On a team filled with new starters and changing roles, Scottie Wilbekin has been content to see his responsibilities remain static during his sophomore year.
As the Gators’ backup point guard, Wilbekin saw firsthand earlier this season how difficult it was for starting senior Erving Walker to get used to more of a passing role after being a shoot-first guard his first three years.
At the time, Florida was also trying to break in two new frontline players as well as freshman guard Brad Beal.
“It’s been tough for everybody, but I think [Erving’s] done a good job of it, leading our team, trying to focus on getting assists than scoring,” Wilbekin said. “I think it just shows how good of a player he is to make a transformation after three years of being a scorer.”
Much like last season, Wilbekin has been used mostly as a defensive substitute by coach Billy Donovan. Wilbekin’s averages of 2.4 points and 1.4 rebounds per game are almost identical to a year ago, and he’s also on pace to match his steals and assists output.
“Scottie has pretty much come off the bench like he always has,” Donovan said.
But with the addition of Beal and Rutgers transfer Mike Rosario to an already crowded backcourt, the 6-foot-2 Wilbekin has had his playing time decrease from 17.1 minutes each game to 13.7 minutes.
While he is seeing the floor less, Wilbekin said he doesn’t think his role is decreasing for the Gators. Against LSU on Saturday, Wilbekin rebounded from a five-minute, scoreless showing a week earlier at South Carolina with five points and three assists in 15 minutes of playing time.
“With all the good players on this team, you can’t really get mad because every person on the team is a good player, so you just got to get in the game and work your hardest,” Wilbekin said.
Though Wilbekin has improved his outside shooting from last season five percentage points to 33.3 percent, the most important facet he has added to his game has been his maturity level on the court.
In practices and during games, Wilbekin said Donovan has had to remind the Gators to have a short memory when facing adversity on the road.
“If you have one guy who’s upset because he missed two free throws and he’s running back on defense and he’s not tuned into what’s going on, you’re going to break down,” Donovan said. “Those are things, maturity-wise, that you have to understand that you’re not getting that play back.”
Contact John Boothe at jboothe@alligator.org.
Sophomore guard Scottie Wilbekin is playing 3.4 fewer minutes per game this season after the additions of freshman Brad Beal and junior Mike Rosario to Florida’s backcourt rotation.
