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All-Time Gators Men’s Basketball Bio: Scottie Wilbekin 2010-14

Wilbekin was a part of four-straight Elite 8 teams and went from being a defense-first role player to the premier player in the conference.

Scottie Wilbekin wasn’t supposed to be a dominant college basketball player. He wasn’t supposed to be an important cog in one of the most prolific four years of Florida basketball history. Just a two-star local prospect from The Rock School, he wasn’t highly sought after and wasn’t expected to make major contributions to the Gators.

But he steadily improved every year, and by the time his days in Gainesville were done, he was one of the most valuable players in the entire country and was a key component in leading UF to its first Final Four appearance since 2007.

Wilbekin started his career at Florida heading into the 2010-11 season. Early on, he struggled with his offensive game but shined as a passer and defender. His freshman season, he played in 37 games (starting one) and averaged 2.4 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.6 assists. His 61-28 assist-to-turnover ratio was the best on the team, and he nabbed 36 steals as the Gators made it to the first of four-straight Elite Eights during Wilbekin’s career, which they lost to Butler.

His sophomore season, his role was once again largely that of a backup. He played in all 37 games, again making just one start. Despite a decrease in minutes, he slightly improved his points average from 2.4 to 2.6. He began to develop his outside shot, leading the team in three-point percentage at 45.7 percent. Florida returned to the Elite Eight in 2011-12, but lost again at the hands of eventual-champion Louisville.

His junior year was when he really took off, though. He became a starter, starting 29 of 35 games that he appeared in. His points average increased markedly to 9.1 and dished 174 assists, the fifth-best single-season mark in program history. He was named to the SEC All-Defensive team with 53 steals and was an All-SEC honorable mention. He also had the best assist-to-turnover ratio in the league. Still, UF couldn’t get past the Elite Eight for the third-straight season, this time falling to Michigan.

As a senior in 2013-14, Wilbekin was part of a quartet of seniors — along with Casey Prather, Will Yeguete and Patric Young — that led the Gators past the Elite Eight hump and on to the Final Four. Wilbekin had career-highs in points (13.1 per game) and steals (56 on the season). For his efforts, he was named the SEC Player of the Year, as well as cracking All-American, All-SEC and SEC All-Defensive lists. When the Gators won the SEC Tournament with just two losses on the entire season, Wilbekin was named its MVP.

UF returned to the Elite Eight, but this time got past it, beating No. 11 seed Dayton. In the Final Four matchup against Connecticut, Wilbekin was limited by injuries, and with its leader not at 100 percent, Florida struggled accordingly, eventually suffering a 63-53 loss to the Huskies, who went on to beat Kentucky in the National Championship.

Despite his prolific college career, Wilbekin went undrafted in the 2014 NBA Draft, signing with the Cairns Taipans of the NBL in Australia after short stints on the summer league rosters for Memphis and Philadelphia. Wilbekin was one of the best players in the league that season, leading the Taipans to a runner-up finish and being named the club’s MVP.

After that season, he joined the Greek team AEK. In just nine games with the team, he averaged eight points, 2.3 rebounds and 3.9 assists. He first played with the Orlando Magic during the summer in 2015, and though he resigned with the Taipans, he opted out of that deal after another summer stint with the Philadelphia 76ers, getting signed to the team’s active roster on a four-year deal. However, he was cut after playing in five preseason games.

He signed with Turkish team Darüşşafaka of the EuroLeague, where he played three seasons, leading it to the playoffs in 2016-17. He also played for the Turkish National Team in 2018 after receiving a Turkish passport. During the EuroCup regular season in 2017-18, Wilbekin was named the league MVP. After Darüşşafaka won the championship, he was also named the EuroCup Finals MVP.

After that season, he signed a two-year deal with Israeli Euro League team Maccabi Tel Aviv, where he has played ever since. Now a veteran, he has become one of the most dominant players in the Euro League. This past January, he signed a three-year extension with Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Wilbekin was a part of four-straight Elite Eight teams and went from being a defense-first role player as a freshman to the premier player in the conference as a senior. Though he never made it in the NBA, that alone is more than enough to make Wilbekin one of the top players from the late-Billy Donovan era.

All-Time Gators Men’s Basketball Bio: Andy Owens (1967-70)

Andy Owens was an All-SEC selection in 1968 and 1970, an Academic All-American in 1970, and also received an NCAA post-graduate scholarship.

