Video: Kenny Boynton Mix

Words by Justin Walsh

Kenny Boynton Jr. is consistently destroying the state of Florida. He just passed Cornelius Ingram on the list of most points scored in the history of the state of Florida with 3,265 points as of Jan. 30. An interesting note—Ingram scored 3,252 in six seasons. Boynton isn’t even done with four.

Boynton has a serious chance of finishing the leading scorer in Florida HS basketball history, and all he needs is to get to 3,745 points by the end of the year. Needless to say, even his opponents are aware of the history surrounding the accomplishment.

“We played against Calvary Christian, and I was at the free-throw line…This was last week,” Boynton recalls. “The dude, he told me after the game to take off my shoe, give it to him and sign it. I thought he was joking. He was messing with me the whole game about it… I was talking to him, I just wasn’t going to give him my shoe.” It’s not totally new to him, Kenny signed his first autograph in 8th grade.

In 2008, Kenny decided to stay home and attend the University of Florida to play ball for Billy Donovan. He chose Florida over Duke and Texas. Part of the reason might be that it’s close to home, but it helps that the Gators recruited him initially in middle school. “Florida always had the upper hand because they were the home state program. They’ve been on me from day one.”

In an interview with Gator Country, Boynton’s coach Danny Herz reflected on the successful recruitment of the high profile guard:

“Coach Donovan did a great job recruiting him,” Herz says. “It’s hard to beat Coach Donovan when he wants an in-state kid and they did a fantastic job of recruiting him… not just Coach Donovan but his entire staff. All of them had a part in this and they did everything the right way. The most important thing is that Kenny is happy with this decision.”

The Gators recruiting class for this upcoming season could put Florida back in the discussion for teams to make a deep run in the tourney. It’s been a few years since Donovan had a loaded team, but with the addition of Kenny Boynton Jr., the Gators could once again be known for more than football.