All-Time Gators Men’s Basketball Bio: Vernon Maxwell (1984-88)

While he was most certainly a flawed human being who found trouble in almost every stop, “Mad Max” was unquestionably a baller on the court.

[jwplayer QyyBFkar]

Vernon Maxwell (1984-88) – Point/Shooting Guard

Vernon Maxwell was a very controversial person in Florida lore. While he left Gainesville as the Gators’ all-time leading scorer, his role in uncovering the program’s cash payoff scheme for athletes which resulted in harsh NCAA sanctions tarnished his legacy at UF.

Maxwell was a hometown boy, born in Gainesville and attending Buchholz High School where he was named Mr. Basketball of the state of Florida his senior year and was also an all-state defensive back in football. With an athletic scholarship in hand, he joined head coach Norm Sloan’s team in 1984.

The star guard excelled in his four years at UF, averaging 20 points a game his junior and senior season — just missing the mark his sophomore year with a 19.6 average — and still holds 15 Gators team records. During his senior season he upped his secondary game, averaging career highs in rebounds (4.2) and assists (4.3) per game while barely missing his best mark with just under two steals per game.

However, due to the aforementioned scandal in which Maxwell testified to a grand jury that he received money from Sloan, an assistant and University of Florida boosters which he used to buy cocaine, all of the points he amassed his junior and senior seasons were erased from the records. His 2,450 career points would still be the best in Gators men’s basketball history had they not been revoked.

Rescinded statistics notwithstanding, Maxwell finished his collegiate career the No. 2 scorer in Southeastern Conference history behind LSU’s Pete Maravich. However, despite his achievements on the court, he fell down into the second round of the 1988 NBA Draft, where he was selected 47th overall by the Denver Nuggets but quickly traded on draft day to the San Antonio Spurs for a second-round pick the following year.

Maxwell only played a season-and-a-half in San Antonio before he was sold to the Houston Rockets, where his game flourished alongside Hakeem Olajuwon and company. After a slow start to his NBA career his first two years, the young guard found his footing and from 1990 to 1992 he reached career highs in points per game with 17.0 and 17.2, respectively. Known for his deadly shooting from outside of the arc, he owned the NBA record for most 3-pointers made in a season from 1991 until 1993; he was also renown for his clutch shooting, sinking numerous game-winning shots throughout his career.

The former Gator earned an NBA championship ring with the Rockets for the first of their repeat titles in 1993-94; he missed out on the second ring when he quit the team after its opening first-round game loss to Utah in the 1995 playoffs in frustration due to recently acquired Clyde Drexler taking his starting spot and playing time. He would produce his third-highest career offensive output the following season with the Philadelphia 76ers before his career began to decline.

Overall, Maxwell played 13 total seasons in the NBA with eight different teams, accumulating almost 11,000 points for a career average of 12.8 per game and averaging double-digit scoring in 11 seasons while sinking 1,256 three-point shots at a 32 percent clip. “Hawk” also averaged 3.4 assists per game for his career, reaching his high-water mark of 5.1 per game in 1993-1994.

While Maxwell was most certainly a flawed human being who found trouble in almost every stop of his adult life, “Mad Max” was unquestionably a baller on the court. When considering how much he achieved when his sneakers were laced up — both with the Gators and in the pros — it is easy to place him among the greatest basketball players in UF’s program history.

[vertical-gallery id=17916]

B/R ranks 2005 Texas as a top 10 team of all time

Bleacher Report recently ranked its top 10 CFB teams of all time. 2005 Texas, led by Mac Brown and Vince Young, made the list.

For long, there has been a debate over who is the greatest college football team of all time. Bleacher Report recently joined in the conversation, ranking their top 10 teams of all time.

The earliest team selected was Oklahoma’s 1956 team, while LSU’s 2019 national championship team also made the list. Half the teams selected for the top 10 have come since the turn of the century.

Texas’ 2005 team made the list, coming in at No. 8. Led by Mack Brown, the Longhorns had a perfect 14-0 while winning the Big 12 and National Championship.

The season was capped off against USC, playing the famous 2006 Rose Bowl. Arguably the greatest college football game of all time, Texas cemented their place in history with a walk-off touchdown from Vince Young.

Here is the full list:

2001 Miami
1971 Nebraska
1973 USC
1995 Nebraska
2005 USC Trojans
2019 LSU
2018 Clemson
2005 Texas
1979 Alabama
1956 Oklahoma

Texas had to face two teams on this list, playing against 1956 Oklahoma and 2019 LSU.

The Longhorns played the annual Red River Shootout against the Sooners at the Cotton Bowl and got shutout 45-0. To this day, it is the fourth-largest margin of victory in the rivalry.

Fairing better against the Tigers, Texas lost by seven in Austin this past season. Only Alabama and Auburn played LSU better, losing by five and three respectively.

As for 2005 Texas, B/R agrees the 2006 Rose Bowl brings a whole new element when discussing the Longhorns that season.

If the 2006 Rose Bowl isn’t the greatest game ever played, it’s certainly no lower than the highest tier in history.

