After entering last season with serious questions about the point guard position, coach Billy Donovan believes he has four viable answers to start the new year.
With Erving Walker returning for his junior year, Chandler Parsons and Kenny Boynton developing their point guard skills and Scottie Wilbekin making the jump from high school, the Gators have plenty of options at the one spot.
“We feel like, outside of Erving, we have some other options we can use if Erving is maybe getting taken out of the game, or we need to try to free him up to shoot the ball a little bit more,” Donovan said.
Last season Walker started 33 of the team’s 34 games, averaging a team-high 4.9 assists per game and establishing a 2-1 assist-to-turnover ratio.
But, as the season wore on, teams started to put more pressure on Walker in the backcourt. This forced him to pass over defenders, which proved to be a difficult task for the Southeastern Conference’s shortest player (5-foot-8).
In response, the Gators would usually call on 6-foot-10 forward Chandler Parsons to run the point.
Parsons proved to be an effective option, averaging 2.6 assists per game and posting a 1.3-1 assist to turnover ratio for the season.
Throughout the offseason Parsons has worked on making those areas of his game even stronger in an attempt to become a more complete player.
“I want to be able to do everything,” Parsons said. “I want to be able to pass, shoot, score inside, score outside, defend, play the four if I have to, play the point if I have to. So this summer and last year I just tried to become the most versatile player I could.”
Parsons has displayed this versatility in the early stages of practice, spending time at point guard in addition to his normal duties as a forward.
Even if Donovan opts to use Parsons only in the frontcourt, the senior expects to show his full range of abilities.
“In our offense if I get the rebound I’m gonna go with it, I’m gonna push the ball,” Parsons said. “If I end up having the ball up there during our half-court set, I can run it comfortably.”
Another player trying his hand in the point guard role is sophomore Kenny Boynton, who led the Gators in scoring while starting in 33 games last season primarily as a shooting guard.
Boynton has spent a large portion of the first few practices playing point guard across from Walker in Florida’s intrasquad scrimmages, and has found the adjustment to be simpler than he anticipated.
“So far it’s been a lot easier than I thought, I feel very comfortable,” Boynton said. “I think I’ve been making good decisions at the point guard position.”
A fourth option the Gators have is freshman Scottie Wilbekin, whose toughness and stamina have impressed Donovan so far.
Donovan believes Wilbekin will be able to produce off the bench in his rookie season despite joining the Gators after only three years of high school at Gainesville The Rock.
“I really believe right now, after two practices, just physically and conditioning-wise that he is going to be able to contribute to our team,” Donovan said. “How many minutes and how much I’m not sure, but I do think that he’s going to be a positive piece for our team going forward.”
