At the Southeastern Conference media days gathering in late October, Florida coach Billy Donovan listened to an array of questions about his freshmen, most of them pertaining to celebrated Danish import Christian Drejer.

Donovan answered each query, but made a point of mentioning his other freshmen, making special note of a guy named Matt Walsh. At the time it sounded like classic coachspeak, trying to make sure he spreads the love evenly among his players.

	Matt Walsh went off for 26 points against LaTech in his Florida debut.

After Walsh's pyrotechnic debut Tuesday night against Louisiana Tech, Donovan might need to try a new approach: "Hey, guys, don't forget about this Drejer kid."

Walsh was that good. Try 26 points, five assists, four steals and three rebounds worth of good in Florida's 76-55 victory. He then followed up his debut with another 20 points, nine more assists and six rebounds, in the Gators' 99-65 victory over Eastern Illinois on Thursday night. New York City, here he comes.

Earlier in the week, Walsh recalled the day last summer when he watched senior Matt Bonner work out and thought that he wasn't sure he belonged on the same court with such a talent. By the second half against Tech, Walsh was feelin' it to the point of blazing a no-look, left-handed, bring-down-the-house pass to Bonner for a layup.

Welcome to SportsCenter, Matt Walsh.

The Holland, Pa., product lived the 40-minute freshman fantasy. With injuries keeping Drejer and star senior Brett Nelson on the bench, the pasty kid whose jersey is way too big came out of relative nowhere to wind up Dickie V's postgame guest.

"Crazy," Walsh told the Orlando Sentinel. "I mean, you see him on TV, and then there you are and he's interviewing you."

Louisiana Tech coach Keith Richard admitted that Walsh was at best an afterthought on his team's Florida scouting report. Those days are over already. Walsh won't be flying under Eastern Illinois' radar tonight in the second round of the Preseason NIT.

It's really not like Walsh was a complete unknown. (For one thing, Florida doesn't recruit unknowns.) He had an outstanding prep career at Germantown Academy, and last year was named the Philadelphia-area player of the year -- and award previously won by guys like Wilt Chamberlain, Tom Gola, Lionel Simmons and Pooh Richardson. He showed up well at the big summer events, too.

But Walsh committed as a junior to Florida, taking his name out of circulation so early that some folks might have forgotten about him. And he was a bit of a late bloomer, sprouting from 6-foot freshman to 6-5 junior and finally to his current 6-6.

More than anything, Walsh signed on at Blue Chip Central. The only coach in the country who recruits more big names than Donovan is Mike Krzyzewski, which means that Walsh was just another young stud in a freshman class with a ton of them.

There's Drejer, who turned down a seven-figure offer to play pro ball in Spain. There's point guard Anthony Roberson, a top-10 prospect from Saginaw, Mich., who somehow got away from Michigan State and everyone else. There's big men Mario Boggan and Adrian Moss, considered must-play freshmen with the loss of center Udonis Haslem. And there's Rashid Al-Kaleem, whose shooting stroke seemed to make him a natural in Donovan's style of play.

And then there was the flotilla of holders with big reps, from Nelson and Bonner, to the sophomore tandem of David Lee and James White.

Matt Walsh? Nice player. But how's he going to get on the court with all that talent?

Then things started happening. A couple of players transferred during the summer, and then White transferred shortly after practice began. Drejer, Nelson and Bonell Colas all were injured.

Suddenly, Donovan's depth was being tested. Suddenly, Walsh and Roberson are in the starting lineup on opening night.

Walsh may never leave it now.

He scored 17 points in Florida's second exhibition, which was just a warmup. He scored 10 of Florida's first 16 against Louisiana Tech, scoffing at the notion of freshman jitters. He scored on dunks, 3-pointers and a variety of methods in between.

Hard to blame Tech if it eyeballed Walsh at the opening tip and wrote him off as minimal threat. The billowing jersey, Shaggy-style chin hair and general lack of muscle tone do not instill fear. Even when he runs, he doesn't look like anything special -- until you look at his line.

"He's very deceptive," Donovan said. "You look at him and think he's slow afoot."

Not anymore. With a win over Eastern Illinois on Thursday night (which has an explosive player of its own in Henry Domercant), Walsh would be heading near home for Thanksgiving, with the semifinals and finals of the NIT in New York.

His dad, Mike, made the trip to Gainesville for opening night. Mike is a screenwriter, but he admitted afterward that his son's debut was more fanciful than anything he'd created, or anything Hollywood would buy.

Games of the Week

Mississippi at East Carolina, Sunday Rebels begin quest for their third straight NCAA Tournament appearance in a dingy old gym that gave Conference USA visitors the hives last year. All five of the Pirates' league wins were at home, including upsets of Louisville and Marquette. Providence at South Florida, Tuesday Relative "name" team visits a Bulls program in search of life after Altron Jackson and B.B. Waldon. Arizona State vs. Kentucky in Maui, Monday Wildcats had a lot to prove after last year -- and that was before the exhibition fiasco. Tubby Smith needs a quicker start than usual to keep the fans off his back.

Austin saga drags on ...
Mississippi State had been minimizing the Mario Austin situation while their star center sat out two exhibition games, but now it's clear that there's no telling when he will take the court for the Bulldogs. State finally issued a release Wednesday saying that it will hold him out of competition while it attempts to settle the eligibility situation.

At issue: changes of core-course grades on Austin's transcript. They were originally OK'd by the NCAA Clearinghouse and by the SEC, but a subsequent review by the Division I Subcommittee on Transcript Change (a classic NCAA title if ever there was one) said that that original certification was in error. In other words, Austin never should have played as a freshman. Now the NCAA is trying to herd the horse back into the barn, two years after it got out.

Thus, pending what promises to be vigorous appeal by Mississippi State and potential legal action by Austin, the best player on the nation's No. 12 team is ineligible. Nobody at the school is willing to publicly discuss specifics at the case, but everyone is fuming.

"We've practiced all fall having him," coach Rick Stansbury told the Jackson Clarion-Ledger. "Does our team miss Mario Austin? Of course we miss Mario Austin. ... But the games keep coming. They don't cancel any of them. Without Mario, we've just got to pick up the pieces."

Mississippi State opens with Louisiana-Lafayette Saturday. The Bulldogs thought last spring they might be without Austin, when he withdrew from school for a few weeks and planned a jump to the NBA. But he eventually returned, making the defending SEC tournament champions a serious national contender -- a decision he likely regrets today.

Even without Austin, the Bulldogs have played well in two exhibition wins. But hopes for a season similar to the 1996 Final Four run would be derailed if Austin remains ineligibile.

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