UF coach Billy Donovan said he has no good memories at Allen Fieldhouse — the infamous home court of No. 11 Kansas.
The last time Donovan visited Kansas was during his first coaching job, as an assistant at Kentucky in 1989.
On Dec. 9, 1989, then No. 2 Kansas defeated Kentucky by 55 points — a statistic Donovan remembered off the top of his head as he recounted the memory.
Now, Donovan leads the Gators to Allen Fieldhouse for the first time in his tenure at Florida as the unranked Gators (3-3) take on the Jayhawks (5-1) tonight at 9.
"It’s great. I think when you go and play on the road against high-level teams, you’re always going to play in a great environment," Donovan said. "And certainly they have a great environment."
Since Donovan began coaching the Gators, UF has lost just one of three meetings.
Though sophomore point guard Kasey Hill has never competed at Allen Fieldhouse, he said he’s "heard it’s crazy." Hill learned this from one of his good friends and former Jayhawk, Joel Embiid. The current Philadelphia 76ers’ center warned Hill of Kansas’ homecourt when the two talked on FaceTime on Tuesday night.
"Just talking about our season and their season, pretty much," Hill said. "I mean, we both are losing right now, but it was just out of jokes, honestly. But yeah, just talking about how’s he doing, how’s his foot doing, seeing when he’s gonna play again, stuff like that."
Though Eli Carter and Dorian Finney-Smith returned to the court in the first game of the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament against Georgetown, that might not be the case tonight for Carter.
Donovan said on Wednesday that Carter has not practiced since returning from the Bahamas and will not play against Kansas.
In Florida’s 66-65 overtime loss against Georgetown, Carter shot 2 of 14 from the field and 1 of 6 three-point shots — contributing just six points in 33 minutes played.
"I’ve met with Eli, I’ve talked to him and he does not feel right now with his foot that he can get through a practice and if you can’t get through a practice, it’s awful hard to play," Donovan said.
But Finney-Smith seems to have transitioned back into a more permanent role on Florida’s starting lineup.
He played a total of 84 minutes in all three of Florida’s games in the Bahamas and is a projected starter for tonight’s game.
But he may not fully be healed from the hairline fracture in his non-shooting left hand.
Donovan said Finney-Smith missed practice on Monday because of swelling and soreness forcing him to sit out practice again on Tuesday.
However, Donovan expected Finney-Smith to participate in practice on Wednesday.
"He’s got no leg issues, he’s got no wind issues, he’s got nothing it’s just his hand but sometimes that constant pounding, it’s something that he’s gotta deal with," Donovan said. "And listen he’s been a highly competitive kid and wanting to be out there playing and part of my heart goes out for him because he’s not healthy, he is playing with two broken bones in his hand and it’s been challenging."
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Billy Donovan looks down the court during Florida's win against Missouri during the 2014 SEC Tournament in Atlanta.
