NORTH TEXAS – The smile rarely leaves Scottie Wilbekin’s face these days. Call it a smirk or a grin — Gators fans may view it differently than Gators foes — it quite often seems to be the Florida senior point guard’s facial response, whether intended or not, to one of the best runs in recent college basketball history, now 30 straight wins and counting.
Yet when he was told Friday afternoon that some view him as something of a bad guy, Wilbekin seemed genuinely taken aback.
“I hope I’m one of the good guys,” the hoops artist who strongly resembles Prince said about 29 hours before Florida was to face Connecticut in the opening game of today’s Final Four semifinals inside AT&T Stadium. “If I have to be a bad guy, so be it. But I don’t view myself as a bad guy.”
He’s certainly been anything but bad in this tournament, leading the Gators in scoring (16.8 ppg), steals (1.5) and minutes played (35.0).
Yet as recently as last summer, Gators coach Billy Donovan viewed him as a bad enough actor to suspend him indefinitely from the squad for a violation of team rules. He even told the graduate of The Rock high school in Gainesville, Fla., that the coach would help the player transfer if he so desired.