One of the highlights of last season was when Florida was playing Kentucky and Chris Chiozza drove into the paint, sucking in the defense before whipping a pass out to a wide-open Keith Stone who effortlessly drained a three. The significance of that shot was much more than the fact that it stretched Florida’s lead to 28-17, it was that it was Chiozzas 548th career assist making the him the all-time leader in assists for the Gators. He was able to get that total up to 571 before the season was done, and that’s a record he will probably hold on to for a long time.
A team with a long tradition and with well-documented stats since the 1970s, the Gators have a lot of really cool records whether it’s all-time, single season, or single game feats. Many of these records are likely untouchable, and some of them we could see fall in the next few years. Let’s get into some of the records that I think are unbreakable and then talk about some ones we might see fall in the near future.
Let’s start with the records that I think could fall in the next few years.
Career Points
Record: 2,090
Record Holder: Ronnie Williams (1980-1984)
I would have expected that someone back in the day would have put up a billion points and made this one unreachable but really, it’s conceivable someone could catch up to this. KeVaughn Allen, sitting at 1,297 going into this season, will likely end up 6th or 7th on the list by the time he’s done. Allen has been a fairly consistent scorer, but never an explosive scorer and if he get relatively close to the record, I think someone could potentially take this record from Williams at some point.
Points In A Road Game
Record: 39
Record Holder: Tony Miller vs. Auburn, January 8,1972
Netting 39 points on the road is definitely a tough task, but it’s not inconceivable. Florida only had 2 players get 30-point games last year (Jalen Hudson and Egor Koulechov) but it is possible to imagine Hudson going off for 39 points when his shot is falling. Looking ahead to the future, a more veteran Noah Locke or Tre Mann also could potentially channel their firepower into a 39-point outburst.
3-Pointers Made In A Game
Record: 11
Record Holder: Michael Frazier II vs. South Carolina, March 4, 2014
Going 11-18, Frazier definitely had an incredible shooting night, but this is one I could potentially see falling in the coming seasons. Jalen Hudson went 8-12 against Gonzaga last yeah and I could see him getting the green light to put up 20 attempts from a three-happy Coach White this upcoming season if he’s feeling good from downtown. This would be tough one to break, but I could see it happening.
Career 3-Point Field Goals Made
Record: 333
Record Holder: Kenny Boynton (2009-2013)
With the way basketball is going, this is one I could see falling. 333 makes is a lot, but I could see someone like Noah Locke getting a whole lot of deep balls up in Mike White’s offense and the sheer volume could allow him to catch Boynton’s record.
Career Steals
Record: 204
Record Holder: Eddie Shannon (1995-1999)
Two recent Gators have sniffed around this one as Chris Chiozza finished with 191 steals and Kasey Hill finished with 182. Those two had quick hands and great timing when it came to dispossessing opponents and I’m not sure who in the short term could match that ability but the fact that those two were close makes me think this one is destined to fall sometime soon.
Career Scoring Average
Record: 20.8
Record Holder: Neal Walk (1966-1969)
The one-and-done rule might be the reason this one could fall, as a player coming in and playing 30-something games of great basketball and staying in the 20s could beat out a player like Walk who maintained that average over multiple seasons. Now that Florida is back to recruiting these one-and-done types, maybe they’ll land a monster who could average 21 points a game during a brief stint in Gainesville.
Now, let’s look at the records I think will never fall. These are the most unbreakable feats in the Gators’ record book.
Career Rebounds
Record: 1,181
Record Holder: Neal Walk (1966-1969)
Let’s put this into perspective a little bit more. Walk also holds the record for average rebounds per game with 15.3 and the record for most rebounds in a game with 31. Yeah, I don’t think anyone is touching any of those rebounding records. The man dominated the paint in the 60’s in a way we will just never see again.
Career Double-Doubles
Record: 43
Record Holder: Eugene McDowell (1981-1985)
Think about how hard getting a double-double is nowadays. Now imagine anyone getting ANYWHERE near this record. I don’t see it happening. For reference, the Gators had 5 double-double games last year with Egor Koulechov providing 3 and Chris Chiozza chipping in 2.
Career Blocked Shots
Record: 272
Record Holder: Dwayne Schintzius (1986-1990)
He is waaay ahead of the pack here, and his absurd 2.47 blocks per game is also a record he firmly holds. I think someone could come in and perhaps challenge that blocks per game record if they only play a year or two, but I can’t see a 4-year player getting to that total blocked shots number. However, shout-out to Kevarrius Hayes who could even take a big dip in his shot blocking numbers this season and will still likely finish second on the all-time list. Around 2 blocked shots per game (what he had last year) will put him around 210 blocks, really great, but short of that Schintzius number.
Career Personal Fouls
Record: 409
Record Holder: Udonis Haslem (1998-2002)
Ah, Udonis. I should have known. To put this into perspective, the current Gator with the most fouls is Kevarrius Hayes with 231. He could foul out of every single game this upcoming season and still fall short of the record. Hey, this leads into another fun record…
Career Disqualifications
Record: 27
Record Holder: Malcolm Cesare (1975-1979)
I didn’t have the pleasure of watching Cesare play, but now I wish I did! Getting kicked out of that many games, whether from fouling out or getting instantly ejected, is incredible and there is no chance we’re seeing that happen to a Gator 27 times in the modern era. Kevarrius Hayes, Keith Stone, and Dontay Bassett are tied for the Gator lead with 2 each.
Career Free Throws Made
Record: 546
Record Holder: Ronnie Williams (1980-1984)
He also holds the record for attempts with 785, another record I don’t see being touched. KeVaughn Allen leads both categories with 305 attempts and 267 makes, showing how hard it would be to catch up with those free throw numbers. I think you’d need to see a really, really dominant 4-year big man to ever touch those numbers and even then, that would be tough.
Career Dunks
Record: 168
Record Holder: Dwayne Davis (1987-1991)
They just aren’t slamming the ball like they used to. Kevarrius Hayes is leading the Gators right now at a DISTANT 37 so though I actually probably should have this one in the category of records that could be broken, it would be pretty difficult. If John Egbunu stayed healthy for his whole career he would have definitely been in the mix to get this record as he ended with 106. A final fun fact, the Gators had 68 dunks as a team last season.
I miss Vernon’s stats. Wish they would welcome him back.
Forgot to mention Tony Miller’s single game scoring record of 54 points against Chicago State on February 29, 1972, and that was before the 3 point shot. I was actually at the game. As a shooter Tony Miller was in the same class as JJ Redick or Kyle Korver. With the 3-point shot I do expect the record to be broken sooner or later.
I actually fought with that one a bit just because it kind of fell into the middle of the categories… I couldn’t decide whether I thought it was a record that will go unbroken or if it’s one that I think could be overtaken. It’s definitely not untouchable and as you mentioned, maybe someone catches fire from three and breaks it.