Boynton leads UF in debut

Freshman guard Kenny Boynton admitted he was “a little nervous” before Florida’s exhibition opener against Division II Saint Leo.

Hard to believe, especially considering that Boynton has played in the McDonald’s All American game and on some of the brightest national stages in the summer travel circuit.

“It’s still a whole different level,” Boynton said.

Whatever jitters Boynton had, he used to his advantage. In his Florida debut, the 6-foot-2 Boynton scored a team-high 22 points, lifting the Gators to a 95-46 win over the visiting Lions before a paid 8,804 at the O’Connell Center.

Sophomore point guard Erving Walker added 16 points and nine assists with no turnovers. Alex Tyus had 10 points and nine rebounds and sophomore guard Ray Shipman scored 10 points off the bench.

Boynton, whose parents made the trip from Pompano Beach to watch him play, scored Florida’s first five points on a driving layup in transition and a 3-pointer that rimmed out before rolling back into basket.

“It felt good to just get that first layup,” said Boynton, who went 7-for-14 from the floor and 5-for-9 from 3-point range. “I felt like a college player.”

Florida coach Billy Donovan had no qualms starting the heralded freshman in the exhibition opener. Boynton added six rebounds, two assists and three steals.

“Kenny has been playing that way since we started practice,” Donovan said.

While it was a big day for Florida’s backcourt, the frontcourt play was at best mediocre. Florida allowed 11 offensive rebounds in the first half against a St. Leo team without a starter taller than 6-foot-7. At one point in the second half, Florida was only up 30-29 on rebounds against St. Leo before finishing with a 51-38 advantage on the boards.

“We did create some turnovers with our press but we also put a lot of guys in some tough situations with our rotations,” Donovan said. “There were some long rebounds off 3-point attempts and our guys didn’t do as good a job chasing down balls as we should have. I still think 11 offensive rebounds in the first half is too much.”

Starting center Vernon Macklin had an up-and-down debut with seven points and four rebounds in 23 minutes.

“I thought Vern was just OK, but that’s something we’ve been saying all along,” Donovan said.

But a bright spot was the play of freshman forward/center Erik Murphy, who had nine points and six rebounds while showing good technique boxing out. Sophomore center Kenny Kadji provided some energy off the bench in the second half, but had three turnovers and four fouls to go with six points, five rebounds and three blocked shots.

“I think if you looked at Kadji, Macklin and Murphy as a committee, the production (at center) was pretty good,” Donovan said.

FREE THROWS: Freshman guard Rod Tishman hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer for his lone three points. Tishman had no turnovers in 11 minutes. Tishman and Kadji were the final two scholarship players inserted off the bench in the first half.

Tyus All-SEC

Tyus was named to the Southeastern Conference coaches All-SEC second team on Monday. Tyus finished last season second in scoring at 12.5 points per game while leading the Gators in rebounding at 6.3 per game.

“It’s nice, but really it doesn’t mean much,” Tyus said. “I want to get back to the (NCAA) tournament.”

Tyus was on the second team with South Carolina forward Dominique Archie, Tennessee center Wayne Chism, Auburn guard DeWayne Reed, Georgia forward Trey Thompkins, Kentucky guard John Wall, Alabama forward JaMychal Green and Ole Miss guard Chris Warren. The All-SEC coaches first team included South Carolina guard Devan Downey, LSU forward Tasmin Mitchell, Vanderbilt center A.J. Ogilvy, Kentucky forward Patrick Patterson, Tennessee forward Tyler Smith, Mississippi State center Jarvis Varnado, Arkansas forward Michael Washington and Ole Miss guard Terrico White.