Carter returns to practice
Thursday, December 11, 2014 | Men's Basketball, Football, Chris Harry
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Eli Carter was back on the practice floor Wednesday night and is expected to play Friday when Florida (4-4) takes on Texas Southern (1-6) at the O'Connell Center.
Carter, the junior combo guard, missed the team's loss at Kansas last Friday and Monday's home win over Yale due to soreness in a sprained left foot he suffered back on Nov. 20. He played in two games after the injury -- losses to Georgetown and North Carolina at the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas over Thanksgiving week -- but came out of that tournament hobbled after playing 36 minutes against the Hoyas, taking the next game off against Alabama-Birmingham, and going just 12 minutes against the Tar Heels. Along the way, he shot a combined 2-for-18 from the floor.
Though he's still in some pain, taking nearly two weeks off from all contact activities has him on the right track.
"It's getting there," Carter said after practice. "When I run and curl, and on certain cuts, that's where most of the pain comes from. We're working through it, though."
Carter, who transfered from Rutgers in the summer of 2013, is averaging 9.0 points on 35-percent shooting, but was only healthy for the first two games of the season. In the second, a last-second home loss against Miami, he went 8-for-9 from the floor and finished with 29 points before fouling out.
Coach Billy Donovan has left it up to Carter and team trainer David "Duke" Werner to manage the rehab.
“I know he's having some discomfort and he doesn't feel comfortable moving laterally," Donovan said earlier this week. "I think Eli would like to play, obviously. I'm sure he might be a little frustrated with it, as well. ... But I deal with the trainer before every practice and just kind of go with the guys who are available.”
After breaking his right leg his final season at Rutgers, then dealing with a lengthy setback last year that got him a medical redshirt season, Carter just as soon be safe than sorry.
With that said, though, he was out there Wednesday running drills, scrimmaging and paying for his mistakes during practice with "burpies" on the sidelines while his teammates ran sprints.
"Injuries come with the game. At any given moment, you can get hurt. You want to be back out there, but sometimes that takes time," he said. "But I'll try and do whatever I can to help the team."
