Billy Donovan expects Bradley Beal to be one of top six picks
By Rachel George
DESTIN – Guard Bradley Beal would not have left Florida if he weren’t a sure fire lottery pick. But with the St. Louis native departing for the draft after his freshman season, UF coach Billy Donovan said he doesn’t expect Beal to be drafted lower than sixth overall.
Beal has been projected to go as high as No. 2 overall by USA Today. ESPN’s Chad Ford has Beal at No. 3 in his mock draft.
“I think a lot is going to depend on what’s going to depend on the lottery balls and who’s picking,” said Donovan. “I think he could go as high as two but I can’t see him getting past six.”
Beal averaged 14.8 points and 6.7 rebounds last season for Florida while playing out of position. A true shooting guard, Beal’s height at 6-foot-3 put him at forward. Despite the change of position, Beal was named to the All-SEC First Team, All-Freshman Team and All-Tournament Team.
Donovan said Beal hasn’t really started working out for teams yet. Unlike last year when Chandler Parsons worked out for about 15 teams, Beal will likely only work out for a few with lottery picks.
“Brad’s probably only going to have probably three or four workouts and that’s going to be it because there is a certain point he’s not going to get past,” Donovan said. “I think a lot of where he gets depends on those lottery balls fall and who’s picking where.”
SEC working on scheduling
During the SEC Spring Meetings, the coaches and ADs are looking at scheduling in football and basketball. While it has a stopgap in place for football in 2012, the SEC doesn’t have one for basketball.
Commissioner Mike Slive said conference officials brought one plan for an 18-game schedule. It’s unclear how the league would format that with 14 teams. But a true round robin that would have teams playing 26 conference games is not on the table.
“Every year it’s going to be different – who you’re playing at home, who you’re playing on the road – all that stuff,” said Donovan. “You’re always going to be setting yourself up for some kind of disappointment and controversy. It’s never going to be perfect.”
Rosario playing for Puerto Rican team
Donovan said guard Mike Rosario will benefit from playing for the Puerto Rican national team this summer. The redshirt senior struggled at times in his first season playing for Florida after transferring from Rutgers.
Rosario missed 25 practices as he dealt with a nagging back injury and a hip pointer. He averaged 6.6 points off the bench but was inconsistent.
“He had some good moments where I think he helped us in games and he had moments when he was a non-factor,” said Donovan. “I think playing against some of these older guys that he’s playing against right now and getting into a routine and having to come every single day and have to really play and compete, he needs that. He needs to be more consistent for us.”
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