Tyree Appleby misses both practices ahead of Texas A&M game
Florida starting point guard Tyree Appleby could miss his first game of the season Tuesday night at Texas A&M.
Appleby reaggravated a thigh bruise Saturday in the first half of Florida’s loss at Kentucky. He tried to return after the break but was unable to play.
Appleby is questionable for the matchup against the Aggies after not practicing with the team on Sunday or Monday.
“I think there’s a chance (he plays). I don’t know for sure,” UF coach Mike White said Monday. “He didn’t go yesterday or today. So, we’ll see. I’m sure (head basketball trainer) Duke [Werner] will evaluate him at shootaround (Tuesday).”
With Appleby out of the lineup, Florida guard Brandon McKissic primarily ran the point at Kentucky. McKissic matched his scoring high in SEC play with 9 points, but also tied the mark for his most turnovers in a game this season (3).
McKissic said the Gators missed Appleby’s leadership and vocal presence in Lexington.
“It was tough. It was tough losing him. Tyree, he’s a big person on our team. Standing at 6-1, he has one of the loudest voices on the team, he has one of the biggest hearts on the team,” McKissic said. “So seeing him go down it’s never a good thing.
“We always want all of our guys to be healthy and be able to play, because this team is a brotherhood. So it hurts seeing one of our brothers go down, but it’s not going to stop us from trying to get this next win.”
Appleby is the latest UF player to go down with an injury this year. Starting forward Colin Castleton missed six games in SEC play with a shoulder injury, while his replacement Jason Jitoboh suffered a season-ending eye injury at Tennessee.
Forward CJ Felder was also out with a multi-week illness, while guard Myreon Jones missed the Stony Brook game with a broken finger and played the past six weeks with the injury.
In addition to McKissic, Jones will also play point guard Tuesday if Appleby is sidelined.
“It’s next man up. There’s not another choice,” White said. “Confident in our guys’ abilities if we play with poise and mental toughness and make simple plays. But if we play rattled, we mentally have an excuse — Tyree’s not at full strength or Tyree may not play — we’re already a team that, we struggle with turnovers.
“We’ve gotten better throughout the year, and I think they are second in the country in turnover percentage. So they’re really active with their hands, quick. A fast team that swarms to the basketball. They just create havoc. They create turnovers. So whoever we’ve got out there, we’ve gotta handle the ball with poise and maturity.”
