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.
