Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The last four-member men's basketball senior class will go down in Florida sports lore not only for its history-making achievements, but for the way they were woven into the orange-and-blue fabric of Gator athletics. Patric Young, Scottie Wilbekin, Casey Prather and Will Yeguete came in as freshmen together, became inseparable best friends overnight, and four years later were on a school-record 30-game winning streak the night they played their final UF game in the Final Four. 

Now, juxtapose the tale of the 2014s to the four seniors of the 2017 class. 

"It's an eclectic mix, that's for sure," forward Canyon Barry said. 

Point guard Kasey Hill put it like this.

"We don't have a lot in common, but we're family." 
 
At the head of the class is Hill, the most decorated prep prospect to sign with UF over the last five years. Forward Justin Leon took the back roads to the Southeastern Conference by way of the junior-college ranks and because he had history with a coach who was about to replace a legend. Center Schuyler Rimmer was an in-state kid who gave the Pac-12 a try before transferring back to the school he loved to play as a walk-on. Then came Barry, a graduate transfer from mid-major land, who shopped his fifth year of eligibility in search of a chance to taste the college basketball big time at a place where he could work toward a master's degree in nuclear engineering.  

Together, they'll be guests of honor Wednesday night when the quartet is saluted before the 12th-ranked Gators (23-6, 13-3) take on red-hot Arkansas (22-7, 11-5) at the Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center and try to become just the seventh UF team to win at least 24 games in a regular season while furthering their stock as a high NCAA Tournament at-large seed. 

Now, compare that to "Senior Night" last year, when the Gators entered with 17 wins and lost their fourth straight on the way to the NIT.

Take a bow, guys. 

"Four players, four paths, four very different stories," UF coach Mike White said. "I'm sure it's going to be an emotional night for these guys. For me, as well. They've helped restore the winning culture of the Florida program."

It starts with Hill, the McDonald's All-American by way of the prestigious Montverde Academy. As a freshman he played a vital backup role to Wilbekin, the SEC Player of the Year, during UF's record-setting 2014 run. The two ensuing seasons included their share of frustrations for a player who was rated among the 10 best freshmen of his class and even showed up in some mock NBA drafts as a likely "one-and-done" (along with the likes of Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker, Julius Randle and Joel Embiid). 

In many ways, Hill became a victim of expectations, most of them external. Even he admits as much.

"That's definitely true, but I knew who I was," Hill said. "I knew what came with my name. I knew what I did in high school. I knew the level of expectation that was placed on me, but that's in the past. There's nothing I can do about that now and, honestly, I don't really think about it." 

When Billy Donovan jumped to the NBA after Hill's sophomore season — a disappointing 16-17 campaign that represented the program's first losing record in 17 years — Hill didn't know what to expect from the boyish-looking coach from Louisiana Tech who few on the team had ever even heard of. The transition process to the new staff was slow and needed to take some steps backward to take a few forward. Hill played some of the best basketball of his three UF seasons late in the year and on into the NIT, then during the offseason spent countless hours in the gym to further hone his game. 

Perhaps his greatest work, however, came in seizing a vocal leadership role, both on the court and behind the scenes, and getting his teammates to respond to his daily challenges. Hill didn't come to Florida to post a sub-.500 record and settle for NIT games at Ohio State. 

"We went through a drought there for a while," he said. "What matters is how we're playing now."

Hill's last hurrah as a Gator will end in the NCAA Tournament. His career scorecard will place him as one of just six players in SEC history to score at least 1,000 points, dish 500 assists and post 175 steals. 

"Going through those struggles and losing and now getting back to winning, I think that shows maturity and growth; for both myself and this program," said Hill, who will graduate in May with a degree in Anthropology. "We're winning now and we weren't winning before. We changed the culture and changed some things to get back on the winning track. We're headed in the right direction now and I'm proud to have been a part of that." 
 
Compare Hill's trek to Leon, who went unrecruited out of his high school in Conway, Ark., and had to take his game to Shawnee Community College in tiny Ullin, Ill., before a handful of schools took notice. A JuCo All-American, Leon caught the eye of White and his staff while they were still at LaTech. They marveled at his tipoff-to-buzzer effort level. When White made the move to UF, Leon asked and was granted out of his national letter-of-intent and became the first signee of the post-Donovan regime.

