But the former Rutgers standout could have a chance to further develop his game this summer against high-level international competition. Rosario began tryouts for the Puerto Rican National Team this week. If Rosario makes the squad, he’ll take part in a qualifying tournament in early July for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

Rosario was born in Jersey City, N.J., but his mother was born in Puerto Rico, which qualifies him for eligibility to join the team. On Wednesday, Rosario tried out with several American college players, including Jorge Brian Diaz of Nebraska, Kevin Young of Kansas and Chris Gaston of Fordham.

The 6-foot-3 Rosario, who transferred from Rutgers in 2010, averaged 6.6 points and 1.4 rebounds off the bench in his first season of eligibility at UF. He showed flashes of his offensive ability, scoring 19 points off the bench in his Florida debut against Jackson State and 12 points off the bench in UF’s NCAA Tournament second-round win over Norfolk State.

But Rosario also struggled with injuries and inconsistency during the course of the season. He got into UF coach Billy Donovan’s doghouse for his lack of intensity on the defensive end of the floor in both games and practices. His defense improved during the course of the season, but it was hard for him to find playing time behind established starters Erving Walker, Kenny Boynton and Bradley Beal.

With Walker and Beal gone, Rosario has a chance to win a starting job next season. He’ll likely compete with Scottie Wilbekin, Casey Prather and Will Yeguete for minutes at either point guard, shooting guard and and/or three guard/small forward.

Rosario isn’t the only Gator with designs on the Olympics. Former Gator Joakim Noah said he hopes to recover from his sprained ankle in time to try out for the French Olympic Team. Al Horford intends to try out for the Dominican Republic while Nick Calathes is expected to make the Greek Olympic squad.

Other notes:

– Former Gator forward Chandler Parsons finished ninth in NBA rookie of the year voting. Parsons, the 36th overall pick by the Houston Rockets, averaged 9.5 points and 4.8 rebounds in his rookie season, while starting 57 of the 63 games he appeared in.

– According to the website Bovada.lv, Florida is a 15-1 favorite to win the national title in 2013, behind only Indiana (7-1), Louisville (8-1) and Kentucky (10-1). Duke, UCLA and North Carolina also are at 15-1. Florida returns three starters from a team that finished 26-11 and reached the Elite Eight, but lost second-leading scorer and leading rebounder Bradley Beal to the NBA Draft.

But although the 6-foot-10 Macklin didn’t play as much as former UF teammate Chandler Parsons, he said he felt like his first season with the Detroit Pistons was a learning experience.

Macklin, the 52nd overall pick in the second round by the Pistons in last June’s NBA draft, played 23 games as a rookie. He averaged 2 points and 1.5 rebounds per game in limited minutes.

“I was put in a good situation,” Macklin said. “There were a couple of guys that were drafted ahead of me that didn’t make their teams out of training camp. It was a good regular season. I learned a lot. Hopefully sophomore (second) year will be better.”

Macklin said he and Parsons were able to keep in touch during their rookie seasons. Parsons, picked 38th overall in the second round by the Houston Rockets, started 57 of 63 games for the Rockets, averaging 9.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists.

“It was actually fun watching him on TV, all of the tip-in dunks,” Macklin said. “I would call him all the time.”

Florida has gone the transfer route of late to fill holes in its team. Macklin, a Georgetown transfer, helped lead the Gators to consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances in his two seasons (2010, 2011) at UF.

The Gators are again looking for another big man after getting spurned in recruiting. South Carolina center Damontre Harris visited the UF campus last week. Virginia Tech forward Dorian Finney-Smith also recently announced he’s leaving Virginia Tech. According to the Washington Post, the 6-foot-8, 192-pound Finney-Smith has interest in both Florida and Old Dominion.

Macklin and Finney-Smith are both Portsmouth, Va., natives and close friends. But Macklin said that Finney-Smith has yet to set any visits up.

“There are a lot of rumors out there right know with him,” Macklin said. “It was the same situation with me when I was at Georgetown. He doesn’t have any favorites right now. He just got his release (from Virginia Tech).”

Though the two have a close friendship, Macklin said Finney-Smith will need to make his own decision.

“He has to do what’s best for him,” Macklin said. “I’m very protective of him. I consider him like a little brother.’

