Florida senior walk-on forward Jacob Kurtz has filled plenty of roles throughout the 2014-15 season.
But like teammate Kasey Hill, Kurtz has been hesitant to shoot from outside 10 feet. Florida coach Billy Donovan explained why during his inaugural Gator Hotline Show with Mick Hubert on AM 850.
“Jake is not comfortable shooting from outside,” Donovan said. “But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t do other things within our offense that adds value to our team. He’s really great at using his body, screening, taking other people out of the plays. He moves well without the basketball.”
When Hubert pointed out that Kurtz had made 18 of his last 26 shot attempts, Donovan joked: “I would hope so, he’s only taking layups.” Then, the veteran coach added: “Jake is a great example of a guy, though limited, has excelling playing basketball at the highest level because of his intelligence and his approach. And it’s really a great lesson to other guys who are maybe more talented. Because if you combined Jake’s approach to the game with someone with a high talent level, then you would have a special player.”
