2012-13 Year in Review - Gator Boosters, Inc.

YEAR IN REVIEW 2012–2013Men’s Basketball14The Gators won their sixth Southeastern Conferencechampionship in program history, the fifth underhead coach Billy Donovan. It marked UF’s secondSEC title in the past three seasons and third in thelast seven years. Florida also reached the NCAAElite Eight round for the third consecutive season.Florida boasted one of the best defenses in thecountry during 2012–13, allowing its opponents just54.4 points per game (third nationally) and a 38.2field-goal percentage (ninth) while posting a +17.0scoring margin (second). Four opponents scored40 or fewer on the Gators, while 13 could not top50 on the scoreboard.AOverall Record: 29-8NCAA Finish: T-5thSEC Record: 14-4SEC Finish: 1stSEC Tournament Finish: 2ndAll-SEC: 5 athletes, 9 honorsSEC Academic Honor Roll: 3BCDA. All five usual starters—KennyBoynton, Erik Murphy, Mike Rosario,Scottie Wilbekin and Patric Young—earned All-SoutheasternConference honors, while MichaelFrazier received SEC All-Freshmanrecognition. Young was named SECScholar-Athlete of the Year for thesecond straight season and Wilbekinand Young were both recognized onthe SEC All-Defensive Team.B. Head coach Billy Donovanbecame the third coach to win400 games at a SoutheasternConference school with UF’s 83-52win over Missouri. He also pickedup his 450th career victory in theGators’ Sweet 16 win over FloridaGulf Coast. That win also markedhis 31st NCAA Tournament victory,the most ever by an SEC coach.It’s Great to bea Florida Gator“When you wear the Gator colors, youwant to wear them proudly. And I thinkthat we represented the school well.We were ourselves, though. I think thatpeople saw that we weren’t scared toshow our emotions. We weren’t scaredto show our character. I think that thepeople at Florida, they saw that and theyappreciated what we did. To me, I’llalways be a Gator in my heart. I’m nottaking anything for granted, but I knowI had the three best years of my life,so far.”–Joakim Noah2006 NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player2006 and 2007 All-American2013 NBA All-StarC. Erik Murphy earned first-teamAll-Southeastern Conference honorson both the Associated Press andCoaches’ teams, as he led the leaguein 3-point percentage (.453). He alsobecame the 49th Gator to join the1,000-point club, wrapping up hiscareer with 1,052.D. Kenny Boynton finished his careeras one of the most prolific scorersin Florida history, as his 2,033 pointsmarked the second-most all-time bya Gator. He also leaves UF as theprogram’s all-time leader in3-pointers and games started.A. Redshirt-freshman Carlie Needlesbroke a 20-year-old program recordby nailing nine three-pointers in theNovember 19 game against NorthFlorida.B. Junior Jaterra Bonds set theGators’ season record with 140 madefree throws in 2012–13, when sheextended her consecutive gamesstarting streak to 70. Bonds led UFin scoring with 13.1 points per game.C. Amanda Butler captured her 100thwin in her sixth year coaching theGators in 2012–13. Butler has alreadyamassed 120 victories with theOrange & Blue, the most of anycoach in program history throughtheir respective first six seasons.Each of her Gator teams has earneda postseason berth—a first for anycoach in UF women’s basketballhistory.D. Redshirt-junior Lily Sveteconverted 40 percent (52–130) of herthree-point attempts in 2012–13 andset a program record for accuracyfrom beyond the arc.E. Jennifer George, who was the lonesenior on the 2012–13 squad, playedin a program-record 135 games.She ended her four-year careerscoring 1,257 points, 915 reboundsand 191 blocked shots—the fourthmostswats in program history.AIt’s Great to bea Florida Gator“When you’re wearing the Orange &Blue and have Florida written acrossthe front of your jersey, you know it’snot about you, it’s about somethingthat’s much greater and bigger thanyourself. You want to go out and playharder because you’re part ofsomething that’s special. When I wasat Florida for four years, that’s whatI played for—I played for what wasacross my chest and the people andthe family that I was a part ofeveryday and for the rest of my life.”–Murriel Page1998 Consensus First-Team All-American1997 & 1998 First-Team All-SoutheasternConference1998 Third Overall WNBA Draft PickBCDHead coach Amanda Butler has led the Gatorsto four 20-win seasons in her six years on thesideline, including the 22-win campaign in 2012–13.There have been 13 total 20-win seasons in programhistory, including the four under Butler.The 2013 WNIT was Florida’s 19th postseasonappearance in the last 21 years. It also was the20th postseason berth in program history.EOverall Record: 22-15WNIT Finish: T-3rdSEC Record: 6-10SEC Finish: T-8thSEC Tournament Finish: T-5thAll-SEC: 2 athletes, 3 honorsSEC Academic Honor Roll: 4WOMEN’s BasketballYEAR IN REVIEW 2012–201315