Finney-Smith averaged 6.3 points and 7 rebounds per game, earning All-ACC freshman team honors. He went though a prolonged shooting slump during his freshman year, but has the ability to guard multiple positions.

After losing out on Jarnell Stokes to Tennessee, Robert Carter to Georgia Tech and Alex Poythress to Kentucky, the Gators suffered another blow when McDonald’s All-American big man Anthony Bennett eliminated Florida from consideration on Friday.

Worse yet, the 6-foot-7, 235-pound Bennett could end up at rival Kentucky. Kentucky remains in Bennett’s final three with Oregon and UNLV.

Florida made its big push for Bennett in March, but contrary to popular belief, was never the frontrunner for the Canadian big ma. Bennett, who spent this season at Findlay Prep in Las Vegas, Nev., to work on both basketball and academics, kept putting off his official visit to UF and never made it to campus.

The Gators still have one scholarship to give and could use it on 6-foot-10, 240-pound Bradley Hayes of Jacksonville. Hayes, a two-star recruit, hasn’t been offered a scholarship from UF yet but has Florida in his final four with UConn, Texas A&M and Georgetown.

Also, Florida has South Carolina 6-foot-9 transfer Damontre Harris visit this week. But unless Harris receives a waiver,  he will have to sit out the 2012-13 season. He can practice with the Gators, though, and that along could help the development of returning junior Florida big man Patric Young.

Looking ahead to 2013, the Gators could turn their focus to 6-foot-9 forward/center Chris Walker of Bonifay (Holmes County). Florida, Ohio State, Florida State and Kansas have offered scholarships to Walker.

Florida’s current 2012 recruiting class included point guard Braxton Ogbueze, shooting guard Michael Frazier, shooting guard Dillon Graham and small forward DeVon Walker. If it stands, it would be UF’s first recruiting class without a McDonald’s All-American since 2008.

Here’s a story from SNY.com’s Adam Zagoria that says playing time and Bradley Beal’s departure for the NBA Draft played a role in Bennett’s decision to eliminate Florida.

The surprise was because it was a player from within the conference looking to transfer. According to CBSSports.com’s Jeff Goodman, South Carolina forward Damontre Harris visited the UF campus on Wednesday.

Harris also plans to visit Kansas and hasn’t ruled out returning to South Carolina to play for new coach Frank Martin. If he decided to come to Florida, the wiry, 6-foot-9 Harris would give UF its best shot-blocker at the rim since Joakim Noah.

Shot-blocking has been an area of weakness for the Gators since UF’s back-to-back national title runs in 2006 and 2007. Florida ranked last in the Southeastern Conference in blocked shots 2012 (3.4 bpg) and 11th out of 12 teams in 2011 (3.6 bpg).

That lack of interior defense was apparent in UF’s late collapse against Louisville in the Elite Eight. Louisville freshman forward Chane Behanan scored 11 of his 17 points in the final 8:33, many on uncontested shots from close range.

Harris was tied for second in the SEC in blocked shots last season, averaging 2.3 per game. Though limited offensively, Harris also ranked 16th in the SEC in rebounding at 5.5 per game.

It also was interesting that Martin allowed Harris to visit Florida, given the hyper-sensitive nature of coaches when it comes to transferring to schools within conference (see Wisconsin’s Bo Ryan). But Martin has a strong relationship with Florida coach Billy Donovan, dating back to when Donovan recruited Udonis Haslem when Martin coached Haslem at Miami High. It seems likely that Martin would grant permission for Harris to transfer within the SEC.

Under NCAA rules, Harris would need to sit out a year and wouldn’t be eligible to play until the the 2013-14. As a rising junior, Harris would have two years of eligibility remaining. It’s unclear at this point if Harris will ask  for a waiver to play right away in 2012-13.

Donovan has had recent success with transfer players. Georgetown transfer Vernon Macklin started two seasons for the Gators (2010-11) before being picked in the second round of the NBA Draft by the Detroit Pistons. Rutgers transfer Mike Rosario was UF’s leading scorer off the bench last season and has a chance to win a starting job at guard as a senior.

Here’s an updated look at NCAA Division I transfer rules. Contrary to popular belief, an athlete can’t automatically receive a waiver just because of a coaching change. Harris played his first two seasons at South Carolina under Darrin Horn, who was fired last March.

