With his team in the midst of a 20-10 run late in the second half, Justin Leon sprinted hard down the court.
As he crossed the halfcourt line, Leon tripped and fell as Florida’s Chris Chiozza led the fastbreak. However, Leon quickly sprang back up onto his feet, took a pass from Chiozza and launched a three from the right wing.
He missed it.
The senior forward sprinted again, this time tracking down the rebound from his own miss. Leon went up among Texas A&M’s towering frontcourt and softly laid the ball in for a tough bucket, extending the Gators’ lead to nine in an otherwise tight game.
It’s been a long road for Leon.
There’s been success and twice as much adversity.
But despite a limited skill set and zero Division 1 offers as a center out of high school, Leon has turned himself into one of Florida’s most reliable players.
“He’s in the gym as much as anyone we have,” UF Coach Mike White said. “He’s a machine, and he also plays like it. It’s like clockwork.
“He’s turned himself into a shooter.”
Leon’s 18 points, five rebounds and endless supply of energy led No. 17 Florida (20-5, 10-2 SEC) to a 71-62 win over the Aggies (13-11, 5-7 SEC) on Saturday afternoon in the O’Connell Center.
“He doesn’t overthink stuff,” White said of Leon. “He’s a guy that does his job consistently. He’s a guy that blocks out every time a shot goes up, and when his feet are set, he doesn’t think about it. He shoots it.”
For much of the game, Leon was the only source of offense for a Florida team that so desperately struggled to score.
Senior guard Kasey Hill had more turnovers than points (five and three, respectively). Devin Robinson, one of UF’s most reliable scorers, had just four points and didn’t register a bucket until the second half. And guard KeVaughn Allen, the team’s leading scorer at 13.3 points per game, totaled eight points on eight shots.
“This was the second or third (game) where if Justin doesn’t sprint into a couple of threes, we probably don’t do enough offensively,” White said.
Leon scored seven of the Gators’ first nine points to begin the game.
And when Florida needed a bucket, Leon usually answered.
His three second-half triples stymied multiple comeback attempts by A&M.
But despite being one point shy of his career high, and setting a career high with four made threes, Leon doesn’t give much thought to his improved scoring ability.
“My main focus is on really just playing hard and giving my teammates energy,” he said. “Sometimes scoring just comes along with that.
“So I just go along with it.”
Contact Ray Boone at rboone@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @rboone1994.
UF’s Justin Leon soars for a dunk during Florida’s 95-63 win against Auburn on Jan. 23, 2016, in the O’Connell Center.
