Saturday, December 17
Sunrise, FL
4 PM
Florida Gators
vs
Charlotte
Junior center John Egbunu injured his hamstring during practice this week.
Egbunu Ruled Out of Charlotte Game
Saturday, December 17, 2016 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
UF center John Egbunu will miss Saturday's game in the Orange Bowl Classic with a hamstring injury.
SUNRISE, Fla. — John Egbunu has a hamstring injury that will sideline Florida's junior center Saturday when the Gators (7-3) face UNC-Charlotte (6-3) in the Orange Bowl Classic in Sunrise, Fla.
The 6-foot-11, 250-pound Egbunu felt something in his hamstring pop while running during practice Tuesday and has been receiving treatment since. Though he accompanied UF on its trip to South Florida to face the 49ers, he was officially ruled out of the game at the team's shoot-around Saturday morning at BB&T Center. With Egbunu unable to go, his first-unit spot in the post will be taken by 6-9 sophomore Kevarrius Hayes, with 6-11 freshman Gorjok Gak and 6-10 walk-on senior Schyuler Rimmer at the ready for reserve minutes.
Egbunu is averaging 9.0 points and 7.7 rebounds per game, but has struggled with his shot in the low post. Last season, he averaged 11.7 points and shot 59.1 percent from the floor, including a team-best 75 dunks. This season, however, Egbunu's field-goal percentage is down nearly 17 percentage points (to 42.9 percent), though his free-throw percentage is up nearly 5 percent (from 53.2 to 58.0).
With Egbunu in the lineup, the Gators figured to have huge advantage in size against UNCC, which does not start a player over 6-7. That advantage will exist still with Hayes, a tremendous athlete and high-motor player, and his backups, but Egbunu's build and athleticism would have been a problem for the 49ers and a sorely needed confidence boost for UF's post man.
For Hayes, it'll mark his first start since the NIT last March when he took over for Egbunu following season-ending surgery to repair torn ligaments in his thumb. Hayes started at both Ohio State and George Washington and was terrific, averaging 14.0 points on 11-for-12 shooting from the floor, 4.5 rebounds and went 6-for-6 from the free-throw line.
Gak (1.0 ppg, 1.2 rpg) is a freshman whose minutes have been relegated to mostly late-half and mop-up situations. Rimmer (.08 ppg, .05 rpg) has played just nine minutes this season, but is not without experience having averaged 6.5 minutes as a backup in 25 games last season.
The 6-foot-11, 250-pound Egbunu felt something in his hamstring pop while running during practice Tuesday and has been receiving treatment since. Though he accompanied UF on its trip to South Florida to face the 49ers, he was officially ruled out of the game at the team's shoot-around Saturday morning at BB&T Center. With Egbunu unable to go, his first-unit spot in the post will be taken by 6-9 sophomore Kevarrius Hayes, with 6-11 freshman Gorjok Gak and 6-10 walk-on senior Schyuler Rimmer at the ready for reserve minutes.
Egbunu is averaging 9.0 points and 7.7 rebounds per game, but has struggled with his shot in the low post. Last season, he averaged 11.7 points and shot 59.1 percent from the floor, including a team-best 75 dunks. This season, however, Egbunu's field-goal percentage is down nearly 17 percentage points (to 42.9 percent), though his free-throw percentage is up nearly 5 percent (from 53.2 to 58.0).
With Egbunu in the lineup, the Gators figured to have huge advantage in size against UNCC, which does not start a player over 6-7. That advantage will exist still with Hayes, a tremendous athlete and high-motor player, and his backups, but Egbunu's build and athleticism would have been a problem for the 49ers and a sorely needed confidence boost for UF's post man.
For Hayes, it'll mark his first start since the NIT last March when he took over for Egbunu following season-ending surgery to repair torn ligaments in his thumb. Hayes started at both Ohio State and George Washington and was terrific, averaging 14.0 points on 11-for-12 shooting from the floor, 4.5 rebounds and went 6-for-6 from the free-throw line.
Gak (1.0 ppg, 1.2 rpg) is a freshman whose minutes have been relegated to mostly late-half and mop-up situations. Rimmer (.08 ppg, .05 rpg) has played just nine minutes this season, but is not without experience having averaged 6.5 minutes as a backup in 25 games last season.
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