In The (Gator) Zone: Milton-Jones Returns to College, Plus More

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Twenty years ago DeLisha Milton-Jones reached a pinnacle no University of Florida women's basketball player has touched before or since.

Known as DeLisha Milton as a collegian, she was named SEC Player of the Year during her senior season, still Florida's only conference player of the year. Milton-Jones was so good during the 1996-97 season, she also earned the Wade Trophy, which honors the NCAA Division I National Player of the Year.

Of course, Milton-Jones was just getting started and went on to become the WNBA's all-time leader in games played over her 20-year professional career, 17 of those in the WNBA. Milton-Jones announced her retirement in a letter posted on the WNBA's official website on Sept. 19.

34298 — Milton-Jones with Gators coach Amanda Butler.

If you watched Milton-Jones play for the Gators, you remember her tenacity and passion once she took the court. She loved the game and was fun to watch, as were those Florida teams under head coach Carol Ross.

The Gators made their first NCAA Tournament appearance in school history the season prior to Milton-Jones' arrival, and when Milton-Jones arrived prior to the 1993-94 season, Florida women's basketball really took off, earning NCAA Tournament berths all four seasons she was on campus.

In her retirement letter, the 42-year-old Milton-Jones revealed how much the game has meant to her.

"If I could play forever, I would do it without hesitation,'' she said. "There's nothing like being a professional athlete. I took a lot of pride in calling myself one."
Before Milton-Jones posted her retirement letter, she had already lined up a new spot in the game.

Milton-Jones is going back to school as an assistant coach at Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif. Pepperdine head coach Ryan Weisenberg, a former assistant coach with the Los Angeles Sparks when Milton-Jones played for LA, offered her a job.

"She is going to make an immediate impact,'' Weisenberg told The Malibu Times. "She brings the unbridled enthusiasm that is just contagious. That is something we really wanted."

The Waves have it in Milton-Jones. She'll make her debut Friday when the Waves host their Blue & Orange Madness, which seems a rather fitting name for Milton-Jones' re-introduction to the college game.

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TALE OF TWO QBs

Florida's 2006 national championship team will be honored on Saturday to recognize the 10-year anniversary of the program's second national title.

Two of the biggest stars on that team – senior quarterback Chris Leak and freshman quarterback Tim Tebow – have been in the news recently. OK, Tebow has been in the headlines for the past decade, so that's nothing new.

Still, Tebow's professional baseball career has added a new wrinkle to his massive popularity in Gator Nation and beyond. Tebow, signed to a minor-league contract by the New York Mets recently, opened a stint in the Arizona Fall League on Tuesday.

And then there is Leak, who was just five games into his job as head coach at Edgewater High in Orlando when he abruptly resigned. A few days later, reports surfaced that Leak is under investigation after an alleged sexual assault of a 16-year-old girl, according to Orlando Police.

The soft-spoken and likeable Leak is about the last person you would expect to be linked to such a case. No charges have been filed as of Tuesday and Leak has not addressed the situation publicly since the story broke.

While Leak's popularity never approached that of Tebow, he is one of the best players in school history and a fan favorite. Leak returned to UF in 2013 to complete a master's degree and spent a season as Florida's receivers coach in 2014.

Only time will tell how the case plays out, but this story certainly put Gator fans in a momentary state of shock.

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HORFORD AND BOSTON

Al Horford is the latest NBA veteran to sign with the Celtics deep into his career and try to win a championship with the storied franchise.

It worked for Kevin Garnett, not so much for Shaq. It worked for Bill Walton in the 1980s, not so much for Alton Lister in the '90s.

Former UF standout Al Horford on day he was introduced as newest member of the Celtics. (Photo: Boston Globe)

According to reports out of Boston, Horford is off to a promising start.

Boston Globe beat writer Gary Washburn wrote this week that the "Horford effect has been immediate and profound, giving the organization confidence as it approaches a critical season."

Boston was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs last spring by Horford's former team, the Atlanta Hawks. Horford won a pair of national championships with the Gators, but the four-time All-Star never made it past the Eastern Conference Finals in nine seasons in Atlanta.

He is confident Boston offers that chance after signing a four-year, $113 million max contract in the offseason.

"It feels right to be here,'' Horford told reporters after his first practice with the Celtics. "Looking at my career at this point, I'm going into my 10th year and want to be able to be a part of something special and win a championship. With the type of guys that we have here, we have that possibility."

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In The (Gator) Zone: Milton-Jones Returns to College, Plus More

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