Andy Owens (1967-70) – Forward

Continuing in the tradition of other Gators greats from the late 60s and early 70s, Andy Owens had a brilliant collegiate career in Gainesville but found another profession other than basketball after leaving Florida’s campus.

Owens was born in Atlanta but moved to Tampa as a child, where he standout player for the Hillsborough Terriers high school basketball team. He scored 1,806 points and averaged 23.5 points per game over 77 career prep games and was named as a high school All-American along with Lew Alcindor and Pete Maravich after his senior season.

Making the short trip up Interstate 75, Owens accepted an athletic scholarship to the University of Florida after turning down offers from Kentucky and North Carolina. Alongside Gators legend Neal Walk, he helped lead UF to its first postseason tournament appearance: the 1969 National Invitational Tournament.

Over the course of three seasons in Gainesville, Owens averaged 19 points — including 27 points his senior year, a still-standing single-season record at Florida — along with 8.3 rebounds per game, while shooting 47.7 percent from the floor and 81 percent from the free-throw line. He scored more than 30 points 11 times and was an All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) selection in 1968 and 1970, an Academic All-American in 1970, and received an NCAA post-graduate scholarship.

Owens was taken in both the NBA and ABA Drafts in 1970, going to the Seattle Supersonics in the 11th round and the New Orleans Buccaneers picked him in the 12th round, respectively. Much like Richard Glasper did after him, Owens opted to take a professional career route off the parquet after his collegiate playing days ended and attended law school in Gainesville.

After finishing school, Owens began his career as a lawyer in Punta Gorda, Fla. and was later appointed as a judge on the Twelfth Judicial Circuit. He had a decorated career on the bench before resigning from the court in 2017.

Owens was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a “Gator Great” in 1978 and was honored as an “SEC Basketball Legend” in 2001.

All-Time Gators Men’s Basketball Bio: Al Horford (2004-07)

Al Horford was a crucial contributor on the greatest Gators men’s basketball team which won back-to-back national titles from 2005-07.

Al Horford (2004-07) – Power Forward/Center

Al Horford was a crucial contributor on the greatest Gators men’s basketball team — and arguably one of the greatest NCAA teams, period — which won back-to-back national titles under head coach Billy Donovan from 2005-07.

Born in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, Horford was the son of professional basketball player Tito Horford, who played three years in the NBA and several more overseas. His family moved to Lansing, Michigan, in 2000 where he played basketball for Grand Ledge High School, setting seven school records — including most career points (1,239) — while averaging 21 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks per game his senior year en route to a Class A Player of the Year honor.

Horford, who was considered a four-star recruit and was listed as the No. 7 power forward and the No. 36 player in the nation coming out of high school, came to Florida and joined a program that was already on a meteoric ascent. His freshman season, he teamed up with David Lee to form a formidable front-court that won the 2005 Southeastern Conference Tournament championship; that team, however, lost in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

The next two seasons represented the pinnacle of the program’s history, as Horford and company won both the SEC and national championships in 2005-06, only to return as a full team — despite high prospects for several players in the NBA Draft — to win a second-consecutive championship trophy. Horford averaged double-digit points per game during that stretch, including almost posting a double-double average his junior season with 13.2 points and 9.5 rebounds per game.

Three days after winning the second title, Horford and the rest of the Gators’ starting five declared for the NBA Draft. The talented power forward was selected the highest of his peers, taken at No. 3 — the second-highest draft position in program history, tied with Bradley Beal —by the Atlanta Hawks.

He began his professional career in Atlanta strong, receiving a unanimous selection to the NBA All-Rookie First Team — the only player with that distinction for the 2007-08 season — while finishing runner-up for the Rookie of the Year honor. His superlative play earned him back-to-back All-Star Team selections the next two seasons, and in turn was rewarded with a five-year, $60 million contract extension sandwiched in between his two All-Star appearances.

After an injury-shortened season the following year, Horford put up his best numbers in 2012-13 averaging a career-high 17.4 points, a career-high 10.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.1 blocks and 1.1 steals in 37.2 minutes across 74 games. He also recorded 43 double-doubles, including 20 20-point/10-rebound games, and even added one in points and assists to mix things up. The promising power forward earned his first Eastern Conference Player of the Week honor in November of 2012.

Horford oscillated between injury and all-star form the following seasons — playing a career-high 82 regular-season games in 2015-16 — before signing a max contract with the Boston Celtics as an unrestricted free agent in 2016. He had a moderately successful run in Boston over a three year period, reaching the Eastern Conference Finals twice but failing to advance any further.

