Tyus, Speights combination may see more playing time

It’s most likely not a combination you could see using for an extended period of time, at this point but it’s possible you’ll see more of freshman Alex Tyus and sophomore Marreesse Speights on the floor at the same time.

Billy Donovan has been experimenting with two big-man combination with a bit of success. At 6 has been  foot-8, Tyus offers some much-needed height and physical play along with Speights inside the paint.

“I think that it's something that can be good for our team,’’ Donovan said. “I don't know how many minutes we can do it. There are a lot of dilemmas when you talk about trying to do that because you're dealing a freshman in Alex that's having to move into a different position and there's a lot of different responsibilities when you talk about inbounding the ball, things that we do offensively. There's probably an adjustment period if you're going to try to do it some. Certainly he provides a little bit more athleticism for us but besides the physical part of it there's also a mental side of it too, where it can be challenging for a young guy playing multiple positions. I think Alex has gotten better at it, he's improved, it's something we looked at and we want to try to continue to develop and work on. Not only for this year's team but also for Alex and our team's growth in the future.’’

For Tyus, just getting on the floor is enough incentive to learn to play multiple roles for the Gators, even if he's not totally comfortable.

“Just playing and getting experience is what I’m most happy about, playing in my first year,’’ Tyus said. But it’s different because I’m playing against guys that are bigger than me, playing against them all the time. I guess you could say playing out of position isn’t that bad for right now.’’