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Parsons Figuring It Out For UF

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By JENNA MARINA, Tribune correspondent

Published: February 12, 2008

GAINESVILLE - University of Florida coach Billy Donovan has seen his share of players struggle with inner battles.

Recently, Donovan recalled finding then-freshman Mike Miller dribbling up and down the court at 1 a.m. after a loss to Florida State. When Donovan approached and told him to go home to rest, Miller said he needed to "figure it out."

Now, it seems Chandler Parsons is the freshman trying to figure it out.

Parsons delivered an 18-point performance against Georgia on Saturday after scoring a combined 18 points in his previous four games.

After several days of spending extra time at the gym shooting until 3 a.m., Parsons drained himself to the point of exhaustion. After a visit to the infirmary, he was ordered to rest prior to Saturday's game. On Monday, he still had a bit of a cough and a sore throat, but his body was not as achy and tired.

Donovan was not aware of Parsons' late-night workout sessions at the time. Though he wished the freshman would have used some judgment about tweaking his game at a reasonable hour, Donovan appreciated the effort.

"I think the fact that Chandler is doing that shows me and shows everybody how badly he wants to be a good player," Donovan said. "I think all these guys have the same disposition because they really want to do well, but there's an intra-perspective where Chandler is looking at it right now saying, 'I'm not shooting. I'm not shooting.' There's other things you can do. You can pass, you can rebound. You don't need to put pressure on yourself that way."

Parsons refuses to concede his shooting role, but now also focuses on some of the more technical aspects of the game, especially defense.

"Just not missing a block out, that's one of the things I take pride in," Parsons said. "When the shot goes up, I just love to hit a guy now, just to make sure he doesn't get a rebound."

Coming in off the bench has been an adjustment for the former standout, and he will punch in once again Wednesday night when Florida (19-5, 6-3 Southeastern Conference) hosts LSU (8-14, 1-7).

Parsons considered LSU as one of his top five schools and was recruited heavily by then-coach John Brady, who was fired from his position Friday. Parsons was scheduled to visit Baton Rouge, La., but hit Florida first and never looked back.

The role switch has taken some getting used to, but he is happy embracing what he feels to be a reserve's main responsibility: Immediately charge the team with energy.

"I mean, who doesn't want to start? But as long as I keep doing the things I'm doing and everyone else is competing, I don't think that the starting lineup matters as much as who's on the floor at the end of the game," said Parsons, who did finish Saturday's game on the court. "I'm not really a selfish guy. I don't care to start."

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