Gator Baseball: April Recap

As the Gator baseball team heads into its final month of the regular season, it's time for me to recap how the Gators did in April. The grind of the season has not weighed too much on the Gators as they went a respectable 10-5 during the month. They went 2-2 in their four SEC weekend series as they swept both South Carolina and Mississippi State, but dropped two out of three games to both Missouri and Kentucky. The Gators are now 33-12 on the season and 13-8 in SEC play.

In the Gators' final game against rival Florida State this year, the Seminoles walked off with a solo home run in the 12th inning to win the game 4-3 and the season series 2-1. This is definitely not my game of the month. My game of the month was a record-breaking affair that occurred on a rainy Tuesday night in Gainesville. 

On April 7th against the Stetson Hatters, freshman JJ Schwarz immortalized himself in Gator baseball lore as he hit FOUR home runs with TEN RBIs! He is the first Gator EVER to hit four home runs in a single game and yes the 10 RBIs are a school record as well. The Gators won the contest 22-2 and my respect and admiration for Schwarz has been at an all-time high ever since. It was one of the most amazing individual offensive performances in the game of baseball that I have ever seen in my life!

Now, let's take a look at the Florida Gator stat leaders through the month of April.

Offense

Hits: Dalton Guthrie (62) (Freshman)

RBI's: JJ Schwarz (49) (Freshman)

Home Runs: JJ Schwarz (13) (Freshman)

Batting Average: Josh Tobias (.355) (Senior)

Slugging %: Harrison Bader (.643) (Junior)

On Base %: Harrison Bader (.450) (Junior)

Stolen Bases: Richie Martin  (16) (Junior)

Runs Scored: Richie Martin (41) (Junior)

Strikeouts: Buddy Reed (36) (Sophomore)

Walks:  Harrison Bader (26) (Junior)

Defense

Assists: Dalton Guthrie (134) (Freshman)

Putouts: Mike Rivera (194) (Freshman)

Errors: Richie Martin/Dalton Guthrie (5) (Junior/Freshman)

Fielding %: Josh Tobias/Harrison Bader (.1000) (Senior/Junior)

Pitching

Wins: Logan Shore/A.J. Puk (6) (Sophomores)

Losses: Logan Shore/A.J. Puk (3) (Sophomores)

Strikeouts: Alex Faedo (47) (Freshman)

ERA: Starting Pitcher and Relieving Pitcher - Logan Shore (2.44) (Sophomore) Bobby Poyner (1.87) (Senior)

Shutouts: Logan Shore (2) (Sophomore)

Saves: Taylor Lewis (6) (Junior)

Appearances: Taylor Lewis (20) (Junior)

The Gators have 10 games left in the regular season. They have 3 SEC weekend series remaining (at Georgia, at #7 Vanderbilt, and Auburn) with one non-conference game left against USF on May 5. Currently, Florida is just two games back behind Vandy. If the Gators can finish the season strong by winning all three of these series, then the SEC East title (and a #1 or #2 seed in the SEC Tournament) will be theirs. It is going to be an exciting final month of the regular season, and it will be interesting to see if the Gators rise to the occasion to defend their SEC East crown.

*All stats accredited to Gatorzone.com

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)


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)

(#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)


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

Top 3 Gator Point Guards

As my sophomore year comes to a close, I will begin embarking on a new Top 5 series. Just recently, I finished listing my Top 5's for each position in Gator football history. Now, I will do the same by listing my Top 3 players for all five positions in Gator basketball history! I figured with the lesser amount of players in basketball, naming just a Top 3 would be perfectly suitable. So without further adieu, here are my Top 3 Point Guards to ever play basketball for the Florida Gators.

#3 Jason "White Chocolate" Williams (1997)


Jason Williams (nicknamed White Chocolate) is a personal favorite of mine because he was on the 2006 Miami Heat team that won the NBA Finals. When I found out he attended the University of Florida, I was ecstatic and knew I had to find a way to get him on this list.

Williams was a transfer from Marshall who played just one season at UF. He had played for head coach Billy Donovan while at Marshall and followed Donovan when he took the job at Florida in 1996. During his time at Florida, he averaged 17.1 points per game and scored 341 total points. He also averaged 6.7 assists while dishing out 134 assists. He maintained a 48% field goal shooting percentage, a shooting percentage of 40% from three-point land, and an 84% free throw percentage. Defensively he had 59 rebounds, 53 steals, and four blocks.

Williams had a chronic problem with marijuana use, and he was suspended from the Gator basketball team in February of 1998 for the rest of the season. He had been suspended two times prior for the same reason.

Despite missing out on all of March, Williams entered the 1998 NBA Draft and went 7th overall to the Sacramento Kings. He made the NBA All-Rookie First Team and played four seasons for the Kings. He would then be traded to the Memphis Grizzlies before making his way to the Miami Heat and winning an NBA Championship. Williams would retire after the Heat, come out of the retirement to play three seasons for the Orlando Magic, then end his career as a Memphis Grizzly in 2011. He scored 8,286 points with 4,611 assists and 933 steals in his NBA career.

#2 Taurean Green (2004-2006)

(#11 in the middle)

Taurean Green was the starting point guard for the legendary Gator teams that won back-to-back National Championships in 2005 and 2006. As a member of the Orange and Blue, Green was a prolific offensive force as he tallied 1,174 total points and 400 assists while averaging 10.6 points and 3.6 assists per game. He shot 40% from the field, 39% from three-point land, and 86% from the free throw line. On the defensive side, he brought down 242 rebounds with 124 steals and seven blocks.

