An occasional look at Florida basketball news and notes.
Kasey Hill Goes Off At Adidas Invitational
Via The Bull Gator, video of 2013 Florida commit Kasey Hill's tremendous 46-point outing at the 2012 Adidas Invitational last Sunday morning from Home Team Hoops.
We've known about Hill's fantastic athleticism and leaping ability for a while, but the new development in Hill's game is a strong three-point shot, which could make him nearly unguardable. Hill's tools profile as more like John Wall's or Derrick Rose's than any Florida point guard we have seen to date, but if he can also be the dead-eye shooter that Erving Walker and Taurean Green were, he'll be both the perfect floor general for Billy Donovan and a player who could break the mold of what Donovan expects from his point guards.
Another video from Home Team Hoops of Hill and Chris Walker helping Florida Elite win the title at the Adidas Invitational's after the jump.
I know Lance thinks Walker's a Florida lean who will eventually be a Gator, and I'd trust his judgment. But I also just can't think of why Walker wouldn't want to keep playing with Hill: Two top-10 NBA Draft picks who have balled together for years would only help each other's stock in college, right?
2012-13 Roster Released, Braxton Ogbueze Gets Familiar Number
GatorZone released Florida's basketball roster for 2012-13 on Friday, adding incoming freshmen Michael Frazier, Dillon Graham, Braxton Ogbueze, and DeVon Walker and transfers Damontre Harris and Dorian Finney-Smith to the roster.
There are some measurements that are interesting (Harris is listed at 6'10" and 228 pounds; I would guess he might add five to 15 pounds in the next year), but the most important takeaway is the number that will be on Ogbueze's chest: It's No. 11, or the number that Erving Walker wore for four years at Florida. Slapping that on Ogbueze doesn't seem like an affront to Walker, but it's definitely part of an expectation that he'll be good.
Also of note: Graham, supposedly a sharpshooter, gets Lee Humphrey's old No. 12.
Bradley Beal Still Real Deal
Some links on most Gators fans' favorite new NBA player:
Our Wizards blog, written by one of SB Nation's national NBA writers, gives Beal a B/B+ for his play in the Las Vegas Summer League. (Mike Prada, Bullets Forever)
Another SB Nation voice, writing for CBS Sports, calls Beal's Summer League solid, and has quotes from Wizards assistant coach Sam Cassell (a Seminole, remember) citing only fatigue as a fault with him. (Ben Golliver, Eye on Basketball | CBS Sports)
Another Wizards blog liked what it saw from the "Wiz Kids" in Vegas. (Kyle Weidie, Truth About It)
Erving Walker In Nike Ad
Yeah, really.
It's an ad for the neat new Nike+ kicks that track what you do on the court and give feedback, but it's mostly cool because Tu Holloway and Erv are both NYC kids and got an ad that reps the Big Apple.