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Florida's Billy Donovan sticking with Kasey Hill

 
Florida point guard Kasey Hill has had stretches of exceptional play mixed with turnover-plagued performances, but through it all he has drawn praise for his hard work and coachability.
Florida point guard Kasey Hill has had stretches of exceptional play mixed with turnover-plagued performances, but through it all he has drawn praise for his hard work and coachability.
Published Jan. 27, 2015

GAINESVILLE — Despite the up-and-down play of PG Kasey Hill, Florida coach Billy Donovan said Monday he has no plans to make wholesale changes at the position.

Yes, Donovan would like more consistent play from the sophomore, but he would like that from his entire squad. Lack of discipline, an inability to focus on the game plan for 40 minutes and battling back from adversity continue to be weaknesses for all the Gators, Donovan said.

Hill is averaging 7.7 points and 4.5 assists (fourth in the SEC). He has started 18 of 19 games, but has been inconsistent from game to game.

He had 25 assists vs. four turnovers (6.25 ratio) over one three-game stretch (Kansas, Yale, Texas Southern). And he had a 10-assist, zero-turnover game vs. Yale, with 4-for-4 shooting. But he has also had games like the one vs. South Carolina, when he had six turnovers and one assist.

Donovan said it's in the Gators' best interest to stick with him.

"The one thing I would say about Kasey is, and I admire about him, he's really, really coachable, he's really working hard, he's trying," Donovan said. "I think in some other situations where I made some adjustments or changes at the positions in terms of moving guys out of the starting lineup, a lot of times that was more of a mentality — a guy's mentality, his approach. Kasey's approach has been really, really consistent.

"One of the challenges inside of our team has been, I think in order to be a really, really good team, you have to have two anchors," Donovan continued. "You've got to have an anchor out top at the point guard position, and you have to have an anchor at the rim. I would say of late, those two spots have been challenging for us and have been inconsistent for us on both ends of the floor. I think if (freshman) Chris Chiozza had made a huge jump or was just head and shoulders above Kasey or was giving us more of what we needed, maybe I would do that. But right now, I cannot say that."

Hill's teammates echoed that sentiment. Asked what his confidence level is in Hill, junior G Michael Frazier said: "Ultimate confidence."

"He has to tighten up. We all have to tighten up. We know that," Frazier said. "We're a team and it's not all about one guy, but in terms of him being the coach on the floor, we need that from him."

HIGH EXPECTATIONS: The baseball team will begin the season Feb. 13 vs. Rhode Island ranked No. 6 in Baseball America's preseason top 25, which was released Monday. Florida will combine the nation's No. 3 recruiting class with 22 letter-winners.

The SEC is well represented in the poll. Defending national champion Vanderbilt is ranked No. 1, LSU is No. 2, South Carolina is No. 12 and Mississippi State is No. 14. The Gators are also ranked preseason No. 2 by d1baseball.com, No. 4 by Perfect Game and No. 6 by Collegiate Baseball.

FINAL WORD: The men's basketball struggles coming off a Final Four season have generated plenty of conversation and analysis on the national level, but the man whose opinion matters most remains squarely behind Donovan. "When I was growing up, my mother used to tell me that her father would go to the horse races and he always bet on the jockey, not the horse," UF athletic director Jeremy Foley said in a Q&A on gatorzone.com. "I'll bet on our jockey every single day. He'll get this thing exactly the way he wants it, the way the university wants it, to what our fans expect. I don't worry one second about that. He's the best in the business, and obviously we're fortunate to have him."

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Contact Antonya English at aenglish@tampabay.com. Follow @TBTimes_Gators.