Wednesday marks the beginning of a new decade, which allows us the opportunity to look back at the best athletes to don the Orange and Blue.
In this series, we will name the All-Decade team for each of the programs we cover.
Today: The University of Florida Men’s Basketball All-Decade Team
Florida entered the decade after two seasons that failed to see the team qualify for the NCAA Tournament, but it didn’t take long for the rebuild to make the Gators title contenders.
The 2012 and 2013 teams reached the Elite Eight and the 2014 team earned a berth into the Final Four.
2015 saw the program suffer it’s first losing season since 1998 and legendary head coach Billy Donovan left for the NBA following the season.
On May 17, Florida introduced Mike White as the new head coach and he would lead Florida to the NCAA Tournament in three of his first four seasons at the helm, including an Elite Eight appearance in 2017.
The following are our selections for the Florida Men’s Basketball All-Decade team.
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Point Guard: Erving Walker (2008-12)
Stats: 12.3 PPG, 3.8 APG, 2.6 RPG
A 5’8 guard, Walker ranks fifth in program history in points scored (1,777) and second in assists (547).
The Brooklyn, NY native was named to the All-SEC Second Team 2010, 2011, 2012.
Also considered: Chris Chiozza, Scottie Wilbekin
Shooting Guard: Kenny Boynton (2009-13)
Stats: 14.0 PPG, 2.7 APG, 2.4 RPG
Florida’s second leading scorer of all-time (2,033 points) and leader in three-pointers (333) is Pompano Beach native Kenny Boynton.
Boynton was nominated to the SEC All-Freshman team after averaging 14 points in 2009-10. He also earned First Team All-SEC recognition in 2012 and Second Team honors in 2011 and 2013.
Also considered: Bradley Beal, KeVaughn Allen
Small Forward: Dorian Finney-Smith (2011-16)
Stats: 10.7 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 1.9 APG
Dorian Finney-Smith arrived in Gainesville after spending his freshman season at Virginia Tech.
His biggest contributions came as a redshirt junior and senior when he averaged 13.1 and 14.7 points as well as 6.2 and 8.3 rebounds.
Finney-Smith was the first transfer player at UF to score 1,000 points.
Also considered: Casey Prather, Devin Robinson
Power Forward: Chandler Parsons (2007-11)
Stats: 10.2 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 2.4 APG
Chandler Parsons, a 6’10 forward from Casselberry, FL, made an immediate impact on the program as he averaged 8.1 points and 4 rebounds per game, despite not starting a single game as a freshman.
Parsons was a prototypical stretch-4, with the ability to hit the clutch shots and grab the important rebounds at the end of a game.
As a senior, Parsons became the first Gator to knock down two true buzzer beaters (including a 75-foot winner against NC State). He also earned the program’s first SEC Player of the Year honor.
Also considered: Erik Murphy, Kerry Blackshear, Jr
Center: Patric Young (2010-14)
Career Stats: 8.7 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 1.1 BPG
The five has been an issue for much of the latter half of the decade, but for the first the first four years, Patric Young dominated the paint for Florida.
Despite being undersized at 6’9, Young earned accolades such as: SEC All-Freshman, Two time All-SEC Defense, 2014 All-SEC and 2014 SEC Defensive Player of the Year.
As a senior, the Jacksonville native averaged a career high 11.0 points and 6.2 rebounds.
Young was also consistent as he shot over 54% from the floor every year of his collegiate career.
Also considered: Kevarrius Hayes, John Egbunu
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Did we miss anyone, is there anybody that deserves to be on this list as well?
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