When asked, Florida coach Billy Donovan has been candid about senior guard Mike Rosario's struggles last season.
Referencing Rosario
sitting out 10 practices with a hip pointer a year ago, Donovan said, “A
hip pointer? My daughter could play through that.”
Fast-forward
a year later, and the 6-foot-3 Rutgers transfer is becoming one of UF's
most consistent players. Rosario scored a team-high 20 points, his
fourth straight game in double figures, lifting the Gators (8-1) to an
82-43 win over Southeastern Louisiana (1-8) at the O'Connell Center.
“Coach
Billy is keeping the heat on me every day,” Rosario said. “I'm a
fifth-year player. I'm experienced. I've been through the Big East and
I've been through a lot of challenges in my life. I just feel like Coach
Billy challenges me every day. I look forward to it because this is my
last go-around and I feel like my teammates need me to bring that
consistency every day.”
Over UF's last four games, Rosario is averaging 15.3 points and 2.7 assists.
“It's
been more as coach, just not bending, setting a certain standard that
we're going to have here, and not bending on that,” Donovan said. “I
think he has really conformed and worked, and I think it's showed in his
play. He's much, much more disciplined. He's much more responsible.
He's much more accountable. I feel like I know what I'm getting from him
from day-to-day.”
Rosario
eclipsed his previous UF high of 19 points he set in his Gator debut
last season against Jackson State. But the rest of his junior season
didn't go as well. A former McDonald's All-American who averaged more
than 16 points at Rutgers, Rosario struggled accepting a bench role
behind Florida guards Bradley Beal, Erving Walker and Kenny Boynton.
With Beal and Walker gone, Rosario worked hard during the offseason to earn a starting job.
“The
most difficult thing to deal with as a coach is when you have a
talented player that you don't know who is showing up, who you are going
to get from day-to-day, and that's who he was a year ago,” Donovan
said. “And to his credit, I think he's put it together.”
Rosario
scored 17 of his 20 points in the first half, helping Florida build a
43-26 halftime lead. He scored 10 straight UF points during a 10-2 run
that extended UF's lead to 35-19. The 10 points came on a pair of
3-pointers, a driving layup and a jumper just inside the 3-point line.
“Shoot
till you're cold, shoot till you're hot,” Rosario said. “That's one
thing I've been told growing up. There's no other thing you can do. If
you have open shots, take them.”
Florida
pulled away with defense, holding Southeastern Louisiana to just two
points through the first 10-plus minutes in the second half. It was the
sixth time in nine games Florida held an opponent under 50 points this
season.
Donovan said the
Gators came out more disciplined defensively in the second half after
players left their feet early on plays in the first half.
“We
talked about that at halftime, just being disciplined,” Donovan said.
“The shot clock is going to go down all the way to 10 seconds, we've got
to be disciplined and we've got to hold them to one shot. I thought our
discipline in the second half was really, really good.”
Patric
Young added 10 points and five rebounds for the Gators, and freshman
Michael Frazier added 12 points. Florida got 31 points from its bench,
including nine points from Scottie Wilbekin and eight from Casey
Prather.
Kenny Boynton
remained mired in his shooting slump, going 1-for-7 from the floor, all
on 3-point attempts. Boynton did have five assists and finished with
seven points, becoming just the fifth player in UF history to eclipse
1,700 career points.
Boynton is just 3 for his last 27 (11.1 percent) from 3-point range.
“This
is going to sound terrible to say, because I don't know how to put it
in the right context, (but) this is great for him,” Donovan said. “Not
that I want him going through a difficult time, but he's got to fight
through this. And I think anytime anything comes easy to you and you
don't have to work for it and struggle and battle and grind, I think you
lose a sense of how hard it is to make shots and be a good player.”
