Florida basketball loses sophomore forward to foot injury

A tough loss for the Gators’ basketball team with a couple of months remaining before the season’s tipoff.

Florida’s men’s basketball team suffered a tough loss on Tuesday when sophomore forward [autotag]Aleks Szymczyk[/autotag] went down with a foot injury during team practice. After being evaluated, it turns out that the 6-foot-10-inch, 250-pound frontcourt player will miss 10 to 12 weeks and will require surgery, Florida Gators senior writer Chris Harry reports.

Somewhat ironically, Szymczyk appeared in a majority of his freshman games after center Colin Castleton went down with an injury last season. He averaged 2.1 points per game on 39.3% shooting along with 1.3 rebounds over 14 appearances.

The native of Germany logged eight points in 20 minutes along with six rebounds and four steals — all collegiate career highs — on Feb. 18 against the Arkansas Razorbacks. Szymczyk also drained 2 of 5 three-point attempts, which were also highwater marks for the young forward.

Florida’s 2023-24 campaign tips off on Monday, Nov. 6, inside the O’Connell Center against the Loyaola Maryland Greyhounds, with a start time still to be determined.

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