The Florida Gators have made the decision to restore the stats of basketball great Vernon Maxwell, and in the process officially make him the all-time leading scorer in Florida history, as well as the third highest scorer in SEC history.
Despite helping put Gator Basketball on the map in the first place, Maxwell's tale is one that tends to get glossed over in Gator lore among casual fans, but the decision by Scott Stricklin to restore his stats brings his tale back into a new light.
Mad Max is back on top with the Florida Gators
Maxwell was with the Gators from 1985 to 1989 and scored 2,450 points during his career in Gainesville. With Maxwell, Florida made the NCAA Tournament for the first time ever in 1987 and went to the Sweet 16 that year.
During his junior and senior years, he averaged over 20 points a game, but those stats would eventually be erased. Florida was hit with sanctions and probation that stemmed from Maxwell taking money from an agent, a big no-no back then, and Florida went a step further and also stripped Maxwell of his stats from those two years.
He would go on to a long NBA career from 1988 to 2001, most notably winning the NBA title with the Houston Rockets twice. Maxwell went on to score 10,912 points during his NBA career.
In a statement from Scott Stricklin about restoring Maxwell's stats:
"Vernon Maxwell is one of the greatest players ever to wear a Gator uniform. You could not write the history of Florida basketball without him. What happened with the program and the NCAA did not change what Vernon accomplished on the court in helping put the Gators on the national basketball map. He earned those points."
Maxwell passes Ronnie Williams, who had 2,090 points, as the official leader in points in Gainesville.