Vince Young’s legendary fourth-down scramble gave Texas a dramatic win over USC—then considered a potential all-time team. Given that context, how could the unblemished Longhorns not then be catapulted into that discussion?

Texas allowed just 16.4 points per game, but Young and Co. demanded the headlines with a top-ranked 50.2 points scored per game.

Young, who finished second in Heisman voting behind USC’s Reggie Bush, became the first NCAA player to throw for 3,000 yards and run for 1,000 in a single season. Running back Jamaal Charles, a future NFL star, topped 1,000 scrimmage yards, too.

No matter how many great teams win national championships in the future, it will be difficult to knock the 2005 Longhorn team out of the conversation. With a game and moment as special as beating USC, they’ll be remembered for the rest of history.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Top 5 Greatest Draft Picks in NFL History

Top 5 Greatest Draft Picks
in NFL History With the 2020 NFL Draft set to take place
virtually April 23-25, here’s a look at the
all-time greatest draft picks. 5. Ray Lewis, LB, Miami:
1996, 1st round, 26th pick overall,
Baltimore Ravens 4. Joe Montana, QB, Notre Dame:
1979, 3rd round, 82nd pick overall,
San Francisco 49ers 3. Deacon Jones, DE, Mississippi Valley State:
1961, 14th round, 186th pick overall,
Los Angeles Rams 2. Jerry Rice, WR, Mississippi Valley State:
1985, 1st round, 16th pick overall,
San Francisco 49ers 1. Tom Brady, QB, Michigan:
2000, 6th round, 199th pick overall,
New England Patriots

Top 5 Greatest Draft Picks in NFL History

Drew Brees overtakes Tom Brady in search of Peyton Manning’s record

The race for Peyton Manning’s career touchdowns record is heating up between New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees and Patriots passer Tom Brady.

[jwplayer e2hPOVWF-ThvAeFxT]

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees turned in a vintage performance against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, lobbing five touchdown passes and turning in another one on a goal-line leap over the top. It was enough to raise his career total to 537 touchdown passes, putting him ahead of New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (536) as both living legends compete for the record Peyton Manning set (539) before his 2016 retirement.

Brees has to throw three touchdowns in his final three games to break Manning’s record, while Brady has to complete four scoring throws in his three games. Here’s who each quarterback will play to close out the regular season:

Drew Brees’ final opponents

Week 15 vs. Indianapolis Colts
Week 16 at Tennessee Titans
Week 17 at Carolina Panthers

Tom Brady’s final opponents

Week 15 at Cincinnati Bengals
Week 16 vs. Buffalo Bills
Week 17 vs. Miami Dolphins

While Brady’s receiving corps has been horrific this season — so bad that he couldn’t even build a significant lead on Brees in the five games he missed with a thumb injury earlier this year — he could absolutely break the record against the Bengals on Sunday. What’s curious is that Brees is in position to break that record during Monday night’s game with the Colts. Would the NFL stop the Patriots-Bengals game to recognize Brady’s accomplishment (as they did when Brees broke Manning’s career passing yards record last year) and then do the same a day later? Godspeed to the NFL game day operations crew.

Whoever ends up winning this record before Brees and Brady both retire will probably hold onto it for a decade. Either of them could retire at any time and not really shock anyone, and the active quarterbacks behind them have so much ground to make up that it could reasonably take six or seven years to even challenge the new high-water mark. Here’s what the standings look like among the NFL’s top ten quarterbacks in career passing touchdowns:

Drew Brees, 537
Tom Brady, 536
Philip Rivers, 394
Ben Roethlisberger, 363
Eli Manning, 361
Aaron Rodgers, 361
Matt Ryan, 317
Matthew Stafford, 256
Russell Wilson, 222
Joe Flacco, 218

[vertical-gallery id=24148]

Tom Brady breaks tie with Drew Brees in loss, closes in on Peyton Manning’s record

[jwplayer KbcTtIrw]

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady couldn’t get it done against the Houston Texans in his team’s 28-22 loss on Sunday Night Football, but he did pad his personal stats in pursuit of NFL history with three touchdown passes. That helped his career total rise to 535, breaking a tie with New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees at 532. They both trail retired all-time great Peyton Manning (539), and each passer has a shot at surpassing him before the regular season winds down.

It was just the third time this year in which Brady lobbed three or more touchdown passes; he had previously scored just 15 times through the air in his first 11 games. When Brees missed five games with an injury to his throwing hand, Brady struggled to take advantage of the opportunity, allowing Brees to tie everything up last week. Now it’s up to Brees to keep up the pace down the stretch.

There’s a lot of pressure for each quarterback to go out on top, because the winner will own bragging rights for most of the next decade. Their youngest, closest competition (36-year-old Aaron Rodgers, and almost-35-year-old Matt Ryan) would need to make big improvements for the next five or six years to seriously challenge them.

Here’s how the standings among active quarterbacks look in all-time touchdown passes:

Tom Brady, 535
Drew Brees, 532
Philip Rivers, 391
Ben Roethlisberger, 363
Eli Manning, 362
Aaron Rodgers, 360
Matt Ryan, 315

We’ll see whether Brees can continue making up for lost time in the final quarter of the regular season. Brady was visibly frustrated with his receiving corps for much of Sunday’s game against the Texans, while Brees and the Saints have someone they can lean on in Michael Thomas, an MVP candidate. If someone can start to consistently make plays opposite Thomas (this is your time, Jared Cook) then Brees could very well claim that record first.

