Gators football signee named high school basketball player of the year
Florida Gators signee Tony Livingston earned quite the honor this week.
Livingston was named the Class 5A state player of the year in boys basketball by the Florida Dairy Farmers. Livingston, who attends King High School in Tampa, Fla., averaged 24.3 points and 10.9 rebounds per game and led the Lions to their first district title in 12 years.
Livingston really turned it on in the playoffs. He scored 42 points and pulled down 16 rebounds in a win over Auburndale. He followed that up with a 24 point, 17 rebound game in a win over Leesburg in the regional semifinal. King fell to Orlando Jones in the Regional final but Livingston produced another double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
He was named the player of the year by the Tampa Bay Boys Basketball Coaches Association.
Napier intrigued by Livingston’s athleticism
Livingston played tight end in high school but was recruited by the previous staff as an offensive lineman. He got his weight up to 250 pounds and was viewed as an athletic developmental prospect. Playing basketball made it hard to keep his weight up.
Billy Napier and his staff had a different view.
“Tony’s an athlete,” Napier said on National Signing Day. “We had to do a lot of research in this situation. He’s got 11-inch hands, extremely long, big frame.”
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Livingston, a four-star prospect, committed to the Gators back in March of 2021. He reportedly didn’t play football last fall to focus on hoops, but Napier and his staff did their homework. What they saw on film and when they met him in person was enough to sell them on him as a person.
“He weighed 250 as a 10th grader. Probably played his best football as a 10th grader. I think that Tony is an athlete,” Napier said. “I think that certainly, we had to do a lot of research, right, in this situation. He’s a fantastic basketball player, unique dimensions. This guy is 6’4” and three quarters, he’s 225 pounds this weekend, and he’s got 11 hand. That’s very unique. He’s extremely long, and he’s got a big frame.
“We had a chance to spend time with him, and just got a really good feeling from him about the type of person he is. He’s got a good heart, and I think he’ll be a good player here. Now, he’s a developmental player, right. I think he’s got to work really hard this spring and certainly show up, but I think he’s a unique athlete.”
