Three Gators in News: Wilbekin, Singer and Arnsparger
Sunday, July 19, 2015 | Scott Carter
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Scottie Wilbekin is finally getting his shot at the NBA.
The SEC Player of the Year in 2014, Wilbekin led the Gators to the Final Four and then went undrafted. He spent last season in the Australian National Basketball League and earned MVP honors for Cairns, averaging 15.2 points and 4.3 assists.
Wilbekin continued to flourish in the NBA Summer League in Orlando and Las Vegas the past few weeks. He reached an agreement on a four-year contract with the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday night according to RealGM.com.
Scottie Wilbekin had the best spot up shooting summer league of all-time scoring 32 points over 17 attempts for an aFG% of 94% for the 76ers
— Synergy Sports Tech (@SynergySST) July 18, 2015
Wilbekin's agent Matt Ramker later confirmed the deal on Twitter.
Wilbekin is set to join one of the NBA's most downtrodden teams in recent years. The Sixers won only 18 games a year ago and lost their final 10 games to finish with 64 losses.
However, the once-proud franchise offers Wilbekin an opportunity to make his mark and continue to show off his improvement. In my time covering the Gators, I consider Wilbekin perhaps the athlete who improved most during his time at UF.
He went from a solid reserve in his first two seasons to earning the league's top individual award as a senior.
Wilbekin is going to bring it defensively every night. For him to stay in the league he'll need to continue to improve offensively and become an effective floor general and emotional team leader the way he did at UF.
Don't bet against him.
*****
SINGER TO UF
If you bump into Gators baseball coach Kevin O'Sullivan this weekend, don't be surprised if he has a big smile.
O'Sullivan received some big news Friday when pitcher Brady Singer opted to attend Florida rather than sign a professional contract with the Toronto Blue Jays.
I have decided to attend the University of Florida and excited to be a part of @GatorZoneBB !🐊
— Brady Singer⚾️ (@Bsinger51) July 17, 2015
A second-round pick in last month's MLB amateur draft, Singer struck out 110 batters in 67 innings as a senior at Eustis (Fla.) High last season. He registers 90-mph plus on the radar gun consistently.
A 6-foot-3, 180-pound right-hander, Singer did not reach an agreement with Toronto prior to Friday's 5 p.m. ET deadline for 2015 draftees to sign.
The recommended bonus for Singer's draft slot -- the 56th overall player taken -- is $1,091,200. In the wake of failing to reach an agreement, the Blue Jays get an additional second-round pick in the 2016 amateur draft, the 57th overall selection.
“It's a young, athletic kid with a big frame and a great fastball,” Toronto amateur scouting director Brian Parker said after selecting Singer. “He's got (fastball) life and he's got sink and he can really command the fastball."
Singer joins a Florida pitching staff next season that returns sophomores Logan Shore, A.J. Puk and Dane Dunning, and freshman Alex Faedo.
Adding Singer to the mix is a scary thought for opposing lineups.
*****
ARNSPARGER TOUCHED MANY
The death of former Florida athletic director Bill Arnsparger stirred memories of those who remember Arnsparger for his long and successful career in college and professional sports.
Arnsparger's time at UF was only a small slice of a career that started as an assistant college football coach, led him to the NFL, back to college as a head coach and athletic director, and finally, back to the NFL for one last run at a Super Bowl.
Of course, Gator Nation remembers Arnsparger mostly for his role in hiring Steve Spurrier as head football coach in 1990. Spurrier turned the program into a national championship contender and won the school's first title in 1996.
But as Florida Athletic Director Jeremy Foley pointed out, Arnsparger also steered Florida's athletic department through some difficult times in the late 1980s to set the stage for unprecedented success under Foley's watch the past 23 years.
But Arnsparger accomplished so much more in his career. In retrospect, Arnsparger made a huge impact almost everywhere he worked.
Arnsparger passed away Friday at age 88 after a long struggle with Alzheimer's disease.
Prior to his stop in Gainesville, Scott Rabalais of the Baton Rouge (La.) Advocate writes how Arnsparger restored the roar at LSU.
Meanwhile, David Neal of The Miami Herald recalls how Arnsparger came to Miami with Don Shula and earned the status as an NFL defensive icon.
Arnsparger was the architect of Miami's famous "No Name Defense" that finished a perfect 17-0 in 1972 and South Florida Sun-Sentinel columnist Dave Hyde captures his impact well in this column.
Richard Goldstein of The New York Times wrote Arnsparger's obituary for the "newspaper of record."
Finally, MiamiDolphins.com contacted Shula for his thoughts on Arnsparger.