"This is my 17^th year coaching, and he's the hardest-playing player I've ever coached. Hands down," White said. "It's another level because it's 365 days a year. It's [at] shoot-around. It's practice. It's pickup. It's games. He's not the most talented guy in our league, [but] in my opinion, he plays as hard as anyone in our league. I love him. I love coaching him." 

And he's been a vital component of the program's reboot.

Leon, though, is nowhere near ready for it to end. 

"I realize it's almost over, but I have to make the most of it," said Leon, on schedule to walk with a degree in Sociology. "For me, that means just keep playing the way I've been playing and then knowing, when when I do leave here, I went out on the right note, playing the right way, and had fun doing it." 
 
Rimmer was a center at Orlando Boone High who committed to play for Donovan and the Gators as a walk-on, citing his longtime affinity for the school both his parents attended and the basketball program he grew up worshiping. 

"I used to go to University of Florida sleepover camps when I was in elementary and middle school. I went to the elite camps here in high school," Rimmer said. "I've got a lot of Gator in me." 

But a scholarship offer from Stanford was too much to turn down, so Rimmer headed west and played for the Cardinal until his heartstrings started tugging. After fall semester of his sophomore year, Rimmer transferred to UF and got to experience half his sit-out season under Donovan. 

Unfortunately, that would be Donovan's last season and a difficult one chemistry-wise, one of the reason's Rimmer -- regardless of his walk-on label or lack of playing time -- took to heart the importance of being a good teammate. Behind the scenes, in meetings, at practice, on the bench during games, he put the good of the Gators first.   

"As a fan growing up, I took so much pride in how great Florida basketball was," Rimmer said. "I didn't want to be a part of the downfall of the program. I didn't want my time here to be looked at as a dark period in UF basketball history. That's why this year has been so great as far as basketball goes and how it's been a honor to be a part of it." 

And while Rimmer, who will leave with a political science degree, has not played as much as he would like, is there any fan out there who doesn't remember his dunk in UF's blowout win over Kentucky? 

"I need to find a picture of that," he said. "It'll be on my office wall one day." 
 
Finally, enter Barry, who arrived last June as a one-year hired gun with a degree in physics from the College of Charleston. As a fourth-year junior, Barry led the Colonial Athletic Association in scoring when he suffered a season-ending shoulder injury. By graduating last spring, the youngest son of NBA Hall-of-Famer Rick Barry was instantly eligible to compete as a transfer and, thus, instantly ready to impact a program. Northwestern and Miami were on his shopping list, but Barry wanted his last season to be in basketball's big time; and on a team with a chance to make a run in the NCAA Tournament. 

How has it all turned out? 

"I've checked a lot of those boxes," Barry said. 

He played against Duke at Madison Square Garden. Scored 27 in a huge overtime home win against Georgia at the renovated and sold-out O'Dome. He threw in 14 in a rousing home win over Kentucky. He hit Auburn with 30 on the road. Barry is second on the Gators in scoring at 12.3 points per game and first in the SEC in free-throw shooting at 89.9; all underhanded, of course. 

Barry has played the last two games on a sore ankle he rolled in a win at Mississippi State. The last couple weeks have meant a lot of treatment in the training room. He used his time on the table to ice up and study up. 

Anyone else out there taking "Intro to Radiation Detection?" 

"Canyon has been great," White said. "We're not where we are right now without him."

There are more games to play, of course. Some really big ones, starting with one last turn in front of the Rowdy Reptiles. 

"It definitely will mean something," Barry said. "College basketball is one of the best times of your life. To be at a school where fans sleep out the night before home games, that's really cool. It's been great, but it'll be a little sad to know it's my last game in the O'Dome. It feels like I just got here, really. But I'm going to enjoy it." 

They all are. 

How they got here doesn't matter. Only that they did -- and the Gators are better (and back) because of it. 

"We're brothers working toward the same goal," Hill said. "We didn't come in together. We came from different backgrounds, but the one thing we did share is that we all wanted to win. I guess you could say we had that in common."