Beal back, but Gators numbers continue to dwindle at practice
Wednesday, March 7, 2012 | General, Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- The Florida basketball team is losing bodies by the day, it seems, but one very important one found his way back to the court Wednesday.
Welcome back, Bradley Beal.
Beal, the freshman guard out the last two days after spraining an ankle in Sunday's regular-season finale against Kentucky, was cleared to practice. His place on the court was a welcomed sight as the Gators (22-9) prepped for Friday's quarterfinal match in the Southeastern Conference Tournament against an opponent to be determined Thursday.
“He's fine,” UF trainer David “Duke” Werner said as Beal went through drills with his teammates. “We put him through enough stuff to know he's OK.”
No sooner was Beal back, though, did reserve center Walter Pitchford leave practice after coming down on a teammate's foot and spraining an ankle. He did not return.
Pitchford joined forward Casey Prather (muscle strain) and forward Will Yeguete (season-ending broken foot) on the sidelines. That meant lots of work for UF's healthy players, plus extra for a couple walk-ons.
“Our rotations changes every day out here,” Coach Billy Donovan said.
Prather, who is averaging less than six minutes per game in SEC play, pulled a muscle near his rib cage while lifting weights Monday and has not practiced all week. His availability for the tournament this weekend is in doubt.
Beal's, however, is not.
The 6-foot-3 Beal, named Tuesday to the league's first-team all-conference squad, left the UK game after injuring the ankle, but returned to finish.
The Gators held Beal, their second-leading scorer (14.4 points per game) and leading rebounder (6.5 per game, tied for tops on the team), out of practice Monday and Tuesday, but worked him hard on the conditioning front.
Expect Beal, who has started every game this season, back in the lineup Friday when Florida faces the winner of Thursday's first-round SEC game between fifth-seeded Alabama (20-10) and 12th-seeded South Carolina (10-20).
