Florida Basketball fans had a sense of deja vu on Thursday when Alex Condon went down in the first half against Maryland. Condon limped off with an ankle issue, the same ankle he had injured against Mississippi State in February, which caused him to miss some time.
Condon returned in the second half for a handful of minutes, but it was clear the ankle was still bothering him by the end.
So, what is the plan for Condon tonight against Texas Tech with a berth in the Final Four on the line?
Florida Basketball: No Pain No Gain
Condon spoke with reporters on Friday about his status. The sophomore did not participate in Florida's practice on Friday.
"Feel pretty good, a lot of treatment over the past 12 hours or so. Getting with the trainers, making sure my ankle is going to be good for the Texas game. I feel like I'll be ready to go for tomorrow. We'll see how it goes. That's the plan as of right now. I didn't practice today, just kind of take a little weight off my foot and rest up before the game."
“Initially, it was just a bit of a shock. It’s the same ankle, so I was pretty frustrated it was the same ankle again. But after that, probably 15 minutes, I knew it wasn’t as bad. Just keeping optimistic with it and just keep playing basketball, we’ll be good.”
Condon did have a highlight play after his return where he dove for a loose ball on the ground, and with the shot clock winding down, we threw the ball up to Micah Handlogten for a basket.
The benefit for Florida is they have a deep rotation of big men, but Condon is probably the most valuable of the four the Gators use. If needed, Florida does have Sam Alexis available to take some minutes.