Todd Golden announces injured Florida center Micah Handlogten will join team in Indianapolis
Only two and a half minutes into Florida’s matchup against Auburn in the SEC Tournament Championship, UF center Micah Handlogten went down with a season-ending injury. Handlogten was taken off the floor on a stretcher and later diagnosed with a fracture to his lower left leg.
While Handlogten’s season has come to an end, Florida can only hope its journey is far from over. Ahead of the team’s NCAA Tournament showdown on Friday, Florida head coach Todd Golden revealed Handlogten will join the team in Indianapolis to cheer on his fellow Gators.
“I think it’ll be a huge lift for him and kind of get his spirits back. He’s honestly in great spirits, all things considered. Way better spirits than I’d be in, to be honest. But it’s going to be a huge lift for the team also,” Golden said Monday. “It obviously shook everybody up a lot. I think we’re still feeling it a little bit. But it gives us a great thing to rally around in the tournament.
“Everybody really respects Micah. Everybody loves him as a teammate. He’s one of, if not the best, teammates that we have and to have him there I think will bring joy to everybody. My hope is that the guys want to do everything they can to play their butts off for him on Friday.”
Florida will miss the 7-foot-1 talent. Handlogten averaged 5.5 points and 7.1 rebounds per game this season while shooting an efficient 62.2% from the floor. Handlogten transferred to Florida this season after spending his freshman campaign at Marshall.
Todd Golden addressed Micah Handlogten’s recovery
While Golden revealed Handlogten’s surgery went well, he did not offer a timetable for the big man’s return.
“I don’t know exactly. He had a really good surgery. I think it went about as well as anybody could hope for,” Golden said. “I don’t really know the exact timetable. Obviously, it’s a pretty severe injury, so it’s gonna take a little bit. But we’ll have his back and whatever he needs from us and Duke and our staff. Really happy Dr. Farmer was there. I think that helped, obviously.
“I was grateful for the SEC and their staff. I thought the response was really good in the moment. Again, you don’t really plan for those types of situations. Whether it was our team doctors, Duke and his staff, SEC, even Auburn’s staff was quick on the floor to support him. I thought it was handled very well by everybody in the moment.”
Florida will face off against the winner of Colorado and Boise State. The game will tip-off at 4:30 p.m. ET on Friday. It will be broadcast on TBS.