does add a different dimension to our team,” Donovan said.
RAISING ARIZONA
Arizona opened the season ranked 16th in the nation, but fell out of the top 25 after losses to Mississippi State and San Diego State. The Wildcats, though, are a dangerous team that plays much like the Gators. Arizona likes to go small and beat you on the perimeter with quickness, athleticism and scoring.
The Wildcats are coached by Sean Miller, who went to Tucson in 2009 after a successful run as coach at Xavier. Miller, the 2011 Pac-10 Coach of the Year, was a star point guard at Pittsburgh, but during the recruiting process his senior year of high school made an unofficial visit to Providence and was hosted by Donovan.
“That was a long time ago -- and obviously I wasn't a very good host because he decided to go somewhere else,” joked Donovan, who has remained close to Miller over the years. “But he's done a wonderful job there. He's done that wherever he's been. He's s recruited very well [for the Wildcats] and they will be good there for along time.”
