For the first time in his college career last Thursday, redshirt junior Mike Rosario was forced to take in his team’s opening exhibition tip-off from the sidelines.
After starting nearly every game in his two years at Rutgers, Rosario is trying on a new mantle to begin this season. He’s one of the Gators’ first guards off the bench in a crowded, six-man rotation.
“Everyone has a role and when you’re playing on a talented team like this, you got to be willing to do whatever your team needs you to do,” he said. “You have to be willing to accept that and embrace it and I feel like my role is what you seen [against Catholic].”
Though Rosario’s 24 minutes on the court were down from the 33.1 he averaged with the Scarlet Knights, his production stayed high against the Cardinals with 18 points coming on 4-of-7 shooting from behind the arc.
During the last two seasons, UF starting guards Erving Walker, a senior, and junior Kenny Boynton haven’t had a deep threat to add depth and keep defenses honest like Rosario or freshman Bradley Beal, who also went 4 of 7 from three.
The results showed in a pair of mediocre 3-point shooting years during which Florida shot 35.2 percent in 2010-2011 and 31.3 percent the year before. Last season alone, Walker and Boynton were responsible for 70 percent of the Gators’ 3-point attempts.
“I don’t think there’s any question,” coach Billy Donovan said. “They’re going to relieve some pressure off those guys in a positive way. Those two guys are warriors; they play a lot of minutes. There’s been a lot on their shoulders.”
The demands have also been lessened for Rosario, who was once responsible for a large volume of his team’s 3-point shooting in Piscataway, N.J.
In two years, he shot 491 threes — more than either Boynton or Walker — making 31.4 percent of them.
“Basically, in every spot we have a good backup and a good second stringer,” Rosario said. “The team that we have coming in for the starters is basically the same thing. … That’s what’s really going to help our team, coming in for those guys for a little bit and distributing and making plays.”
Heading into Friday night’s season opener against Jackson State at 7, the Gators’ backcourt will get even deeper with the return of sophomore point guard Scottie Wilbekin from an injury to his index finger.
While Wilbekin’s offensive impact wasn’t missed in No. 8 Florida’s 114-57 win against Catholic — he shot just 28.3 percent from three last season — Walker said the team could have used his toughness.
“He’s one of those guards that’s going to get in there and bang,” Walker said. “He’s going to play great defense and just run the team. He does a good job at that.”
With another player to add to the fold, Donovan said his starting lineup of Boynton, Walker, Beal and big men Patric Young and Erik Murphy will likely stay the same against the Tigers.
“Because of our depth in the backcourt, we’re going to rotate those guys,” Donovan said. “So the starting part of it, I don’t think is necessarily that important to me. It may be important to them, but right now I feel comfortable with what we’ve done so far.”
Contact John Boothe at jboothe@alligator.org.
