ORLANDO, Fla. — Just before the halftime buzzer, Florida point guard Scottie Wilbekin shot a running 3-pointer, leaping high above two Pittsburgh defenders. The ball floated, and then slipped through the net just as the light on the backboard turned red. The thousands of Gators fans in the stands during the N.C.A.A. tournament’s Round of 32 on Saturday went into a frenzy.

The shot wasn’t a game-winner. It only lifted the Gators 5 points ahead of the Panthers. But it was a memorable moment that would never have happened if not for the resilience of one once-lost kid and the tough and patient coach who tested that player’s love for Gators basketball.

Wilbekin, a senior, came whisper-thin close to not playing for Florida this season. In June, he was suspended from the team for the second time in less than a year for violating team rules that were never made public. Whatever those rules were, breaking them was serious enough for Florida Coach Billy Donovan to bar Wilbekin from the team indefinitely.

Donovan had had enough of Wilbekin’s selfishness and cluelessness. He suggested that Wilbekin transfer, to start somewhere anew.