Austin Rivers tells Gator fans not to worry about pledge

<p>LAKELAND — Following his team's 51-42 victory against Lauderdale Lakes Boyd Anderson in the FHSAA Class 6A state semifinals on Friday night at The Lakeland Center, Winter Park High School's 6-foot-4 junior guard Austin Rivers cleared up his commitment status.</p><p>"Right now, if I had to (sign) somewhere, it would be Florida," Rivers said.</p><p>With that said, Rivers added he did visit Duke not long ago and may look around elsewhere this summer. However, that is primarily because he wants to make sure he makes the right decision.</p><p>"I went up there to see stuff," Rivers said. "It's always been Florida, Florida, Florida. I went on a visit to see (somewhere different).</p><p>"I haven't told anybody I've decommitted from Florida."</p><p>He said a lot of people thought that since he visited the Blue Devils when they were ranked in the top 5 and UF was unranked, it automatically meant he was moving on. But that couldn't be further from the truth.</p><p>In fact, Rivers compared UF to Kentucky of recent years, saying, "and look where (the Wildcats) are now." He also said if folks worry he is a fair-weather commitment, they should understand basketball is a cyclical game, rhetorically asking if anyone thinks North Carolina will be down again after its stellar recruiting class arrives in the fall.</p><p>A Gator commitment since his sophomore year, Rivers scored 23 points in the victory against Boyd Anderson. The son of Boston Celtics' coach Doc Rivers and the brother of UF volleyball outside hitter Callie Rivers, Austin has a tremendous all-around game and would be an asset at both the point and shooting guard positions.</p><p>He talked openly about how much he enjoys watching Billy Donovan's team, adding that Gator fans expected too much from freshman guard Kenny Boynton.</p><p>"Kenny is an awesome player," Rivers said. "Just because he's not one-and-done (people think he is a disappointment). Not everyone can be John Wall."</p><p>Rivers also dispelled a rumor that he would graduate early and skip his senior year at Winter Park.</p><p>"I'm going to stay here," Rivers said. "You only go to high school once in your life."</p><p>But should Gator fans have concern?</p><p>"I don't think they should be worried," Rivers said. "At the end of the day, I'll do what's best."</p>