In addition to winning two National Championships, Green's only other collegiate accomplishment includes being named MVP of the 2006 SEC Tournament. After his junior year, Green entered the 2007 NBA Draft and was selected 52nd overall in the second round by the Portland Trail Blazers. He played just 17 total NBA games between the Portland Trail Blazers and the Denver Nuggets before leaving the league in 2008.

He currently plays overseas and just recently won an LNB Pro A Championship with Limoges CSP in 2014. His current team is ASVEL Basket in France.

#1 Scottie Wilbekin (2010-2013)


Rounding out my list at No.1 is Scottie Wilbekin. Scottie is the only Gator on this list to have a senior year as he stayed for all four of his collegiate seasons. Scottie broke out his senior year as he averaged 13.1 points and 3.6 assists per game. He left Florida with a stat line of  953 total points, 419 assists, a 42% shooting percentage, a 38% three-point shooting percentage, and a 71% free throw percentage. Scottie was mostly lauded for his defensive prowess as he registered 294 rebounds, 167 steals, and five blocks in his career.

Florida saw tremendous postseason success during Wilbekin's tenure as he helped lead the Gators to three Elite Eights and a Final Four appearance. In addition, some other awards of his include:

• Third-team All-American in 2014
• SEC Player of the Year in 2014
• First-team All-SEC in 2014
• SEC All-Defensive Team in 2013 & 2014

After losing his last collegiate game to UConn in the 2014 Final Four in Dallas, Wilbekin would not be drafted in the 2014 NBA Draft. That did not keep him down, however, as he signed with Cairns Taipans in Australia. After a season down under, Wilbekin signed a contract with AEK Athens in Greece and still plays there now. Maybe one day Scottie will get his shot at making an NBA roster.

I hope you enjoyed this Top 3 article! In due time I will be coming out with the next part of this series that includes my Top 3 Gator Shooting Guards! Until then, stay tuned for my other articles!

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

*All photo accredited to www.pinterest.com, www.reuters.com, & www.zimbio.com

Gator Baseball: March Recap

I want to start off this article by apologizing for taking so long to write this. I have been so busy wrapping up my pledgeship and I am now officially a brother of the Beta Upsilon Chi (BYX) fraternity! In commemoration of this monumental moment in my life, I decided to celebrate and also decompress from the stress of school by writing my March recap of Gator baseball.

Since starting 13-2, the Gators have gone 11-7 in the month of March. The standout game for me was when the Gators dominated rival FSU in Gainesville with a convincing 14-8 victory on March 17th. The Gators used seven pitchers, with redshirt sophomore Mike Vinson recording the win. 

Despite the lack of pitching, the Gator offense showed up and smothered FSU. Junior outfielder Harrison Bader went 1-3 with three RBI's while freshman catcher/DH JJ Schwarz went 2-5 with a home run and 3 RBI's as well. Fellow freshman and catcher Mike Rivera led all Gators with three hits on the night.

Now, let's take a look at the stat leaders through March and very early April.

Offense

Hits: Dalton Guthrie (48) (Freshman)

RBI's: JJ Schwarz (40) (Freshman)

Home Runs: Harrison Bader/JJ Schwarz (9) (Junior/Freshman)

Batting Average: Josh Tobias (.398) (Senior)

Slugging %: Harrison Bader (.682) (Junior)

On Base %: Harrison Bader (.471) (Junior)

Stolen Bases: Buddy Reed/Richie Martin  (11) (Sophomore/Junior)

Runs Scored: Dalton Guthrie (31) (Freshman)

Strikeouts: Buddy Reed (25) (Sophomore)

Walks:  Harrison Bader (23) (Junior)

Defense

Assists: Dalton Guthrie (95) (Freshman)

Putouts: Mike Rivera (147) (Freshman)

Errors: Jeremy Vasquez (4) (Freshman)

Pitching

Wins: Logan Shore/A.J. Puk (5) (Sophomores)

Losses: A.J. Puk (3) (Sophomore)

Strikeouts: A.J. Puk (41) (Sophomore)

ERA: Starting Pitcher and Relieving Pitcher - Logan Shore (1.76) (Sophomore) Logan Browning (0.00) (Freshman)

Shutouts: Logan Shore (2) (Sophomore)

Saves: Taylor Lewis (6) (Junior)

Appearances: Taylor Lewis (15) (Junior)

The Gators ran into some trouble this month as the brunt of SEC play began. In their four SEC series thus far, they went 2-2 as they beat Tennessee and Alabama at home while losing to Ole Miss and Missouri on the road. The SEC is one of- if not the best- conferences in college baseball and every weekend series the Gators play will be a dogfight. 

Despite some bumps in conference play, the Gators are still high in the rankings and currently sit at #11. As long as they can win two out of three games in every series and at the minimum avoid getting swept, the Gators will be able to defend their SEC crown. Outside of SEC play, the Gators only lost one game, which was to #8 FSU on March 31st. FSU is also the only ranked team that the Gators faced in the month of March.

I should be able to do the April recap right when the month ends because I will be out of school by then. Hopefully I can survive this semester and make it to the 31st! Till then, stay tuned for any upcoming articles I might put out and stay tuned for my Gator baseball recap for the month of April!

*All stats accredited to Gatorzone.com