Michael Frazier turning pro
Thursday, March 26, 2015 | Men's Basketball, Football, Chris Harry
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- The offseason basketball news cycle tipped off Thursday with word that guard Michael Frazier II would bypass his senior season at Florida and put his name in the NBA draft pool.
The 6-foot-4, 190-pound Frazier was hampered by a high-ankle sprain that spiraled his playing time and productivity the last third of the season. He averaged 12.1 points and 4.1 rebounds, while shooting a career-low 38 percent from 3-point range during his junior year, but missed eight games spanning February and early March before returning to make just two of 16 shots the team's last three games.
The final shots of his UF career, as it turned out.
Frazier will leave UF with 998 points, two shy of becoming the 51st player in the program's 1,000-point club. His career 3-point percentage of .432 ranks seventh in team history and his .854 free-throw shooting third all time.
The ankle injury that sidelined Frazier occurred in the first half of a 68-61 home loss against Kentucky on Feb. 7. Frazier tried to return to the game, but could not put weight or cut on the ankle.
Without a healthy Frazier to space defenses with his shooting, the Gators went 3-7 and struggled to score the rest of the year.
Where (and if) Frazier figures into the NBA draft conversations likely will depended on his combine and individual workouts. He's never excelled at ball-handling or driving the ball and as such there are some draft sites -- such as DraftExpress.com and NBADraftNet.com -- where he does not appear in the Top 100 prospects and another, CBSSports.com, where he's ranked as the No. 70 overall prospect in what will be a 60-player draft.
His status, though, could certainly change now that he's officially thrown his name in the pool, as teams delve more deeply into his skills set. There are plenty of NBA teams (along with D-League and overseas teams) in need of a great shooter.
