The NBA is nearing the end of its two-month haul through the postseason, and Miami Heat forward LeBron James has continued his dominance through the Eastern Conference Finals. As James leads his team into the Finals against the San Antonio Spurs, alligatorSports editors Adam Lichtenstein and Landon Watnick will decide which Florida player dominates or dominated his or her game in a LeBron-esque fashion.
Adam: Choosing a player who can turn their game on like LeBron is tough. James is arguably the most dominant athlete in any sport in the world, except for maybe Lionel Messi.
But speaking of Messi, Florida’s most dominant athlete shares a sport with him. That player is none other than former Gators forward Erika Tymrak.
Tymrak, a two-time All-American, led Florida to its most successful season in years, notching a Southeastern Conference regular season title and the SEC tournament title on her way out.
Like LeBron, she led her team in pretty much every relevant category – goals, assists and shots on goal to name a few.
The Gators are going to miss her when they try to start offensive attacks next season. Havana Solaun and Annie Speese are good, but they don’t have the dynamism and pure skill Tymrak brought to the pitch.
Landon: LeBron is one of the most efficient shooters in the league and leads his team in nearly every statistical category. He finished the regular season second on Miami with a 56.5 percent shooting, which is absolutely insane for a highly utilized forward like him.
On the other hand, Tymrak finished 2012 with a 13.2 shooting percentage – second worst of Gators who took at least 20 shots.
But there is a basketball player on this campus as valuable to her team as LeBron is to the Heat.
Her name is Sydney Moss. You probably know her father, Randy.
Moss plays both shooting guard and small forward – LeBron’s natural position.
The 5-foot-11 rising sophomore bullies her defenders with physicality and quickness – just like how her dad did back in the early 2000s and how LeBron will against Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard these next two weeks.
Our women’s basketball writer, Phil Heilman, would definitely agree with me on this. He even wrote an article back in March comparing Moss’ skillset to LeBron’s.
Adam: While Moss may share some traits with LeBron, where was the success? The Gators went to the WNIT – LeBron’s teams compete for championships.
Tymrak’s team dominated the competition in the SEC Tournament like the Heat dominated the Bucks and Bulls in the first two rounds of the playoffs – if you can remember that far back.
Florida outscored opponents 8-1 in the tourney, and Tymrak led the way.
She scored in each game as the Gators stormed into the NCAA Tournament. It was clear Tymrak was the best player on the pitch in those games.
However, Moss wasn’t even Florida’s top scoring threat – that would be Jaterra Bonds.
She wasn’t the Gators’ best rebounder, either. That honor goes to the Indiana Fever’s new forward, Jennifer George.
Moss was a solid all-around player on a mediocre team. Tymrak was the top player on a very good team.
Landon: Moss is still young and has loads of potential. She’s basically LeBron back in the good ol’ Cleveland days. Right now, she has no help.
With a crop of highly touted recruits and transfers joining coach Amanda Butler’s squad in 2013-14, Moss should get plenty of assistance.
Moss rounded into form at the end of the season and proved why she’s Florida’s best player. She started the last 16 games of her freshman season, leading the Gators in points (16.7), rebounds (8.1) and assists (4.7) per game in UF’s final 10 contests. She shot 48.3 percent from the field during that stretch.
Her dominance in every statistical category during the latter half of the year rings one name: LeBron.
Moss was also the only Gator to exceed the 25-point threshold twice this year.
I know I’m focusing primarily on the end of 2012-13, but I’m looking to the future.
Tymrak may have led her team in 2012 with nine goals and 12 assists, but she took a team-high 68 shots. This was Tymrak at the peak of her college career.
Moss didn’t dominate during the beginning of her freshman season, but she improved exponentially and will only get better over the next three seasons.
You’ll soon witness that.
Adam: LeBron was far and away the best player with Cleveland. Moss was not the best player on her team last year, and all the incoming talent you mentioned will make sure she won’t be the best player on the team for the next three years.
Tymrak’s stats weren’t awe-inspiring, but the talent she showed on the field set her apart from the rest of the team.
Like LeBron’s dunk on Jason Terry earlier in the year, Tymrak dominated her opponents.
Whether she was feeding passes to McKenzie Barney or dribbling around opponents, Tymrak made her minutes count.
Not only was she a dangerous scorer, she was a dangerous passer. She had a knack for delivering inside passes to forwards and putting them in position to score. She led the Gators in assists in three of her four seasons.
LeBron leads the Heat in assists, as well as points and rebounds. Tymrak led the Gators in goals, assists and game-winning goals.
Moss led the team in assists – barely.
Which one sounds more like LeBron?
Contact Adam Lichtenstein at alichtenstein@alligator.org. Contact Landon Watnick at lwatnick@alligator.org.
Erika Tymrak goes for the ball against a FIU defender during a match on Sept. 2, 2012. Tymrak led Florida in goals, assists and game-winning goals in her final season as a Gator.
Sydney Moss (40) pivots in Florida’s loss to South Carolina on Jan. 20 in the O’Connell Center. Moss led the Gators in assists in 2012-2013.