[vertical-gallery id=23629]

Drew Brees, Tom Brady tied behind Peyton Manning’s record in touchdown passes

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees is locked in a tie with New England Patriots passer Tom Brady for Peyton Manning’s all-time record

[jwplayer hFZWoanf]

Peyton Manning retired after the 2015 season on his own terms, having clinched the second Super Bowl victory that eluded him (and that New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees had a hand in denying him, back in 2009) as well as the NFL’s record for career touchdown passes, with 539.

But that record won’t remain his forever. Brees is hot on his heels after lobbing a scoring pass to backup Saints quarterback Taysom Hill last Thursday against the Atlanta Falcons, putting him at 532 in his NFL career. That ties the mark for second-best set by New England Patriots legend Tom Brady, who will play the Houston Texans on Sunday Night Football.

That means Brady will have a chance to break his tie with Brees and gain further ground on Manning’s all-time lead. However, he’ll hardly have an easy go of it; flu season has hit New England hard, with 17 players listed as questionable to suit up in Houston. The Patriots even chartered a second airplane to travel cross-country and avoid further contamination between sick players and their (so far) healthy teammates.

Among Brady’s top receiving options, three will be dealing with injuries or the flu if they play at all. The list includes wide receivers Julian Edelman (shoulder), Phillip Dorsett (concussion), and Mohamed Sanu (ankle). With just five games left in the regular season, Brady has to score eight more touchdown passes to break Manning’s record — a rate of 1.6 per game. He’s averaged just 1.36 through his first 11 games, which opens the door for Brees to overtake him and possibly break the record first.

New Orleans only has four games left in the regular season, meaning Brees must average 2.0 touchdown passes per game to break the record. His five-game stint on the sidelines with an injury notwithstanding, the Saints quarterback has averaged 1.7 through seven starts this year. Take out his early exit against the Los Angeles Rams and that average rises to 2.0 per game, meaning the record is well within reach.

Whoever ends up setting this record before the other retires will likely hold onto it for quite some time. The only other active quarterbacks behind them are a gaggle of fringe Hall of Famers like Philip Rivers (389), Ben Roethlisberger (363), Eli Manning (362), Aaron Rodgers (356), and Matt Ryan (315), and each of them is closer to retirement than their prime.

As the youngest members on that list, Rodgers (who turns 36 on Monday) would need to average 2.3 touchdown passes per game for the next five years to break Manning’s record, while Ryan (who will be 35 in May) would have to average 2.34 for six years. Rodgers is only scoring 1.6 touchdown passes per game this season, and Ryan is scoring at a clip of 1.81 per game.

Those are some long odds, which only raises the pressure on Brees and Brady. Whoever ends up owning this record will have bragging rights that last nearly a decade.

[vertical-gallery id=23243]

Where do Tom Brady, Drew Brees rank in race for Peyton Manning’s crown?

New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees and New England Patriots QB Tom Brady are in tight competition for Peyton Manning’s passing touchown record

[jwplayer aNlJUced]

Peyton Manning retired from the NFL in 2016 as the league’s all-time leader in touchdown passes, having scored 539 times through the air in his lengthy career. That put him ahead of the former record-holder, Brett Favre (who set the previous high-water mark with 508, ahead of Dan Marino’s 420), by a sizable margin.

But records are meant to be broken. And two Hall of Fame-bound quarterbacks have Manning’s accomplishment in their sights: New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, and New England Patriots passer Tom Brady.

Here’s how the top five shapes up right now, though only Brees and Brady remain active:

Peyton Manning (539)
Tom Brady (531)
Drew Brees (528)
Brett Favre (508)
Dan Marino (420)

With just six games left to play in the 2019 regular season, both Brees and Brady may be hard-pressed to match Manning. Brees obviously missed out during his five-week recovery from thumb surgery, but Brady didn’t take advantage of the opportunity to put himself further ahead. The Patriots quarterback threw just seven touchdowns during the five games Brees sat out, and the Philadelphia Eagles defense held him without a touchdown pass in New England’s most recent win.

In order to break Manning’s record, Brady needs to throw nine touchdown passes in his next six games — an average of 1.5 per game. That may sound easy enough, but Brady has been limited to one touchdown pass or fewer in half the games he’s played this year. Brees has to connect on twelve throws into the end zone to do the same, a rate of two per game. He’s gone scoreless in two of his five starts this year. If they both come up short, well, there’s always next year.

When quarterbacks have accomplished as much as Brees and Brady have, it can be difficult to keep up with all of the records they’ve broken and those that are still up for grabs. But this is one competition fans can keep track of on a weekly basis, and it’s well worth watching. When Brees and Brady eventually hang up their cleats and start writing their Hall of Fame inductions speeches, all-time great records like this one are what fans will be using to debate for years to come.

[vertical-gallery id=22622]