Abukar bids farewell to UF

A few weeks ago, after Florida sophomore forward Mohamed Abukar scored a career-high 22 against Florida A&M, he was asked if he felt like he made his case for more minutes.

"I hope so," Abukar said.

But the minutes never came. So Abukar, frustrated about his diminished role as freshmen logged more playing time in front of him, decided to leave the Florida basketball program hoping to spark his college basketball career elsewhere.

"It always comes down to playing time," Florida coach Billy Donovan said. "I think Mohamed wanted to play more than what he was playing, wanted to play more consistently then he was playing. He felt like he needed to make a decision and he wanted to play."

"That's pretty accurate," said Ollie Goulston, a close friend who was Abukar's AAU coach in high school. "Florida kind of changed their approach this season with their defense and it didn't play to his strengths as a big man who could shoot. For whatever reason, it wasn't a good fit."

Donovan said he and Abukar often talked about playing time during the course of the year, but that he simply felt Abukar wasn't ready to contribute more than the minutes he was playing. Through seven games this season, Abukar was averaging a shade more than 10 minutes a game.

"We talked about it in terms of what he needed to do to get on the floor," Donovan said. "I told him, that's great that you want to play more but at the same point there are other guys who want to play and they are competing and playing as well.

"I think Mohamed has the potential and has the ability to be an outstanding basketball player. He's a guy for me, never caused me one problem, never had a problem with discipline, was never late, was always respectful, is one of the nicest kids I've coached. It was just a matter of a few kids being ahead of him right now."

Abukar is the fourth Florida basketball player to leave school in the past calendar year, and the ninth since the end of the 2001-02 season. Donovan does not look at the defections as a mark of instability in his program as much as a situation where today's high school players expect to play more as freshmen and sophomores.

Of the nine players to leave, only two - Orien Greene and Christian Drejer - were starters. Drejer left last February for a professional contract in Spain.

"It's just kind of the way it is now for guys," Donovan said. "You don't see Anthony Roberson, Matt Walsh or David Lee leaving. They are playing 38 or 39 minutes a game. But most of the time, when you see guys transfer, for the most part guys are moving on because they are not playing as much as they want to play."

In the case of Abukar, frustrations may have boiled over after appearing for just seven minutes against Louisville. The Cardinals recruited Abukar heavily after he de-committed from Georgia when Jim Harrick resigned. Kentucky also was high on Abukar, who as a 6-foot-10 high school senior won both his slam dunk contest and 3-point shooting contest at Rancho Bernardo High School in Escondido, Calif.

That promise, however, never materialized at Florida. As a freshman, Abukar was hampered by shoulder problems that were a result of a shoulder he separated in high school. He couldn't get an arc on his 3-point shot and stayed away from mixing it up inside for fear of separating his shoulder again.

Abukar appeared in all 30 games, starting none, and finished averaging 2.7 points and 2.1 rebounds in a little more than 13 minutes a game. He shot 17 of 64 (.266) from 3-point range while wearing a protective brace on his shoulder.

After undergoing offseason shoulder surgery, Abukar entered this season optimistic, and added close to 15 pounds of muscle. Some of that bulk evaporated during a 30-day stretch in October and November when Abukar, a practicing Muslim, fasted from sunrise to sunset during the holy month of Ramadan.

"The fact that he is that committed and dedicated to his faith and his religion is something that speaks volumes about him as a person," Donovan said. "But I think that 30 days kind of set him back and I think there were some guys that were probably ahead of him right now that he wasn't able to get in front of to play more minutes."

Abukar was averaging 5.0 points and 1.4 rebounds through six games this season before deciding to transfer. The highlight of his career came when he knocked down three straight 3-pointers last Nov. 30 against FAMU, and finished 4-of-6 from 3-point range on his way to a 22-point night. Donovan brought Abukar in as the third shooter on the perimeter after FAMU's Mike Gillespie went with a triangle-and-two defense designed to stop Roberson and Walsh.

The breakout game wasn't a sign of things to come. Abukar appeared just five minutes the following Saturday, scoring no points in Florida's loss to Miami.

The move leaves Florida with 10 scholarship players and three walk-ons. Freshman Cornelius Ingram of Hawthorne, who did not play in losses to Miami and Louisville, could see more playing time as a result.

Donovan said the timing of the move was different than Drejer's mid-season defection because it happened during a semester break. Florida is in the middle of an eight day layoff for practices and exams that will conclude with Sunday's home game against Georgia Southern.

"We have enough guys depth-wise right now," Donovan said. "This is kind of when things like this usually get done, between semesters."

Abukar will fly home to San Diego after exams today and consider his options. By leaving at this point, under NCAA rules, he could resume playing in January of 2006 if he transfers to another Division I school.

Donovan said he would grant Abukar's release to "any school in the country, including schools in our own conference.

"A lot of schools have called, showing interest," Goulston said. "I think right now he just wants to get home and evaluate some things before making the decision that's best for his future."

Kevin Brockway can be reached at (352) 374-5054 or by e-mail at brockwk@gvillesun.com