Nimrod coming?
In its search for added backcourt depth next season, Florida has turned its focus overseas.
Florida associate coach Larry Shyatt spent last week in France watching 6-foot-6 Israeli guard Nimrod Tishman play at the Under-18 European Championships.
Tishman didn’t disappoint, averaging 18.6 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists.
“He was one of the best players, the best athletes there,” said Jonathan Givony, who covered the event for Draftxpress.com, his NBA draft web site.
Givony compared Tishman to a Nick Calathes-type, “Not necessarily as polished or aggressive at this point, but he’s a smart player who is versatile enough to play the 1 (point guard), the 2 (shooting guard) and the 3 (small forward) because of his size. He’d be a good fit for what Billy (Donovan) does at Florida.”
There are hurdles that Tishman would need to overcome to play college basektball in America. One is military service. In Israel, citizens are required to spend three years in the military following high school. However, students who attend colleges abroad can apply for deferments.
Tishman won’t turn 18 until Dec. 5, but could enroll this fall for the 2009-10 season.
And while Florida’s interest in Tishman is strong, Tishman’s interest in UF remains unclear. Givony, who has extensive contacts overseas, said Tishman has been approached by a number of Division I schools.
“I think he’s looking at the whole picture, the position he will play, how much playing time he would get,” Givony said. “He could end up at a bigger school or he could choose to go to a smaller school where he could end up being the man.”
Kevin Brockway gave up on his dream of becoming a lefty starting pitcher for the New York Mets when he walked four straight batters, then hit one in a middle school game in Suffern, N.Y. Since graduating college in 1993, he’s worked as a sports writer at daily newspapers throughout the state of Florida, beginning with the Key West Citizen. He then moved on to the Northwest Florida Daily News and Naples Daily News before becoming the men’s basketball writer for The Gainesville Sun in 2003. Brockway has won multiple state and national writing awards during his 16-year career. Favorite pastimes include karaoke and watching baseball. Favorite college hoops team growing up was St. John’s.
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by Nimrod coming? - Hoops Scoop - Gator Sports - Gainesville, FL … | Israel Today
With our point guard situation, I think he WOULD be the man at UF !
by denirogator
[...] we like a recruit’s name. It seems Florida is so thin at guard heading into 2009 that the Gators are eyeing 6-6 Israeli guard Nimrod Tishman.I believe I speak for everyone when I say that I hope Nimrod Tishman is playing in the SEC next [...]
by Florida News - 7/31/09 | MrSEC.com
Sounds like the kid can play, so Billy should recruit a few hotties from UF’s Hillel House to lure him to Gainesville! Seriously, I hope Billy makes it clear to this kid that UF has a ton of not only Jewish students, but Israeli students, too. Maybe that would help bring in a much-needed piece to our backcourt puzzle.
by nbcgator