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Florida reinstates Dorian Finney-Smith from suspension

Dorian Finney-Smith

gatorzone.com

In late October, it was reported that redshirt sophomore Dorian Finney-Smith -- who sat out last season after transferring from Virginia Tech after his freshman year in 2011-12 -- would be suspended for Florida’s exhibition against Florida Southern and first two games of the season against North Florida and Wisconsin for an undisclosed violation of team rules.

Finney-Smith’s suspension is over, but he is unlikely play in the Gators’ game against Arkansas-Little Rock on Saturday due to an illness.

In his absence, Florida head coach Billy Donovan has been pleased with how Finney-Smith has comported himself, as reported by The Associated Press: “He’s done a very, very good job up until this point taking care of responsibilities. I feel bad for him just that he’s ill. We don’t know what it is. He has some kind of virus.”

The good news is that Finney-Smith is back.

The bad news? Point guard Scottie Wilbekin and center Damontre Harris remain suspended indefinitely, and it doesn’t sound like Harris is close to returning anytime soon as he hasn’t been practicing with the team: “He’s got a long, long way to go before he gets back on the team,” Donovan said. “Not going to just use these kids to win games.”

While Harris still has a ways to go, Wilbekin at least seems to have gotten back on Donovan’s good side: “Scottie is a totally different person,” Donovan said. “Totally different leader, totally different attitude. The strides he has made — no one has had a chance to see him play — it’s been very, very rewarding to see where he is. There are drastic, drastic improvements that I’ve seen him make.”

Considering that all three of these players missed Florida’s second game of the season against Wisconsin -- a 59-53 loss -- the Gators actually played fairly well against a tough Badgers team, all things considered.

Florida’s next true test comes at home against in-state rival Florida State on November 29th.

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