Tag: Euroleague

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.