Gators reinstate Wilbekin, but Harris unlikely to return

Published on Monday, 11/25/13, at 5:20 p.m. Eastern.

By Brian Edwards

Florida senior point guard Scottie Wilbekin has been reinstated to the team after missing the team’s first five games. Wilbekin is expected to play normal minutes tonight at Jacksonville.

“He’s available like anyone else,” UF head coach Billy Donovan told the Gainesville Sun. “He’s served his time and his punishment. And to his credit, he’s done everything that’s been asked of him. He’s shown an incredible commitment to get back on the team and to do the right things and more so than anything else to really prove to his teammates that he’s committed to the team. So I’m not going to hold him back at all.”

Wilbekin’s return is vital because freshman point guard has a severely sprained ankle that could keep him out until late December. Wilbekin averaged 9.1 points per game last season and finished second in the SEC in assists with 5.0 per game.

UF is also missing freshman Chris Walker (eligibility) and South Carolina transfer Damontre Harris. Donovan indicated that Harris might not return from an indefinite suspension for a violation of team rules.

“Right now, he’s been gone for 25 days,” Donovan said. “I don’t have any hope he’s going to come back. We’re still going to try to help him and work with him and try to get him to do the things he needs to do, but there’s no level of accountability on the things that he needs to do on a regular basis.”

After tonight’s game at JU, the Gators face four tough foes in a row. They play vs. FSU (11/29), at UConn (12/2), vs. Kansas (12/10) and vs. Memphis (12/17) at MSG in NYC.