After declining a player option in his contract with the Celtics, Horford moved on to the Philadelphia 76ers — where he currently plays — signing a four-year $97 million contract along with $12 million in bonuses as an unrestricted free agent. The abbreviated 2019-20 season was a disappointing one for the former Gators big man, putting up near career-lows across the stat sheet.

However, after this past season was canceled due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, the philanthropic power forward donated $500,000 towards relief efforts both back home and at all of his stops in the States.

So far over the course of his professional career, Horford has averaged 14 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.2 blocks per game in 13 seasons with three different teams along with five All-Star Game appearances. While Horford is not quite on an NBA Hall of Fame trajectory, he has still been a formidable force during his years in the league.

At this point, Horford is entering the twilight of his career and by the time all is said and done, the big man from the Dominican Republic will have a legitimate claim to a spot in the Pantheon of Gators greats.

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All-Time Gators Men’s Basketball Bio: Brett Nelson (1999-03)

Brett Nelson was a key member of the turn-of-the-millennium squad that reached the 2000 NCAA Tournament Finals while collecting 100 wins.

Brett Nelson (1999-03) – Guard

Brett Nelson was a key member of Billy Donovan’s turn-of-the-millennium squad that reached the 2000 NCAA Tournament Finals while collecting 100 wins during his four years in school.

Hailing from St. Albans, West Virginia, Nelson was a 1999 McDonald’s All-American standout and the state’s player of the year his senior season. His efforts earned him a spot on Donovan’s team, which had reached the Sweet 16 the season before he arrived and almost won it all his freshman year.

Nelson’s most productive years at Florida came during his sophomore and junior seasons when he averaged 15.3 and 14.6 points per game while dishing out 4.3 and 3.3 assists per game, respectively. He also sported three-point percentages of 43.4, 45.3 and 39.5 in his first three seasons, respectively, with a career-high eight attempts per game his junior year, proving Nelson a significant threat from beyond the arc. Despite entering his senior season a Preseason Naismith Award Semifinalist, his final year saw a dramatic drop-off in games started and minutes played along with overall production.

Going undrafted in 2003, Nelson briefly played professional ball in Sweden but quickly decided that sports management and coaching was his career path. He took a job as director of basketball operations at Colorado State and then at VCU for a season each from 2005 to 2007 before embarking on his coaching career. Nelson is currently the head coach at Holy Cross — his first head coach gig — where in his first season on the bench his Crusaders went 3-29.

All-Time Gators Men’s Basketball Bio: Richard Glasper (1976-78)

Richard Glasper was a great guard on a very mediocre Florida squad in the mid-to-late 70s known for his elite vertical leap and quick hands.

Richard Glasper (1976-78) – Guard

Richard Glasper was a great guard on a very mediocre Florida squad in the mid-to-late 70s known for his elite vertical leap and quick hands.

Perhaps one of the greatest JUCO transfers in program history, he played in Gainesville for two seasons averaging double digits in points both years while setting a still-standing school career record for steals per game (1.83). He earned All-SEC honors in 1978 when he led the team in both steals and assists and his career average of 4.26 assists a game still stands as second-best in school history.

During the 1976-77 season, Glasper averaged 11.9 points per game making 53.5 percent of his shots, along with 2.1 rebounds; the following year, he averaged 13 points on 48.5 percent shooting from the field, along with 3.1 rebounds.

Despite Glasper’s innate athletic ability, his 6-foot frame limited his prospects in the professional ranks and he went undrafted after leaving school, never playing in the NBA.

All-Time Gators Men’s Basketball Bio: Chandler Parsons (2007-2011)

A four-star recruit, Parsons committed to back-to-back defending national champion Florida, giving his all in his 4 years in Gainesville.

Chandler Parsons (2007-2011) – Small Forward

Chandler Parsons was one of the best players from the late Billy Donovan era, leading the Gators to an Elite Eight his senior year for the first time since the back-to-back national championship seasons. He leveraged that college success into an NBA career that lasted nine years before being jeopardized earlier this year by injuries he sustained in a car accident.

Parsons was born in Casselberry, Florida, before moving to Winter Park, where he attended Lake Howell High School with future Gators teammate Nick Calathes. The pair led Lake Howell to three-straight Florida 5A final fours, winning the championship their senior year in 2007. That season, Parsons was a first team all-state selection and was the MVP of the state championship game with a 30-point, 10-rebound double-double.

A four-star recruit, Parsons committed to back-to-back defending national champion Florida and coach Billy Donovan. His first season in 2007-08, he wasn’t a starter but averaged 20.7 minutes in 36 games with 8.1 points and four rebounds as UF missed the NCAA Tournament.

