Mike Rosario available for Auburn on "need basis," Billy D says
Tuesday, February 21, 2012 | Men's Basketball, Cross Country, Chris Harry
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Junior guard Mike Rosario took part in Tuesday's afternoon shoot-around, his third straight day of practice since returning from a hip-pointer, and Florida's top scoring reserve could play tonight when the 12th-ranked Gators (21-6, 9-3) face Auburn (14-12, 4-8) at the O'Connell Center.
UF coach Billy Donovan said after Tuesday's workout that Rosario will be used “on a need basis," against the Tigers. That would constitute foul trouble in the backcourt, but also the availability of reserve guard Scottie Wilbekin, who tweaked his knee during practice Monday but -- like Rosario -- was moving well during the shoot-around.
Rosario, averaging 7.9 points on 43.4-percent shooting in 21 games this season, suffered a hip bruise when he collided with center Cody Larson in practice Feb. 9. He spent the next 10 days receiving treatment -- attempting to practice Friday, but unable to continue and thus scratched from the team's road trip to Arkansas -- before rejoining his teammates full-go Sunday.
At his weekly news conference Monday, Donovan said Rosario was still somewhat favoring the hip and showed some discomfort playing through the pain. Rosario, the transfer from Rutgers, missed two games with a sore lower back in December and another game with an ankle sprain in early January.
“I do think he has a lack of confidence in the injury in terms of working through it, because he just does not feel comfortable,” Donovan said. “He gets worried a lot of times mentally that he's going to re-injure himself or hurt himself or he doesn't feel right, and it causes him to be very, very tentative and almost shy away from doing certain things on the court.
“It's hard, as a coach, just to tell him not to worry about it. I've had different guys deal with injuries different ways. It's been more of trying to get him to do stuff that maybe he's not confident in doing, and trying to get him to understand that, 'OK, you're not going to re-injure this or set yourself back.' But I think when he's feeling pain and discomfort in his mind, right now, he worries about that.”