For the second straight season, the Gators were unable to hold an 11-point lead in the second half of an Elite Eight game. In UF’s overtime Elite Eight loss to Butler, Donovan blamed it on hustle plays. In the Louisville loss, Donovan blamed it on defensive breakdowns and a lack of ability to make big plays down the stretch.

“We had some defensive breakdowns in some crucial situations as they started to make a run back at us and then we had some plays that we did not make,” Donovan said.

In particular, Donovan pointed out freshman Bradley Beal’s travel and Erving Walker’s inability to make an extra pass to an open Erik Murphy on the wing in the closing minutes.

“Walker had a decent look in the lane but Murphy was open and probably would have been a little better,” Donovan said. “I thought Brad had a great drive to the basket and just didn’t finish. We had some shots and some plays that we didn’t make and I thought that was a difference.”

For Florida, it was another frustrating finish to a close game. The Gators finished 2011-12 2-5 in games decided by five points or less, including a double-overtime loss to Rutgers in which the Gators had the ball with a chance to win the game at the end of regulation. In 16 seasons coaching Florida, Donovan is 58-73 in gamed decided by five points or less.

“You are always worried about that as a coach,” Donovan said, when asked about his team’s performance in tight games. “I don’t think there’s any question because you are always going to be in those kind of games … in practice, you are always working on those kind of things. You are always trying to make sure that your team is prepared when they happen.”

Other notes:

– While Florida remains in the running for 2012 McDonald’s All-American big man Anthony Bennett, the Gators also are pursuing an in-state fallback option. According to SNY.com’s Adam Zagoria, Bradley Hayes, a 6-foot-11, 245-pound center from Jacksonville (Sandalwood High) has Florida is in his final four college choices with Connecticut, Georgetown and Texas A&M. Hayes is considered more of a late bloomer in the 2012 class, but runs the floor well and has some shot-blocking ability. Donovan will be watching Hayes this weekend in Pittsburgh, according to the SNY report.

– Another in-state prospect to watch is 2013 power forward Chris Walker. The 6-10 Walker, from Bonifay, is the fifth-rated overall prospect (and third rated power forward) in ESPNUs 2013 rankings. Walker says he has a close relationship with Donovan and mentioned Florida among six schools with Kentucky, Kansas, Baylor, Syracuse and Ohio State.

– Division I college basketball will be undergoing more NCAA-proposed academic reforms in 2015 which will include a required 2.3 GPA in 16 high school core courses (up from 2.0) and a required 2.5 GPA for junior college transfers (up from 2.0).

The source said that the standout Florida freshman guard is discussing the option to hold off his choice until April 29, which is the NBA’s deadline for underclassmen to put their names in for the NBA draft.

The NCAA set its own deadline for April 10, but it’s not a hard and fast deadline. It was designed to let college basketball coaches know if they needed to fill scholarships for the spring signing period, which starts April 11. A player who hasn’t put his name in by April 11 can still do so before April 29. A good story explaining the dueling deadlines can be found here.

What does this mean for Florida? With Erving Walker the lone senior leaving and the Gators adding three signess for its 2012 class, Florida is currently at its full allotment of 13 scholarships. That number would reduce by one if Beal declares for the NBA draft.

If Beal declares before April 11, it would free up a scholarship for a big man, such as undecided five-star 2012 recruit Anthony Bennett. Bennett, a Toronto native, has Florida in his final five with Kentucky, UNLV, Oregon and Washington.

A number of underclassmen have already declared for the NBA draft, such as Ohio State sophomore big man Jared Sullinger, Michigan freshman point guard Trey Burke, North Carolina sophomore point guard Kendall Marshall, UNC sophomore forward Harrison Barnes and UNC junior forward John Henson.

Florida’s current 13 scholarship players for 2012-13 season — Patric Young F, Erik Murphy F, Bradley Beal G, Kenny Boynton G, Mike Rosario G, Will Yeguete F, Casey Prather F, Cody Larson F, Walter Pitchford F, Scottie Wilbekin G, Braxton Ogbueze G, Michael Frazier G, Dillon Graham G.