The Gators missed the tournament again his sophomore year, though he was more productive, starting 28 of 36 games with 9.2 points and 5.7 rebounds a game. Though he only started 18 games his junior season, he still managed a career-best in points with 12.4 a game as well as 6.9 rebounds. That season, he hit a 75-foot buzzer-beater shot on the road to stun North Carolina State on its home floor, and Florida made the NCAA Tournament as a No. 10 seed, losing in the first round to BYU.

But Parsons saved his all-around best season for his senior year. He started 35 of 36 games that season, averaging 11.3 points and career-highs in assists and rebounds with 3.8 and 7.8, respectively. He hit another buzzer-beater shot, this time a three to beat South Carolina, and he was named the 2011 SEC Player of the Year, the first UF player ever to receive that honor.

Florida made the NCAA Tournament again that year, winning games in the first three rounds against UC Santa Barbara, UCLA and BYU before stumbling against Butler in the Elite Eight.

Despite his collegiate success, Parsons fell to the second round of the 2011 NBA Draft and was selected by the Rockets with the 38th pick. During the 2011 NBA lockout, he played for French team Cholet Basket before debuting with Houston, with which he started 57 of 63 games as a rookie and was named to the All-Rookie Second Team.

He started every game he played in for the next two seasons with the Rockets, averaging double-figure scoring in both (15.5 in 2012-13 and 16.6 in 2013-14).

He became a restricted free agent in the summer of 2014, and when he received a three-year, $46 million offer from Dallas, the Rockets didn’t match. Parsons made his debut with the Mavericks that fall, starting every game he played in again. But injuries limited him to just 66 appearances, and despite averaging 15.7 points, he was sidelined again in the first round of the playoffs against his former team, this time causing him to miss the remainder of the season.

He averaged just 13.7 points and 4.7 rebounds in 2015-16, both the lowest since his rookie season, and once again struggled with injuries, as a torn meniscus in late March cost him the rest of the year.

Still one of the top free agents in the 2016 cycle, Memphis eventually signed him to a four-year, $94 million deal that offseason.

He didn’t live up to the Grizzlies’ expectations, however. He averaged career lows in points (6.2) and rebounds (2.5). He started all 34 games he played in, but once again he saw his season cut short due to injuries.

Injury became a recurring theme for Parsons in Memphis. He only played in 51 games over the next two seasons and started just 11. He was kept under a double-figure scoring average both seasons.

With his relationship with the Grizzlies stagnating and a pricey deal not working out, Parsons was traded to Atlanta on July 6, 2019. He appeared in five games with the Hawks, averaging 2.8 points, before he was hit by a drunk driver in his car on Jan. 15, 2020. According to his attorney, he suffered a traumatic brain injury, disc herniation and a torn labrum, and his injuries could be career-ending. While rehabilitating, he was waived by the Hawks on Feb. 5.

Parsons was one of the greatest players of the post-national title era of Gators basketball. A four-year contributor who hit multiple legendary game-winning shots, Parsons overachieved in the NBA based upon his draft position. Though the final few seasons of his NBA career saw stagnation and his career is currently in danger of ending under tragic circumstances, Parsons’ legacy as a Gator leaves him as one of the best to wear the orange and blue in recent memory.

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All-Time Gators Men’s Basketball Bio: Tony Miller (1970-73)

Tony Miller’s tenure at UF came just after Neal Walk had left in 1969 and the center from Indiana filled those massive shoes admirably.

Tony Miller (1970-73) – Guard

Tony Miller is a mostly unknown name among the greats of Florida men’s basketball. Hailing from a much different era along with the fact that he never played pro ball has rendered him a distant memory in the psyche of the Gator Nation. That said, he was not exactly chopped liver, either.

Miller’s tenure at Florida came just after legendary Neal Walk had left Gainesville in 1969 and the guard from Indiana filled those massive shoes admirably, leading the Gators in scoring all three years he played.

The 6-foot-one Miller also led the SEC with an average of 26.7 points per game during the 1971–72 season, a year that included his program-record 54 points in a single game that came against Chicago State at Florida Gym. Miller also holds the current best mark for points in a road match, scoring 39 against Auburn that same season — mind you, all coming in an era before the shot clock and the three-point line.

Miller achieved many accolades as a Gator, including a first-team All-SEC selection, serving as senior team captain, earning Academic All-American honors and receiving an NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarship. He is also a member of the Florida Athletic Hall of Fame and was inducted into the Legends of SEC Basketball in 1999.

