Tuesday, December 5
Gainesville, FL
7 PM
Florida Gators
vs
Merrimack College
Handlogten Cleared to Play vs Merrimack
Tuesday, December 5, 2023 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida sophomore center Micah Handlogten was a full participant during the afternoon's shoot-around and is cleared to play when the Gators (4-3) take on Merrimack (4-5) Tuesday night at Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center.
[Read senior writer Chris Harry's "Pregame Stuff" setup here]
Handlogten, the 7-foot-1 transfer from Marshall, started the first five games of the season, but rolled his ankle in the opening minute of UF's win over Pittsburgh in the NIT Season Tip-Off at Brooklyn, N.Y., on Nov. 22. Discomfort kept him off the practice floor for nearly two weeks, but Handlogten began moving better Monday and had no complaints about pain when jumping earlier in the day and got the go-ahead from trainer Dave Werner.
His first game back in 13 days will be as a reserve, with grad-transfer forward Tyrese Samuel and freshman forward Tommy Haugh likely making their second consecutive start together on the front line.
Heading into the Pitt game, Handlogten was averaging 10.7 points on 71-percent shooting and a team-high 9.0 rebounds per game. The Gators defeated the Panthers that night, 86-71, but definitely missed his length and rim protection in losing the last two games; the NIT title game against No. 13th Baylor and last week's defeat at Wake Forests in the ACC/SEC Challenge.
In other news, grad-transfer point Zyon Pullin will come off the bench after starting the last four games, but not because of anything he did wrong. Pullin, who is averaging 13.5 points and shows a stellar 24-to-2 assist-to-turnover ratio, was held from practice late last week and Monday due to a sore shoulder from when he took a nasty spill at Wake. He was limited to non-contact drills Monday, but was back on the floor full-go earlier Tuesday. Look for junior wing Will Richard to move back into the first unit, with Pullin an early check on off the bench.
[Read senior writer Chris Harry's "Pregame Stuff" setup here]
Handlogten, the 7-foot-1 transfer from Marshall, started the first five games of the season, but rolled his ankle in the opening minute of UF's win over Pittsburgh in the NIT Season Tip-Off at Brooklyn, N.Y., on Nov. 22. Discomfort kept him off the practice floor for nearly two weeks, but Handlogten began moving better Monday and had no complaints about pain when jumping earlier in the day and got the go-ahead from trainer Dave Werner.
His first game back in 13 days will be as a reserve, with grad-transfer forward Tyrese Samuel and freshman forward Tommy Haugh likely making their second consecutive start together on the front line.
Heading into the Pitt game, Handlogten was averaging 10.7 points on 71-percent shooting and a team-high 9.0 rebounds per game. The Gators defeated the Panthers that night, 86-71, but definitely missed his length and rim protection in losing the last two games; the NIT title game against No. 13th Baylor and last week's defeat at Wake Forests in the ACC/SEC Challenge.
In other news, grad-transfer point Zyon Pullin will come off the bench after starting the last four games, but not because of anything he did wrong. Pullin, who is averaging 13.5 points and shows a stellar 24-to-2 assist-to-turnover ratio, was held from practice late last week and Monday due to a sore shoulder from when he took a nasty spill at Wake. He was limited to non-contact drills Monday, but was back on the floor full-go earlier Tuesday. Look for junior wing Will Richard to move back into the first unit, with Pullin an early check on off the bench.
Players Mentioned
C
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballRueben Chinyelu Media Availability 9-30-25
Tuesday, September 30
Micah Handlogten Media Availability 9-30-25
Tuesday, September 30
Tommy Haugh Media Availability 9-22-25
Monday, September 22
Alex Condon Media Availability 9-22-25
Monday, September 22
