Jazzing up UF hopes
Coach says Udonis Haslem and Brett Nelson are the Gators' Stockton and Malone.
By ANTONYA ENGLISH
? St. Petersburg Times,
published November 8, 2001
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
GAINESVILLE -- When Billy Donovan looks out on the basketball court and sees Florida center Udonis Haslem and guard Brett Nelson, he can't help but feel a sense of comfort.
Veterans. Leaders. League stars.
Each knows the other as well as he knows himself, and it shows on the court.
"I think it comes down to experience," said Haslem, who averaged 16.8 points last season. "I know his tendencies, he knows my tendencies. I know his strengths and I know his weaknesses. He knows where to get me the ball to score and I know the same thing about him. I know if I can get a good screen on his man, him coming off that screen, I know he's going to knock that shot down nine times out of 10. So we put a big emphasis on getting Brett open because I know he's going to knock down shots, and I know he has that same confidence in me."
Last season the 6-9, 246-pound Haslem and the 6-4, 182-pound Nelson combined to average more than 30 points, becoming one of the better inside-outside combinations in the SEC.
"Looking at those two guys, they are probably what Karl Malone and John Stockton are to each other, they are the same thing," Donovan said. "Now I'm not putting those two guys in their category. But it's that same type of thing where you have a frontcourt player and a backcourt player that complement each other very well. I think Udonis and Brett certainly do that for us. They complement each other very well because this is the third year they've played with each other."
As the heart and soul of the team, they are 21-year-old veterans who have played in three straight NCAA Tournaments. And beginning today, they are the two a season is being built around.
"You can find out a lot about your basketball team in a couple of areas and one is if your older guys and your better players are focusing on themselves and putting up numbers, you're probably going to have a problem," Donovan said. "And if your better, more talented and older players are not your hardest working guys, that's a problem. To me, both Udonis and Brett have the quality of "I want to win, I've always got something to prove.' And they are extremely unselfish, they are not focused on themselves and they work as hard as anybody on our basketball team."
Florida opens at 6:30 tonight against Temple in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at Madison Square Garden. It is the earliest start in Gators history.
The game is a rematch of last season's second-round NCAA Tournament game in which Temple handed UF its worst loss of the season 82-66. Donovan insists this time is different.
"This is a new year," he said. "Their team has changed, our team has changed. They just flat out beat us last season. I think our guys would like to come out and perform a little better, play a little better."
Donovan said earlier this week he was debating four starting lineups for tonight's game. That's the kind of interchangeable personnel that has him so optimistic about this season. But there's no question that Haslem and Nelson are part of it. And the expectations of a No. 6 preseason ranking pale in comparison to their own expectations.
"To win the national championship is our goal," said Nelson, who averaged 15.3 points last season. "We got close my freshman year, then last year we kind of tripped up a little bit. But as long as we play hard as a team, I think we'll be just fine."
The Gators add two McDonald's All-Americans, James White and David Lee, to the roster, and forward Bonell Colas and guard Orien Greene will be asked to contribute more. Junior Justin Hamilton returns from last year's season-ending knee injury.
"I feel great," Hamilton said. "My knee is stronger than it ever was before. I put a lot of work into it in the offseason for it to feel that way, so when I'm on the court, I have no second thoughts. I'm not even thinking about it."
But the core of the team again will be Haslem and Nelson. And as the lone senior, Haslem knows that the bulk of the leadership role will fall on him. "Last year, there were points in the game or throughout the season where I would put my head down and kind of revert back to my freshman year of getting down, but this year I have to stay positive no matter what the situation is in the game," Haslem said. "Even if we lose by 20, I have to stay positive for the guys and keep reminding them it's a long season. That's my role now. I'm ready."
------------------
Make mine a Double!,
Barfly
Coach says Udonis Haslem and Brett Nelson are the Gators' Stockton and Malone.
By ANTONYA ENGLISH
? St. Petersburg Times,
published November 8, 2001
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
GAINESVILLE -- When Billy Donovan looks out on the basketball court and sees Florida center Udonis Haslem and guard Brett Nelson, he can't help but feel a sense of comfort.
Veterans. Leaders. League stars.
Each knows the other as well as he knows himself, and it shows on the court.
"I think it comes down to experience," said Haslem, who averaged 16.8 points last season. "I know his tendencies, he knows my tendencies. I know his strengths and I know his weaknesses. He knows where to get me the ball to score and I know the same thing about him. I know if I can get a good screen on his man, him coming off that screen, I know he's going to knock that shot down nine times out of 10. So we put a big emphasis on getting Brett open because I know he's going to knock down shots, and I know he has that same confidence in me."
Last season the 6-9, 246-pound Haslem and the 6-4, 182-pound Nelson combined to average more than 30 points, becoming one of the better inside-outside combinations in the SEC.
"Looking at those two guys, they are probably what Karl Malone and John Stockton are to each other, they are the same thing," Donovan said. "Now I'm not putting those two guys in their category. But it's that same type of thing where you have a frontcourt player and a backcourt player that complement each other very well. I think Udonis and Brett certainly do that for us. They complement each other very well because this is the third year they've played with each other."
As the heart and soul of the team, they are 21-year-old veterans who have played in three straight NCAA Tournaments. And beginning today, they are the two a season is being built around.
"You can find out a lot about your basketball team in a couple of areas and one is if your older guys and your better players are focusing on themselves and putting up numbers, you're probably going to have a problem," Donovan said. "And if your better, more talented and older players are not your hardest working guys, that's a problem. To me, both Udonis and Brett have the quality of "I want to win, I've always got something to prove.' And they are extremely unselfish, they are not focused on themselves and they work as hard as anybody on our basketball team."
Florida opens at 6:30 tonight against Temple in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at Madison Square Garden. It is the earliest start in Gators history.
The game is a rematch of last season's second-round NCAA Tournament game in which Temple handed UF its worst loss of the season 82-66. Donovan insists this time is different.
"This is a new year," he said. "Their team has changed, our team has changed. They just flat out beat us last season. I think our guys would like to come out and perform a little better, play a little better."
Donovan said earlier this week he was debating four starting lineups for tonight's game. That's the kind of interchangeable personnel that has him so optimistic about this season. But there's no question that Haslem and Nelson are part of it. And the expectations of a No. 6 preseason ranking pale in comparison to their own expectations.
"To win the national championship is our goal," said Nelson, who averaged 15.3 points last season. "We got close my freshman year, then last year we kind of tripped up a little bit. But as long as we play hard as a team, I think we'll be just fine."
The Gators add two McDonald's All-Americans, James White and David Lee, to the roster, and forward Bonell Colas and guard Orien Greene will be asked to contribute more. Junior Justin Hamilton returns from last year's season-ending knee injury.
"I feel great," Hamilton said. "My knee is stronger than it ever was before. I put a lot of work into it in the offseason for it to feel that way, so when I'm on the court, I have no second thoughts. I'm not even thinking about it."
But the core of the team again will be Haslem and Nelson. And as the lone senior, Haslem knows that the bulk of the leadership role will fall on him. "Last year, there were points in the game or throughout the season where I would put my head down and kind of revert back to my freshman year of getting down, but this year I have to stay positive no matter what the situation is in the game," Haslem said. "Even if we lose by 20, I have to stay positive for the guys and keep reminding them it's a long season. That's my role now. I'm ready."
------------------
Make mine a Double!,
Barfly
