All Time Florida Basketball Starting Five

InstiGATOR1

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His grandfather sacrificed a lot of chickens before watching him play that day. I was there. Noah was unstoppable.

I think it was not on TV that I could get and I did not see anything but a few highlights of it. UF was in danger of Clemsoning it that year and getting that win assured that would not happen.
 

MidwestChomp

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I think it was not on TV that I could get and I did not see anything but a few highlights of it. UF was in danger of Clemsoning it that year and getting that win assured that would not happen.

The other guys were doing nothing that game. If it wasn't for Noah, that game would have been dangerously close.
 

Jbossgator8

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Here is the anti list:

PG - Ryan Appleby
SG - Rasheed Al-Kaleen
SF - Dan Werner
PF - Chris Walker
C - Bonell Colas

Subs - Eli Carter
DeVon Walker
Brandone Francis-Ramirez
 

Great White Buffalo

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I didn't go through all 11 pages, but I don't think anyone has mentioned these. They're not all time greats, but they played key roles for Final 4 teams.
Cross
Craig Brown
Prather
B Wright
P. Young
 

Theologator

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I really liked your post and all the players you mentioned, BUT J. Williams played with:

1. Weaks who made 50.8% of 120 3 point attempts that year.

2. Stoltz who made 43.8% of 131 3 point attempts that year.

3. Shannon who made 32.3% of 124 3 point attempts that year.

4. and even Wright who made 36.2 on 47 3 point attempts that year.

So J. Williams played with plenty of shooters. Heck I considered Weaks as a SG since he shot 42.7% on 464 attempt in his career.

I cannot put him in my top anything at UF due to his brief time and disappointing exit, but he was magic with the ball:




And so is his son:

 

Ocalaman

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It was only twice. Just like Wilbekin.
College career
Williams originally committed to play college basketball for Providence College, but instead chose to attend Marshall University after Providence coach Rick Barnes left for Clemson. At Marshall, he played for coach Billy Donovan's Marshall Thundering Herd men's basketball team from 1994 to 1996. After redshirting his first season, he averaged 13.4 points and 6.4 assists per game during his 1995–96 freshman year.[3]

When Marshall coach Billy Donovan accepted the head coaching position at the University of Florida in the summer of 1996, Williams decided to transfer and follow Donovan to Florida.[4] After sitting out the 1996–97 season as required by the NCAA transfer rule, he became the starting point guard for the Florida Gators men's basketball team during the 1997–98 season, and set a Florida Gators single-game record with 17 assists in a December 3, 1997 game against Duquesne.[5][6] Through twenty games, he averaged 17.1 points, 6.7 assists and 2.8 steals per game, and led the Gators to an 86–78 upset of the Kentucky Wildcats in Lexington.[7][8] In February 1998, however, the University of Florida suspended him for the remainder of the season for marijuana use, after two previous suspensions for the same infraction.[9]

And it's ridiculous to compare him to Scottie. Wilbekin played at UF for 4 years, starting when he was barely 17. He made a couple of mistake of immaturity and paid the price, but he was a 4-year Gator. Williams didn't play a full year and committed 3 infractions during that short span; and he was 23 years old. Should have known better and cared more about his team.
 

Bernardo de la Paz

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College career
Williams originally committed to play college basketball for Providence College, but instead chose to attend Marshall University after Providence coach Rick Barnes left for Clemson. At Marshall, he played for coach Billy Donovan's Marshall Thundering Herd men's basketball team from 1994 to 1996. After redshirting his first season, he averaged 13.4 points and 6.4 assists per game during his 1995–96 freshman year.[3]

When Marshall coach Billy Donovan accepted the head coaching position at the University of Florida in the summer of 1996, Williams decided to transfer and follow Donovan to Florida.[4] After sitting out the 1996–97 season as required by the NCAA transfer rule, he became the starting point guard for the Florida Gators men's basketball team during the 1997–98 season, and set a Florida Gators single-game record with 17 assists in a December 3, 1997 game against Duquesne.[5][6] Through twenty games, he averaged 17.1 points, 6.7 assists and 2.8 steals per game, and led the Gators to an 86–78 upset of the Kentucky Wildcats in Lexington.[7][8] In February 1998, however, the University of Florida suspended him for the remainder of the season for marijuana use, after two previous suspensions for the same infraction.[9]

And it's ridiculous to compare him to Scottie. Wilbekin played at UF for 4 years, starting when he was barely 17. He made a couple of mistake of immaturity and paid the price, but he was a 4-year Gator. Williams didn't play a full year and committed 3 infractions during that short span; and he was 23 years old. Should have known better and cared more about his team.
Never trust Wikipedia. You can ask @'78 on that. If you look at the reference you'll see.

