Gators freshman to take medical redshirt, Florida basketball roster in flux

By Adam Silverstein
October 21, 2016
Gators freshman to take medical redshirt, Florida basketball roster in flux
Basketball

Image Credit: ESPN Images

Florida Gators freshman forward Dontay Bassett will redshirt the 2016-17 season after being diagnosed with a stress fracture in his foot, the school announced on Friday.

Bassett will undergo surgery to repair the injury to his right foot, which will keep him out 4-6 months. Even if he did try to return, he would not be healthy until late in the season.

Considering Florida’s depth and experience in the frontcourt, Bassett playing upon that return would have been unlikely. Therefore, the redshirt will save him a full season of eligibility and allow him to spend the time needed to get completely healthy before playing basketball again.

A three-star prospect and the 283rd ranked player in the nation per the 247Sports Composite, Bassett is one of three incoming players to Florida basketball and one of two unable to play this season.

While four-star guard Eric Hester (Oldsmar, FL) is expected to see immediate playing time, three-star center Gorjok Gak (Bradenton, FL) was ruled ineligible to play by the NCAA due to playing too many games prior to his enrollment in college.

After moving from Australia to the Untied States, he was supposed to play basketball for a year at Victory Rock Prep but instead played five months through graduation. As such, he will not be eligible to play for the Gators until 2017-18.

Florida’s 14-man basketball roster is now down to 11 eligible players who can see action in 2016-17 as Virginia Tech transfer guard Jalen Hudson must sit out this season due to NCAA rules.

The Gators will enter the season with 4-6 players expected to play their final season of college basketball in Gainesville, Florida. Graduate transfer G Canyon Barry will graduate along with seniors point guard Kasey Hill, F Justin Leon and center Schuyler Rimmer. Redshirt junior C John Egbunu and junior F Devin Robinson could be looking towards the professional ranks following the season.

Florida recently lost the top member of its three-man Class of 2017 as four-star G Shai Alexander (Chattanooga, TN), the No. 43 player in the nation, decided to reopen his recruitment. The Gators now have only four-star F DeAundrae Ballard (Atlanta, GA) and three-star F Chase Johnson (Huntington, WV) joining the program for the 2017-18 season.

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