Tishman cleared to practice, not yet to play

When guard Nick Calathes chose to play in Greece instead of return for his junior season, Florida Gators head basketball coach Billy Donovan was left in a predicament. Because Calathes’ decision was made late into the recruiting process and many top prospects had already been thinking about other schools, Donovan was behind the eight ball in bringing in a young ball handler. Would he go with generously 5’6″ Erving Walker as his sole legitimate point guard or give some of the duties to five-star shooting guard commitment Kenny Boynton?

For the 2009-10 season, it will be a combination of Walker and Boynton handling the most of the duties at point, but Donovan took it upon himself to turn over every rock and find someone that could help in the future. That someone is 6’5″ freshman point guard Nimrod Tishman out of Tel Aviv, Israel.

Tishman, listed on the Florida roster and cleared to practice with the team, is still awaiting his approval by the NCAA Clearinghouse, which determines eligibility for all prospective NCAA Division I student-athletes. Part of the hold-up are Tishman’s military duties, which must be waived in writing by his homeland. Until he is officially cleared, Tishman will be unable to play in games. Donovan said he expects to hear about Tishman’s eligibility “well before” UF opens its season against Stetson, but the delay is hurting his chances of playing right away.