And Scottie was suspended during his junior and senior seasons. Not when he was 17.
 

Ocalaman

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Never trust Wikipedia. You can ask @'78 on that. If you look at the reference you'll see.

And Scottie was suspended during his junior and senior seasons. Not when he was 17.
Wilbekin never got booted from the team and stayed 4 full years. Williams suited up for 20 games and got kicked off the team. Scottie was 19/20 when he got in trouble, he made amends and worked his way back. He toughed it out like a man. Williams was 23, big difference in maturity level (or at least there should be) and got kicked off the team because he didn't have the character of Scottie. Scottie is an all-time Gator great, Williams was a flash in the pan who was out for himself. Not anywhere near an all-time Gator great. Maybe Wikipedia is right, maybe it's wrong. But the fact is Williams' infractions were serious enough that Billy D didn't want him around anymore. At the time I remember being glad he was gone. He was a selfish showboat. So what if he had 1 great game and helped upset KY? That doesn't make him an all-time Gator great.
 

Bernardo de la Paz

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Williams suited up for 20 games and got kicked off the team.
Williams got suspended for a second pot smoking offense and the required suspension exceeded the number of games left in the season. Then he went pro.

That's not the same as being booted off the team.
 

Ocalaman

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Williams got suspended for a second pot smoking offense and the required suspension exceeded the number of games left in the season. Then he went pro.

That's not the same as being booted off the team.
Rationalize all you want. He played 20 games in a Gator uniform. They were 12-8, 6-5 in the SEC. He put his desire to smoke weed ahead of the team, then bolted for the NBA. He's not in the same class as Scottie Wilbekin or 100 other Gators.
 

deuce

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Young guys don't mention the great players of the 60's and 70's much.

Andy Owens could break most of these guys in half.
 

Bernardo de la Paz

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Rationalize all you want. He played 20 games in a Gator uniform. They were 12-8, 6-5 in the SEC. He put his desire to smoke weed ahead of the team, then bolted for the NBA. He's not in the same class as Scottie Wilbekin or 100 other Gators.
Lol

You're right about them not being in the same class though. Although they share an affinity for marijuana, one was a lottery pick and the other couldn't get drafted.
 

Okeechobee Joe

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Young guys don't mention the great players of the 60's and 70's much.

Andy Owens could break most of these guys in half.

Andy Owens from Punta Gorda was a great one. Great scorer and rebounder. Went on to become judge.

Gary Keller was a good forward.

Jerry Hoover from Benton, Illinois was a very good point guard. Played on the same high school team as Rich Yunkus who went on to be one of the all time great basketball players at Georgia Tech. Even before Hoover there was Skip Higley.

Anybody remember Tony Miller? He could hit it from downtown Gainesville. If they only had the three point shot back then.
 

InstiGATOR1

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Best I ever saw was William Moody, but he was only in town for a year.

Can you tell me what happened? I was in undergrad school in Virginia and in those days you did not hear much about SEC basketball up there.

Not that this is not out of left field but Chapman had such a great first game and had his career so quickly diminished by bone spurs that I have always wondered how great he would have been.
 

stephenPE

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Not that this is not out of left field but Chapman had such a great first game and had his career so quickly diminished by bone spurs that I have always wondered how great he would have been.
Livingston was from Lakeland and they played in some preseason NIT I think. He was looking great. Then DDevoe shows up and ruins it all.
Gary Keller was a good forward.
In 66 he averaged 16pts and 12.5 rebounds a game.
Sr year 15 pts and 11 rebounds and they go 21-4 He was outstanding.........they almost tied for the SEC title but UK beat Ole miss in triple OT to win it..........I listened to that game on a little radio at a friends house........
 

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