Florida’s Kenny Boynton to begin career in Israel

By Adam Silverstein
August 16, 2013

Former Florida Gators guard Kenny Boynton, the second-leading scorer in program history, has agreed to start his professional career playing for Barak Netanya of the Israeli Basketball Super League, the country’s highest division of basketball.

Boynton was not selected in the two-round 2013 NBA Draft but earned a tryout with the Los Angeles Lakers ahead of NBA Summer League competition. He was hoping to earn one of 15 spots on the team but ultimately failed to make the roster.

In his four-year career with the Gators, Boynton scored 2,033 points and grabbed team records for three-pointers made (333), total starts (142) and minutes played (4,673). In the 145 games he played wearing Orange and Blue, Boynton was the leading scorer for UF in 54 games, top assist man in 31 contests and scored in double figures 112 times.

RELATED: Florida G Boynton: “I’ve tried my best to win as much as I could.”

It is the second time in three offseasons that a former Florida player has decided to begin his career in Israel as forward Alex Tyus played professionally for Maccabi Ashdod B.C. during the 2011-12 campaign. He averaged 12 points and 8.5 rebounds over the course of the season and was named the league’s Sixth Man of the Year.

After one year in Italy, Tyus signed a three-year, $1.1 million deal to return to the IBSL and will suit up for Maccabi Tel Aviv in 2013. The third year is a club option.

Tyus also converted to Judaism and became a citizen of Israel in 2011, allowing him to play for the country’s national team in the future.

Sportando.net first reported Boynton’s acquisition.

Photo Credit: Unknown

3 Comments

  1. Tractorr says:

    Good for Kenny.

    I know every player wants to play for the NBA, but he is still getting the chance to play basketball professionally. Plus, it seems like a lot of undersized but really fast guards wind up in Israel. I am always kind of surprised that more guards don’t go over there for a few years and then get a chance in the NBA, but I suppose it has to do with not matching up against the size of the NBA.

  2. Michael Jones says:

    Kenny B was a good Gator. You could never take that away from him. All heart. His basketball IQ could improve a little, and taking a bad shot early in the shotclock and then clanging that streaky jumper off of the rim at the most inopportune times down the stretch of big games had me pulling my hair out on too many occasions . . . but, that said, it’s hard not to love Kenny B, and, in fairness, he also made some big plays too.

    I wish him all the best in his professional career and I hope that he makes a lot of money. He represented us well. He was a Gator’s Gator.

  3. jeffb says:

    Good luck kenny. Light them up in Israel.

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