The day before Florida squared off against LSU in the O’Connell Center, UF forward Justin Leon was asked if he had ever faced a player like LSU forward Ben Simmons while playing two seasons at Shawnee Community College.
Leon laughed.
“None,” he said.
On Saturday, Leon found himself defending the LSU freshman, whom many consider the country’s best player and the future No. 1 NBA Draft pick, one-on-one.
While he had success defending Simmons, Leon also found success on the offensive side of the ball in his third consecutive start, scoring a career-high 14 points — highlighted by two big three-pointers — and bringing down nine rebounds, four on the offensive glass in Florida’s 68-62 win over LSU.
It’s safe to say Justin Leon has taken advantage of his new found playing time.
“Justin Leon was terrific,” Florida coach Mike White said.
“I didn’t expect him coming into the year, in big games, to come in and hit two big threes for us. I’m not surprised with his defensive performance. I know it sounds nuts because Simmons gets 28 (points) and 17 (rebounds), but Justin moved his feet well and some of the better possessions we had in the game defensively were, in large part, due to him.”
Before Saturday, Leon had been averaging 3.2 points and 1.8 rebounds in 9.2 minutes per game. Against the Tigers, his 25 minutes played were some of the most valuable Florida got from its lineup on both ends of the court.
Defensively, Leon said one thing stood out about manning up with Simmons: “Trying to contain him, keep him from driving,” Leon said. “Tonight, a lot of his points came from the line, so I guess it’s just trying not to foul.”
Half of Simmons’ points (14) did come from the free throw line. Otherwise, Leon, among others, held the freshman phenom to 7-of-15 from the field while contributing to Simmons’ eight turnovers — a career-high. Leon also drew two charging fouls against Simmons, who fouled out of the game with 14 seconds remaining.
Offensively for Leon, White has said multiple times that shooting threes isn’t exactly why the JUCO transfer was brought to UF, but Leon has shot 12-for-19, including 6-for-10 from beyond the arc, over his last three games — since joining the starting lineup.
“I guess each and every game gives us more confidence, especially with the three point shot,” Leon said after Saturday’s win. “Now I know my teammates can feel like they can rely on me a lot more and then the past few games.”
Follow Alex Maminakis on Twitter @alexmaminakis
UF forward Justin Leon corrals a rebound during Florida’s 68-62 win over LSU on Jan. 9, 2016, in the O’Connell Center.