Despite some promising prospects at the professional level, Miller decided to forgo the NBA Draft in 1973 to attend medical school at the University of Illinois-Chicago, taking a keen interest in orthopedic medicine due to a broken hand he suffered just before he set his scoring record the year prior. He returned to Indiana to practice as a foot surgeon outside of Indianapolis, where he still works full-time to this day.

All-Time Gators Men’s Basketball Bio: Neal Walk (1966-69)

Neal Walk is probably the greatest Gators athlete that most Florida fans have never heard of who set numerous records in his time at UF.

Neal Walk (1966-69) – Center

Neal Walk is probably the greatest Gators athlete that most Florida fans have never heard of.

Born in Cleveland, Ohio and raised in Miami Beach, Fla., Walk did not start a high school game until his senior year when his team made it to the state semifinals. He attended the University of Florida on an academic scholarship, where he played center for three seasons under coach Tommy Bartlett.

During his time in Gainesville from 1966-69, Walk set multitudes of team records that still stand, including career rebounds (1,181), points per game (20.8), and rebounds in a single game (31), while also leaving school as the all-time leading scorer — a distinction he no longer holds. His No. 41 jersey remains the only number retired by UF’s basketball program.

Walk was taken at No. 2 in the 1969 NBA Draft by the Phoneix Suns — the highest of any Florida basketball player ever — just behind legendary Lew Alcindor (now Kareem Adul Jabbar) after the Suns lost a coin toss with the Milwaukee Bucks for the top pick.

The best years of Walk’s professional career came early on in Phoenix, where he hit his high-water mark during the 1972–73 season, averaging a career-best 20.2 points and 12.4 rebounds per game. The double-double machine was traded to the New Orleans Jazz in 1974 where his career completely came apart, falling from a front line starter to a benchwarmer with the Jazz and also shortly after with the New York Knicks until 1977.

Walk finished his career professional career in Italy, retiring in 1978. Complications from spinal cord surgery to remove a benign growth in 1987 left him without the use of his legs, rendering him wheelchair-bound for the remainder of his life. The Gator great passed away in 2015 after a long bout with poor health.

Julio Jones is the best WR in the NFL according to NFL analyst

NFL Analyst Bucky Brooks broke down his top wide receivers for the 2020 NFL season and it is headlined by former Alabama WR Julio Jones.

Former Alabama standout wide receiver Julio Jones has quite the NFL resume. Seven Pro Bowl selections, 2015 receptions leader, two-time receiving yards leader and named to the NFL 2010’s All-Decade team are all under his belt. However, some believe that other, younger, faces in the league are above Jones.

NFL.com’s analyst Bucky Brooks broke down his top-five wide receivers across the league, and it is headlined by none other than Jones

“The 10th-year pro is the prototype at the position: an explosive track athlete with A+ size and strength,” says Brooks. “Jones reached 12,000 receiving yards quicker than any pass catcher in NFL history (125 games) — yes, including Jerry Rice (142). He also boasts the highest career average in receiving yards per game in NFL history (96.2), logging 1,300-plus yards in each of the past six seasons. As a dynamic route runner with strong hands and rugged running skills, Jones remains the gold standard at the position.”

Other wide receivers to be named were Michael Thomas, DeAndre Hopkins, Mike Evans and Keenan Allen.

Though the Alabama-native may be 31-years old, he shows no signs of slowing down. Being the No. 1 receiver on the Falcons, while being surrounded by high quality talent like fellow Alabama product Calvin Ridley, is quite the feat.

In 2019, Jones recorded 1,394 yards off of 99 catches for only six touchdowns.

Brooks had mentioned his size, which should be a contributing factor to getting more looks in the redone and a higher number of touchdowns receptions, but that will likely change in 2020 as they added Todd Gurley to the backfield. The addition of Gurley should free up space for Jones to move around more freely.

Georgia football RB D’Andre Swift ranks top-five NFL backs

Georgia football RB D’Andre Swift ranked the top-five NFL running backs in today’s game.

Georgia running back D’Andre Swift is considered the top ball carrier in this year’s NFL Draft.

With the event set to take place next week, Swift should expect to hear his name called in either the first or second round of the virtual draft.

In an interview with USA TODAY’s Mackenzie Salmon, Swift was asked to rank either the top-five NFL running backs of all-time or the top-five that are currently in the league.

Swift opted to rank the five best current running backs.

Here they are:

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