After Dorian Finney-Smith missed the last two Florida practices with a viral infection, coach Billy Donovan said it would take a miraculous recovery for the Virginia Tech transfer to make his Gators debut Saturday.
Just hours before No. 11 Florida (2-1) tipped-off against Arkansas-Little Rock (0-2), Finney-Smith approached the coaches and answered Donovan’s prayers.
“Coach, I can go,” the redshirt sophomore said to Donovan. “He was trying to hold me, he was thinking about it, but I’m just like, ‘I’m ready to go.’ ”
In 16 minutes, Finney-Smith made 5 of 10 shots for 17 points in the Gators’ 86-56 victory over the Trojans. The 6-foot-8 forward, who shot 37 percent from behind the arc in his lone year with the Hokies, showed his range Saturday with a team leading three three-pointers.
On Friday, Donovan announced he had reinstated Finney-Smith from his two-week suspension for violating team rules. But with an illness that left him 10 pounds lighter, Finney-Smith still wasn’t 100 percent by tipoff.
“I really didn’t know what to expect,” Donovan said. “He hadn’t really picked up a ball since Monday. (But) DoeDoe’s skill level opened up things for our team.”
In addition to his scoring production, which was second to Casey Prather’s 27 points, Finney-Smith led the Gators in rebounds with nine.
With the extra help under the basket, Florida was able to out-rebound its opponent for the first time this season.
But the first half was a different story. The Gators had only 15 rebounds compared to the Trojans’ 22, and Finney-Smith had only grabbed one rebound after six minutes. Jacob Kurtz, who Donovan said helped spark the second half rebounding efficiency along with Finney-Smith, didn’t even play in the first half.
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The game was tied at 27 at the break, and Donovan said he was happy his team wasn’t behind with the way it was playing. The Gators were 1 of 6 from three and 6 of 14 from the free-throw line in the first half. They had five turnovers, matching the number of assists.
But in the final 20 minutes, Florida knocked down 5 of 11 threes and 12 of 15 free throws. Most important, Donovan said, the Gators only turned the ball over four more times while recording 11 more assists.
