Sunday, April 26, 2015

Top 3 Gator Shooting Guards

As I continue on in my Top 3 Gator Basketball Players series, I now move on to the shooting guard position. Without further adieu, let's begin!

#3 Lee Humphrey (2003-2006)
Image result for lee humphrey uf

Lee Humphrey was the starter on the back-to-back National Championship Gator squads in 2005 and 2006. During four collegiate seasons, he averaged 7.9 points per game with 1080 total points, 182 assists, and 184 rebounds. He shot 46% from the field, 43% from three-point land, and 63% from the free throw line. Defensively, he had 73 steals.

In addition to winning two National Championships, Humphrey left his mark in the record books. Here are some of his records:
  • 55 three-pointers in 14 games played in the NCAA Tournament
  • 39 straight games with a three-pointer during his senior year
  • 113 three-pointers in a season in both 2005 & 2006
  • 288 career three-pointers
After going out a repeat National Champion his senior year, Humphrey went undrafted and never got a shot to play in the NBA. Instead, he has played abroad and currently he is with BC Juventus in Lithuania.

#2 Vernon Maxwell (1984-1987)
Image result for vernon maxwell florida gators
(#5 on the right)

Vernon Maxwell was a very accomplished player at UF as he holds 15 school records and is the all-time leading scorer in school history with 2450 points. To top it all off, he is the number two scorer in SEC history after LSU's Pete Maravich.

His collegiate numbers were very impressive as he averaged 18.8 points per game with 386 assists, a 46% shot percentage, a 38% three-point percentage, and a 72% free throw percentage. He was a defensive force who tallied a total of 206 steals and 482 rebounds.

Maxwell helped launch the program onto the national scene during his senior year when he lead the Gators to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 1987. The #6 seeded Gators made it all the way to the Sweet Sixteen before falling to #2 Syracuse 87-81. This was a very valiant effort from the Gators as Syracuse would finish as runner-up to Indiana in the tournament.

After the Sweet Sixteen loss, Maxwell entered the 1988 NBA Draft and was selected 47th overall in the second round by the Denver Nuggets. He would play 13 seasons for a total of nine NBA teams. He averaged 12.8 points per game with 10,912 points, 2,200 rebounds, and 2,912 assists. He would win two NBA championships with the Houston Rockets in 1994 and 1995.

#1 Bradley Beal (2011)
Image result for bradley beal florida gators

Bradley was the most prominent "one and done" to ever play for the University of Florida basketball program. Coming out of high school, he was a five star prospect and the #2 shooting guard prospect overall. He was ranked #5 on ESPN's Top 100 High School Basketball Recruits in 2011.

In his lone season as a Gator, he averaged 14.8 points per game for a total of 546 points. He shot 45% from the field, 34% from three-point range, and 77% from the free throw line. He also accumulated 83 assists, 51 steals, and 249 rebounds.

Beal's stellar freshman campaign earned him First-team All-SEC and SEC All-Freshman Team honors in 2012. He closed out his Florida career by leading the Gators to an Elite Eight appearance in the 2012 NCAA Tournament. Beal's #7 seeded Gators lost to the #4 seeded Louisville Cardinals 72-68.

After the NCAA Tournament, Beal declared for the 2012 NBA Draft and was selected third overall by the Washington Wizards. He made the NBA All-Rookie First Team in 2013 and is currently still with the Wizards. Together with fellow star John Wall, Beal has helped make Washington a perennial playoff team.

Currently he averages a stat line of 15.6 points per game with a .419 shooting percentage and a .400 three-point percentage. Beal's NBA career continues to look brighter and brighter, and I hope the best for him going forward.

I hope you enjoyed this Top 3 article! I am very excited that I was able to write it less than a week after writing the first article of this series! My next installment in the series will feature the Top 3 Small Forwards to ever play at the University of Florida! Stay tuned for that and my upcoming April recap for the Gator baseball team.

*All stats accredited to http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/ & Wikipedia.com,  ESPN.com & of course "The Source"

*All photo accredited to www.lostlettermen.com, ebay.com, & arizona.sb.nation.com

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