Jon Horford on opting out of UF Senior Night
Wednesday, March 4, 2015 | Men's Basketball, Men's Tennis, Chris Harry
Jon Horford dunks in Florida's victory over Tennessee at the O'Connell Center. (Photo: Tim Casey)
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Jake Kurtz and Lexx Edwards are the two players who will be honored on Tuesday's “Senior Night” pre-game ceremony as Florida hosts Texas A&M in the home finale at the O'Connell Center.
But they're not the only seniors on this 2014-15 UF team.
Center Jon Horford, who graduated from Michigan last year and transferred to Florida under the NCAA's instant-eligibility guidelines, declined to take part in the proceedings. In talking about the decision, Horford cited a simple reason.
“I just don't like stuff like that,” he said. “When I was at Michigan, I told them if I would have come back I wouldn't have done it there, either. I'm just not comfortable with stuff like that.”
His night, his call.
The 6-foot-10, 245-pound Horford has started all but three of the 27 games he's played in for the Gators, averaging 6.4 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. Some of Horford's best minutes of his brief UF career have come the last three games, when he's upped his averages to 8.6 points and 7.0 rebounds, while playing some very solid defense in the post. The Gators will need that Tuesday against an Aggies bunch that is very physical down low.
The Gators will need that Tuesday against an Aggies bunch that is very physical down low.
Coach Billy Donovan praised Horford's commitment to preparation.
“I'm happy he's had an opportunity to play and feel like he's gotten better and improved. There was a lot for him to learn in terms of going from one system to another,” Donovan said. “I always admired his work ethic. He's a guy that eats right every single meal. He's going to get his rest. He's going to go to bed early. He's going to take care of himself. He's going to be the first guy to show up every day. He's going to be the last guy to leave. He's going to put time, energy and effort in there. He's got a phenomenal work ethic, as good as any work ethic I've ever been around.”
Though Horford was late to the party with this team, transferring in for Summer-B session last June, he put in the time and effort to try and become a good teammate and elder leader.
And he'll be there to give a hand to Kurtz and Edwards, a pair of walk-ons, as they are saluted by the home crowd.
“I hope they are celebrated and that people appreciate everything they've given to the program,” Horford said. “It's easy to overlook players sometimes who don't have all the accolades, but to have good teams you need to have good scout teams and good walk-on players.”