Here were their responses about Billy Donovan:

Erik Murphy — “I don’t know. I don’t think he sleeps too much. He’s probably watching film all night. That’s not an unknown. I guess a lot of coaches are doing that right now.”

Patric Young — “He’s underrated at being funny. He has some really smart jokes that hit you hard sometimes … I don’t know if Scottie (Wilbekin) or somebody makes a pass, he’ll say, you’re not at the Rock (School) anymore, you can’t throw those one-handed passes.”

Bradley Beal — “I agree with Pat, probably his sense of humor. Whenever you make a mistake or if you air-ball a shot, he’ll say close the door, like the wind is blowing in or something smart like like that.”

Erving Walker — “I would say he’s obsessed with hard practices.”

Kenny Boynton — “I agree with all these guys. The hard practices and his sense of humor. He’s a very funny coach.”

So far, so good.

When Florida beat Virginia in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, it got a big boost from assistant coach Norm Roberts. Roberts, a former head coach at St. John’s, had scrimmaged Virginia two years ago and knew some of their personnel. He devised the scouting report that kept Mike Scott and Co at bey.

Roberts’ Big East ties will be counted on again tonight when Florida faces Marquette. As expected, he’s preparing the scouting report.

Florida assistant Matt McCall put together the scouting report for UF’s round of 32 win over Norfolk State. It was McCall’s idea to double Norfolk State center Kyle O’Quinn in the post.

McCall also has been busy on the recruiting trail. His legwork helped land in-state prospects Dillon Graham (Class of 2012 signee) and point guard standout Kasey Hill (Class of 2013 commitment). On Wednesday night, McCall was in Las Vegas trying to lure 2012 five-star big man Anthony Bennett. Bennett is planning to visit the UF campus in April.

Assistant John Pelphrey has worked primarily with UF’s frontcourt, which hasn’t been an easy task. With Will Yeguete out with a broken foot, Pelphrey has been forced to get creative into developing Patric Young and Erik Murphy into more consistent players. He’s also helped restore Casey Prather’s lost confidence.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Tuesday that six Marquette players were ticketed for being underage at a downtown Milwaukee nightclub. The incident took place on Jan. 29, though the tickets weren’t served until March 12.

Players involved included Todd Mayo, 20, a freshman guard  (and younger brother of Memphis Grizzles guard O.J. Mayo) ; Vander Blue, 19, a sophomore guard; Jamail Jones, 19, a sophomore forward; Juan Anderson, 18, a freshman forward; Derrick Wilson, 20, a freshman guard; and Jake Thomas, 20, a junior guard.

Marquette athletic director Larry Williams said discipline was handled internally at the time of the incident and that all six players will play Thursday against the Gators.

Marquette coach Buzz Williams offered a terse opening statement about the incident in his Tuesday news conference before heading to Phoenix.

“That was handled Jan. 29 with our team, it was a Sunday morning, it was handled by our administration Jan. 30,” Williams said. “Some of the commentary, some of the quotes, some of the dates, not sure how all of that matches up. But I’ll do my absolute best to figure out how that’s played itself out.”

Donovan said he’ll take a crash course this week in studying Marquette, UF’s Sweet 16 opponent on Thursday in Phoenix (10:17 p.m. TBS).

Donovan could call Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings, a close friend, for a scouting report. Or LSU coach Trent Johnson. Both Southeastern Conference coaches faced and beat Marquette during the non-conference schedule. LSU won 67-59 in Baton Rouge, while Vandy won 74-57 at Marquette.

Marquette (27-7) has won 15 of its last 18 games, playing at a high level since the Big East Conference season began. Like Florida, Marquette, relies heavily on ball movement, averaging 16.3 assists per game. Marquette has two primary scorers– senior guard Darius Johnson-Odom (18.5 ppg) and senior 6-foot-6, 235-pound forward Jae Crowder (17.6 ppg, 8.4 rpg). Crowder was named Big East Player of the Year.

Marquette shoots 45.7 percent from the field and 33.9 percent from 3-point range. Despite Crowder’s bulk down low, Marquette is not a great rebounding team. The Eagles have a negative (-0.1) rebounding margin this season.

Donovan said he knows Marquette coach Buzz Williams “pretty well.” Williams attended and spoke at Donovan’s coaching clinic at UF last August.