INSIDE THE NUMBERS

2000-01 record: 22-9; 10-6 in SEC (Tied 1st/East) Postseason: Lost to Creighton 83-82 in first round of NCAA Midwest Region. RETURNING LEADERS Points: Bonner 15.6 Rebs: Bonner 7.2 Assists: Hamilton 3.8 FG: Lee 57.9% 3pt: Nelson 39.5% FT: Nelson 84.2% 01-02 Stats: Florida | SEC KEY LOSSES Udonis Haslem | 16.0 ppg Orien Greene | 5.2 ppg PROJECTED STARTERS G | Christian Drejer | Fresh G | J. Hamilton | Senior G | Brett Nelson | Senior F | Matt Bonner | Senior F | David Lee | Soph Player to Watch Brett Nelson Senior Guard With ball in his hands less, look for his point total to go up. DATE TO REMEMBER March 8 Kentucky at Florida. A piece of the SEC Eastern Division championship has been on the line each of the last three years when these teams have met in the final game of the regular season. The Wildcats twice have won to gain a tie for the division crown and cost the Gators the title outright, and once it went Florida's way. Gators lost twice to the Cats last year by a total of five points.

 

FLORIDA GATORS

Udonis Haslem was part and parcel of every single high point Billy Donovan's program has produced the past four years. He left Florida as the school's No. 3 career scorer and participated in more victories (97) than any other Gator. And Florida could be better this year without him, Donovan's protestations to the contrary. That's not a knock on Haslem, a true character guy and four-year solid citizen. It's validation of the Florida recruiting machine. In Billy's import-export bazaar, there's always a fresh group of mega-recruits coming in. This year that group begins with Christian Drejer, the intriguing 6-9 shooting guard from Denmark, and extends to point guard Anthony Roberson (swiped from Spartan/Wolverine turf in Saginaw, Mich.), and then to big men Adrian Moss (6-9, 238) and Mario Boggan (6-6 and, no lie, 313). Those guys join a vast existing talent pool. Brett Nelson has been doing ball-on-a-string tricks for three years, and should be freed by Drejer's presence to spend more time at his natural point-guard position. Fellow senior Matt Bonner might be the league's most versatile big man, able to beat you with 3-pointers or jump hooks. Senior Justin Hamilton is the team's best on-ball defender and a dangerous offensive rebounder. But the key to Florida's season might be its sophomores. "What kind of jump do David Lee and James White make?" Donovan asked. Lee and White were all-world recruits who found college ball to be harder than it looked on TV. White didn't make double figures in his final 15 games last year, and Lee only played more than 20 minutes once in his final 10 games. Both are excellent athletes with great potential who could make Florida a Final Four contender if they progress.

TOUGH ENOUGH..............................
After two years of depth problems, the Gators once again have the bodies the play BillyBall. They will again be able to lay 40 minutes of withering all-court pressure on opponents, while looking to run with impunity. Drejer also gives them the pure three-point-shooting two-guard who can play off Nelson's penetration -- something Florida lacked last year after the dismissal of gamblin' Teddy Dupay.

TOUGH ENOUGH?..............................
The common side-effect from recruiting too many prep All-Americans is a difficulty buying into the team concept. Donovan has done an admirable job over the years blending stars into teams, but last year you wondered at times whether the Gators had too many egoes and two few minutes to go around -- and that was before this latest influx of hotshots. Will teamwork work in Gainesville?.

BOTTOM LINE..............................
Florida has won 97 games the past four years and spent a lot of time in the higher echelons of the Top 25. But since a fate-blessed run to the national title game in 2000, March hasn't been the best of times. Florida was blown out in the second round in 2001 by Temple and lost on a buzzer-beater last year in Round One to Creighton. If the young guys can provide adequate post play, the rest of the ingredients are here for a big year -- then we'll see what happens in the postseason.