Horford back at practice Monday, focused on his team
Tuesday, January 13, 2015 | Men's Basketball, Soccer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Senior center Jon Horford returned to practice Monday but didn't have a whole lot to say about it.
“It's good to be back, but this isn't about me,” Horford said. “I'm focused on the team, and I'll do anything I have to do now to help the team. That's really all I'm concerned about now.”
Horford, the 6-foot-10, 250-pounder who started the season's first 12 games, was suspended last week -- along with walk-on guard Zach Hodskins -- by Coach Billy Donovan, who cited "conduct detrimental to the team." Both players were left home for UF's trip to South Carolina, where the Gators defeated the Gamecocks Wednesday night. Though Horford was reinstated the next day, he was given the weekend to process the situation, missing Saturday's rout of Mississippi State, so Monday marked his return to the court.
He, along with Hodskins, who also rejoined the team Monday, slapped and shook hands with teammates after taking the floor after a pre-practice meeting.
“When you're dealing with a fifth-year senior, a guy who really cares like he cares, you can get very, very self-consumed and self-absorbed about how you're being impacted and affected and everything,” said Donovan, whose Gators (9-6, 2-0) face Auburn (9-6, 1-1) Thursday night at the O'Connell Center. “I think for him taking some time to digest, to evaluate and figure out how he can help was probably the reason why [he did not play against MSU].”
Horford is averaging 8.3 points and making 51 percent from the floor to go with 5.7 rebounds and a team-high 90.5 percent from the free-throw line. But Horford's last two games, losses at Florida States and home against Connecticut, he totaled only six points and five rebounds, while turning it over three times in a combined 23 minutes. He did not start in the UConn game and the suspension followed.
But Horford, a valued presence in the low post, is expected to be a factor in UF's rotation by Thursday.
“We've got a little bit more time on the front end this week to kind of get him back in practice and get him doing things,” Donovan said. “Jon's a very, very diligent worker, so even the week that he's been out I know he's been in the gym shooting and working and doing things.”
In a program that prides itself on closeness, it's just as pivotal that Horford does his part in assimilating back into the locker room culture.
His teammates will help.
“Whatever issues he had, I know he's working on fixing those and getting through them,” junior forward Alex Murphy said. “Part of being a team is forgiving people. I think we've all move on. I know I have.”
