Tag: Biography

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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