Never fear, Vernon Macklin with Florida is the same as he was with Georgetown. It just shows how bad his timing was with the Hoyas.
In many ways, in his two years with the Gators, Macklin has become the solid big man he was expected to be as a McDonald’s All-American out of Portsmouth, Va. He’s always been big (6-foot-10), athletic and a good finisher around the basket, and he provides just the kind of balance that Florida needs with two explosive guards in Kenny Boynton and Erving Walker. Macklin (11.3 ppg, 5.4 rpg) had 10 points in each of the Gators’ first two NCAA tournament wins, shooting a combined 9-for-12 from the field.
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He never even had the chance for that many touches with the Hoyas, playing behind Roy Hibbert and Jeff Green. He would have been behind Greg Monroe if he had stayed.
Macklin needed minutes more than the Hoyas needed Macklin. Ironically, the year Georgetown could have used Macklin the most would have been this one — except that if he had stayed, his eligibility would have run out.
Instead, Macklin is still in the game with the Gators after sitting out a year because of transfer rules. But he still isn’t a dominant rebounder. As for shooting from anywhere beyond six feet, things can get ugly, especially at the free throw line, where he shoots only 45.7 percent.
Of course, he is in the Sweet 16 for the second time in his career, and none of his former Hoyas teammates can say that.
