The Florida Gators will be without Sophomore Chris Walker for the first three games of the season and have lost top recruit Brandone Francis for the entire season, reports Jeff Borzello.
Walker, who sat out much of last season due to academics, has been suspended by head coach Billy Donovan for undisclosed violation of team rules. While being penciled in as a projected starter, Walker has had an uphill climb during his time in Gainesville.
“He has such a long way to go in terms of being reliable, accountable and disciplined,” Donovan said of his sophomore star. “Those would be the three things I would say I don’t have a great grasp on right now, but we’re going to find out.”
It appears those issues have gone largely unresolved.
Barring any changes, Walker is slated to return to the Gators’ lineup on November 21 against Louisiana-Monroe.
Missing Walker for three games is survivable, but the loss of the highly-touted Francis may prove more detrimental. A four-star recruit, Francis was originally cleared by the NCAA in August. However, the Dominican Republic native will now have to sit out of all team activities during Florida’s fall semester. Francis may return in the spring if he is able to meet academic requirements.
Francis told OnlyGators.com in August that he was confident he would be able to suit up for Florida this season.
“As an international kid, [the NCAA] wanted to look into my playing history more than some others, but I knew everything would come through fine,” Francis said. “There was nothing wrong, they just like to be extra careful on guys coming from outside the United States.”
The losses of Walker and Francis come on the heels of a torn ACL of Devon Walker that will keep him out of action the entire 2014-15 season. Devon was expected to be a part of the Gators’ perimeter rotation.