As a highly touted recruit who played in more than his fair share of high school all-star games, Kenny Boynton was no stranger to the spotlight before making his Florida debut.
But even with plenty of experience playing in big games in packed arenas, the freshman guard still felt nervous before his first college game.
He overcame the pregame jitters quickly, scoring a game-high 22 points in his debut for the Gators to lead UF past Division-II Saint Leo 95-46 in Florida's opening exhibition game in O'Connell Center on Monday night.
Heralded as the team's savior and an elite scorer before coming to Gainesville, Boynton lived up to the expectations with a hot start, scoring the first five points of the game on a fast-break layup and a corner three.
"To tell you the truth, I was nervous because I didn't know how I was gonna feel when I got out there," Boynton said. "But I got the first point, and after that I just played my game."
Whether driving through the lane or bombing threes from all over the floor, Boynton proved to be UF's go-to scoring option in front of a crowd of 8,804 that included his mother, father, siblings and friends. He shot 50 percent from the floor and was 5 of 9 from beyond the arc.
Although his true strength is his ability to score, Boynton added six rebounds, three steals and two assists.
"It's a whole other level. I was nervous in the (McDonald's) All-American Game, and I was still in high school then," Boynton said. "In college, you want to give the fans a good outing on your first."
Starting in the backcourt alongside Boynton, Erving Walker scored 16 points and dished out nine assists without a turnover in his debut as UF's starting point guard. Walker helped push the ball up the court all game, allowing the Gators to use their athleticism against the outmatched Lions.
"I don't know if I've had two guys in the backcourt with (Walker) and Boynton that are that fast and are that explosive," UF coach Billy Donovan said. "With those two guys back there, we definitely want to play more up-tempo."
Ray Shipman, primarily used as a defensive specialist last season, put up 10 points off the bench. After a summer of playing no one other than his teammates, Shipman said he was ready to get back on the floor - even if the game didn't count toward the Gators' record.
"We've been playing each other Summer A, Summer B, open gym, practice, going against each other in video games," Shipman said. "Now, we get to play against somebody with a different name across their chest, and I feel like we just maximized and let all that anger out on them.
"I felt bad for them because we wanted to just destroy them."
