Tag: sec player of the year

Florida’s Skylar Wallace named SEC Softball Player of the Year

The Florida Gators have the best softball player in the SEC, and now Skylar Wallace has the hardware to prove it.

Gators shortstop [autotag]Skylar Wallace[/autotag] is the best softball player in the Southeastern Conference.

That statement became fact on Friday afternoon when the conference announced its postseason awards and crowned Wallace the SEC Player of the Year.

Wallace is the seventh Gator to win the award and first since Amanda Lorenz did it in 2018. She is slashing .463/.613/1.052 and has belted 19 home runs, drove in 55 runs and stolen 30 bases. Her batting average, slugging percentage, eight triples and 141 total bases lead the SEC as well.

Naturally, the conference player of the year also earned an All-SEC First Team nod, as did teammate Charla Echols for a second-straight season. Kendra Falby and Reagan Walsh were named to the All-SEC Second Team, too.

The Gators were knocked out of the SEC tournament a few hours after Wallace received the good news. A 4-0 loss to top-seeded Tennessee end the conference title run for Florida, but the NCAA Tournament still awaits. Regional placements will be announced on Sunday.

Wallace should get a chance to tie the program record for homers during the tournament. At 19, she sits just three behind Brittany Schutte’s 2011 record of 22 big home runs. Florida is guaranteed at least two more games this season with it being double-elimination, and Wallace has gone deep three times in one game before.

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The Athletic names Tre Mann SEC Player of the Year for 2021

The Gators may have lost the Preseason SEC Player of the Year in Keyontae Johnson, but Mann stepped up to the plate big-time this year.

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When Florida lost Keyontae Johnson for the season after his scary collapse against FSU in December and subsequent hospitalization, it didn’t just lose its on-court leader. It lost the Preseason SEC Player of the Year.

Without Johnson, the Gators had to adjust their plans for the season tremendously. The team was desperate for someone to step up and take a leadership position, but it was unclear who that player may be. Now, the answer is obvious.

Tre Mann has been one of the most improved players in the country this season. After an entirely forgettable freshman year, he’s finally proving why he was a five-star recruit. His play in recent weeks hasn’t gone unnoticed, either. In The Athletic’s postseason awards for each conference, Mann was named the SEC Player of the Year.

POY: Tre Mann, 6-5 sophomore guard, Florida. This is a weird category. The most outstanding season in the league was arguably turned in by Vanderbilt sophomore guard Scotty Pippen Jr., who ranks in the top five of the conference in points (20.6), assists (4.9), steals (1.8), field goal percentage (45.0), 3-point percentage (39.0), free throw percentage (82.4) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.2). However, you can’t really give POY to a guy on a last-place team. Alabama senior forward Herb Jones is the most valuable player on a team that won the regular-season title by two games, but he’s also the Tide’s fourth-leading scorer. Two freshman guards, LSU’s Cameron Thomas and Arkansas’ Moses Moody, also merit consideration. Mann, however, led the Gators in scoring (15.0) while ranking in the top 10 of the league in assists (3.4), steals (1.6), field goal percentage (44.9), 3-point percentage (39.3), free throw percentage (83.8) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.2). More important, he led this team to a fifth-place finish and a return to the NCAA Tournament after losing its best player, senior forward Keyontae Johnson, in a traumatic fashion.

Though he hasn’t been the conference’s most productive player, arguably no one else in the SEC is as valuable to their team as Mann is to the Gators. He’s key to whatever postseason hopes Florida has, and without him in the loss to Tennessee, the offense struggled mightily.

Mann’s breakout season isn’t yet over, and UF will hope it can earn some hardware before he potentially chooses to move on to the draft at the end of the season.

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Florida’s Keyontae Johnson continues to rack up the accolades

Sports Illustrated anointed Florida Gators forward Keyontae Johnson its preseason SEC Player of the Year and picks UF to finish fourth.

[jwplayer S75UIKip]

Florida Gators forward Keyotnae Johnson has been getting a lot of attention heading into the 2020-21 men’s basketball season, earning honors and accolades entering his third year in Gainesville. Chalk another up on the board, as Sports Illustrated also recognized the potency of his game in their preseason review of the Southeastern Conference.

Thus far, Johnson has been named to the Naismith Award and Julius Erving Award watch lists, as well as being named Preseason SEC Player of the Year by the conference as well as CBS Sports. Now, SI has also declared the 6-foot-5-inch forward out of Norfolk, Va., its player of the year for the league as well.

Here is what they had to say.

Johnson is the ultimate stat-sheet stuffer and, arguably, the best two-way player in the SEC. Last season, Johnson improved in virtually every category from the previous year, averaging 14 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.2 steals a game while shooting 54% from the field. After withdrawing his name from the NBA draft, Johnson will be asked to do even more with the departure of Andrew Nembhard, who transferred to Gonzaga. The Gators will need him to be a star, and Johnson is more than capable of filling the order.

Additionally, the article weighed in on predicting where in the standings the Gators will finish by season’s end. While the prognostication was not terribly bullish, it recognizes the level of talent Mike White has on his squad this winter.

4. Florida

Johnson is the engine for the Gators, pumping in 14 points a game last season while shooting 54% from the field. The Gators have capable talent and leadership surrounding him this season and that should make all the difference. Mike White will look to junior transfers Tyree Appleby and Anthony Duruji to help Johnson lead, and Scottie Lewis could be on the brink of a breakout season. Nembhard transferring to Gonzaga will give Tre Mann the keys to the show, and Noah Locke will also have an expanded role for the talented Gators.

The Gators tip off their season-opening game next Wednesday against UMass-Lowell in the Basketball Hall of Fame Bubbleville tournament held in Uncasville, Conn.

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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: 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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