Florida Gators’ DeVon Walker tears ACL, expected to miss 2014-15 season
The Florida Gators will look radically different from last year’s Final Four team and one player expected to help the club get back there, DeVon Walker, is expected to be lost for the season after tearing his ACL, according to Jeff Borzello of CBSSports.com on Saturday.
Florida wing DeVon Walker tore his ACL and is expected to miss the 2014-15 season, sources told @CBSSports.
— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) July 19, 2014
Walker, a rising junior, was expected to be the team’s top player off the bench this season and potentially be a spot-starter in the event of injury. He played 35 games last season as a sophomore, making seven starts, and averaged 2.4 points and 1.2 rebounds per game.
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Regarded as the team’s top defender along the perimeter, Walker’s defense will be missed as he had 13 blocks last year and was able to lock up some of the top wings in the SEC. He was also one of the team’s top shooters’ from three-point range last year, sinking 19 shots from beyond the arc.
A typical ACL recovery takes one calendar year, so even in the most-optimistic recovery of Walker returning for the Gators in the SEC or NCAA Tournament in mid-March would appear to be an unlikely proposition. Further, rushing him at the risk of suffering a setback in his recovery would jeopardize his offseason in preparations for his comeback as a senior.
Florida will have to count on larger contributions from freshman Devin Robinson, Eli Carter, Brandone Francis and Dillon Graham now than before Walker was injured.