Gators' Casey Prather showing big improvement

Florida Gators small forward Casey Prather is vying for the position vacated by Bradley Beal when he left for the NBA Draff. At the team's first intra-squad scrimmage this past Sunday, head coach Billy Donovan told Kevin Brockway of The Gainesville Sun that he's impressed with how he's improved:

"I thought Casey played well. We're trying to do some things offensively for him to take advantage of his size and athleticism closer to the basket. I thought he did a very, very good job for us."

In last season's NCAA Tournament, Prather had a breakout game against the Virginia Cavaliers. In the second round victory, Prather scored a career-high 14 points and four rebounds.

Last season, Prather saw the floor for an average of 9.5 minutes per game and averaged 36.7 percent from the field. Prather only averaged 1.8 rebounds per game last season, but Donovan has been pleased with his rebounding in practice so far:

"Right now in practice, we've rotated teams basically every single day," Donovan said. "There is a huge difference when we are rebounding with Prather at (small forward) than when he is not on the floor."

The Gators are scheduled to begin the season on Friday, Nov. 9 against the Georgetown Hoyas in the Navy/Marine Corps Classic, with tip off scheduled for 8 p.m.