Young Battling Sprained Ankle, Will Come Off Bench Against South Carolina
Saturday, January 14, 2012 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Florida center Patric Young is battling a sprained right ankle and won't start Saturday night when the 19th-ranked Gators (13-4, 1-1) take on South Carolina (8-0, 0-2) at Colonial Bank Arena.
The 6-foot-9, 247-pound Young was in some pain during the team's afternoon walk-through, but Coach Billy Donovan expects the sophomore big man who is averaging 11.8 points, 7.1 rebounds and shooting 62.1 percent from the floor to see action against the Gamecocks.
With Young out, 6-10 junior forward Erik Murphy will drop to the center post and 6-7 Will Yeguete, the squad's No. 2 rebounder at 6.3 per game, will start at the forward spot. Yeguete will need to be his normally active self, as South Carolina ranks No. 1 in the SEC in rebounds surrendered.
Florida is seeking its first road victory of the season, having dropped non-conference games at Ohio State, Syracuse and Rutgers before opening the league season with a 67-56 loss at Tennessee that was by far UF's worst performance of the season.
