Oct 30, 2009

Nimrod Tishman Cleared To Play For Donovan

NCAA Approves Eligibility For Tishman To Play For Florida

Florida Gators' basketball coach Billy Donovan told the media Tuesday that the NCAA cleared Nimrod Tishman eligible to play for the Gators this season. Prior to receiving full clearance from the NCAA, Tishman was only permitted to practice with the team. The 6' 5"guard from Tel Aviv, Israel, was heavily recruited by Donovan after starting guard Nick Calathes announced in March that he would skip his final two years of NCAA eligibility in order to enter the NBA draft. Tishman averaged 18.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 2.3 assists at the Under-18 European Championships in France last summer after playing for the club team Maccabi-Tel Aviv during high school.

The impact Tishman will have on the Gators' team this season may not be nearly what had been originally anticipated by Donovan when he had hoped Tishman could replace Calathes' vacated position Donovan now believes that it is a good bet that Tishman will take a bit longer to develop his skills to fit the style of play that Donovan incorporates in his program. He still expects the odds of Tishman becoming a prominent player for the Gators in the future to be very high, but at the present time he will be playing behind guards Erving Walker, Kenny Boynton, and Ray Shipman until he learns the ropes. However, the betting odds that he will be a quick study and be able to adapt his skills to the program's needs are definitely still in Tishman's favor.

By Bryan Jackson
Staff Writer
Betsportsweb.com
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