Tag: NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarship

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: 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.