With nearly seven minutes left in the game, Eric Hester stood deep beyond the right wing with the ball in his hands.
As the seconds ticked off the shot clock, LSU’s Jalyn Patterson stood firm in his defensive stance, daring the freshman guard to shoot it. After a series of jab steps and head fakes, Hester launched a deep, high-arching shot toward the basket.
Swish.
Not even 30 seconds later, he hit another three.
Then another.
And then finally, with just over a minute left in the contest, Hester stepped into a line-drive triple from the top of the key and buried it over the outstretched arms of the Tigers’ Skylar Mays.
All together, Hester scored a career-high 16 points in No. 25 Florida’s 106-71 route of LSU (9-10, 1-7 SEC) on Wednesday night in Baton Rouge.
His 5-for-5 performance from beyond the arc marked him as the first UF player to shoot 100 percent from three with five-plus makes since Walter Hodge went 5-for-5 against Stetson in 2006.
What an encouraging sign for a team that’s set to graduate its starting point guard in the spring.
While it’s arguable that Hester didn’t play any meaningful minutes against the Tigers, as the Gators (15-5, 6-2 SEC) held a monstrous lead almost the entire night, his play is most certainly a great sign for Florida’s future at the point guard position.
Florida’s current starting point guard, Kasey Hill, is in the midst of his senior season at UF. At 9.2 points, 4.8 assists and two steals per game, Hill has been a productive figure in Florida’s backcourt, providing excellent ball movement and tenacious defense. I don’t want this to come across as if I’m glorifying Kasey Hill — because I’m not. If anything, his play throughout his entire career at Florida has actually been pretty disappointing. Regardless, he’s been excellent this year, and his production will be missed when he finally leaves.
So, who does that leave as the Gators’ starting point guard for the 2017-18 season?
The answer right now is Chris Chiozza.
But, while Chiozza had a solid nine-point outing against LSU, during which he went 3-for-6 on three-pointers, that doesn’t excuse the fact that this season has been extremely difficult for him. He’s averaging just 5.3 points per game 34.1-percent shooting from the field and 26-percent shooting from three. In addition, Chiozza has only played about 19.5 minutes per game this season — a career-low. That’s disheartening for someone already in his third year with the program.
To get back to Hester: He’s hardly played at all.
His 17 minutes on Wednesday night are a career-high. His previous career-high was 14 minutes against Charlotte — another blowout victory — on Dec. 17. Even including these rare games where he actually receives significant playing time, Hester averages only 6.1 minutes per game.
He doesn’t score much — just 2.7 points per game.
So, what does he do well?
Shoot the rock.
And his latest game is a testament to that.
It’s a small sample size, but on the season, Hester’s 8-for-13 from the three-point line (61.5 percent).
I’m not ready to crown him the next Lee Humphrey or Jason Williams, but having a point guard who can efficiently shoot the basketball will be a welcomed change of pace for a team whose other two point guards are a combined 17-for-72 from beyond the arc.
Ray Boone is a sports writer. His column appears on Fridays. Contact him at rboone@alligator.org, and follow him on Twitter at @rboone1994.
UF guard Eric Hester talks with coach Mike White during Florida's 94-71 win over the University of Arkansas at Little Rock on Dec. 21, 2016, in the O'Connell Center.
