MEMPHIS, Tenn. — All eyes were on Scottie Wilbekin as the clock ticked.
Nine, eight, seven.
“He’s been doing this all season, not just the tournament,” Kasey Hill said. “He’s our leader. We go where he goes.”
Six, five, four.
“He made some tougher shots than the ones I thought he would normally make when he went in there,” coach Billy Donovan said.
Three, two, one.
“That guy is tougher than a three-dollar steak,” Brad Evans of Yahoo! Sports said.
The buzzer rang, the crowd cheered and Wilbekin — the man who can do no wrong — stole the spotlight once again.
With Florida up 35-24 with 36 seconds left in the first half, Wilbekin found a wide-open Michael Frazier II at the top of the arc, but Frazier’s shot clanged off the rim. So when Dorian Finney-Smith grabbed the offensive rebound and gave the ball right back to Wilbekin, the senior point guard wasn’t going to let anyone else take the final shot.
For the next 25 seconds, the 6-foot-2 point guard stood on the NCAA logo at halfcourt and simply waited for an opportunity. He eyed down Dayton’s Vee Sanford — the unfortunate player forced to guard Wilbekin — and then he glanced back to Donovan for play call.
Sanford to Donovan. Sanford to Donovan. Sanford to Donovan.
But when the clock hit eight seconds, it was time to make a move. Wilbekin inched forward to about 25 feet out from the basket. It was clear to everyone in FedExForum — even Sanford — that he was going to take the shot.
“Obviously, like any play, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t,” Donovan said. “I think he liked the matchup, and he said, ‘Coach, can we go flat?’ which is (when) we put four along the baseline and offensive rebound. I trust Scottie enough to put him in those situations.”
And why not?
Wilbekin has shown time and time again that an expiring clock doesn’t faze him. In Florida’s Southeastern Conference Tournament matchup with Tennessee on March 15, the Gainesville native knocked down a buzzer-beating three to help the Gators chip away at the Volunteers’ lead.
One week later in the third round of the NCAA Tournament against Pitt, Wilbekin sunk a nearly identical shot to pad Florida’s lead heading into the break.
But on Saturday, Wilbekin’s 25-footer was more than just a three. It was more than just a cushion to the Gators’ lead.
With the buzzer-beater, the senior reminded the country that he and the rest of the Gators aren’t ever satisfied. Florida’s four-man senior class has suffered for the past three years, but now that they are poised for a national championship run, there is no letting off the gas pedal.
“I mean, Coach D said before the game that it feels like you’re destined, like things happen for a reason,” Wilbekin said. “He felt like we were all brought together on this team for a reason. I think that couldn’t be more true.”
The four-year point guard, who has endured everything from playing off the bench to sitting out eight games because of suspensions, will play in his first and last Final Four when Florida travels to Arlington, Texas, to face UConn on Saturday at 6:09 p.m.
So even though Wilbekin has racked up a laundry list of awards this season — including most recently the Most Outstanding Player of the South Region honor — he couldn’t care less about the individual recognition.
His team is in the Final Four, and he is not taking it for granted.
“I’m happy about the award, but it’s nothing compared to winning,” Wilbekin said. “I’m just so happy right now that we were able to achieve what we did so far with this group of guys.”
Follow Jonathan Czupryn on Twitter @jczupryn
Scottie Wilbekin calls out a play to his teammates during Florida’s 62-52 win against Dayton on Saturday in FedExForum. Wilbekin was named the Most Outstanding Player of the South Region of the NCAA Tournament after the Gators defeated the Flyers.
