Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies
National title would wipe out a season of letdowns for senior.
By ANTONYA ENGLISH, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published March 13, 2002
GAINESVILLE -- When the season began, the goals didn't seem that far-fetched.
At least not to Udonis Haslem.
It was his senior season on the Florida basketball team and he already had been to three NCAA Tournaments, including the Final Four. The 2001-02 Gators were a preseason top 10 team, and the future seemed bright.
So bright, Haslem didn't hesitate to set three lofty goals: win the Southeastern Conference regular-season title, the SEC tournament and the national championship.
The Gators have fallen short of two of those dreams. The final one isn't easily in reach.
Florida is coming off its toughest stretch of the season, having lost four of its past seven, including a 10-point loss in the quarterfinals of the SEC tournament after which coach Billy Donovan questioned the heart and character of the team.
But nobody on the team is questioning Haslem's heart and determination. And he said he plans to do everything in his power to ensure his career doesn't end on a sour note.
"This is it," Haslem, 21, said. "It's not all about me; everybody has to do their part. Looking back, everybody's made mistakes and everybody has broken down. It's all our fault. But this is my last run and I'm definitely going to be a lot more assertive, whether it's going against double teams or whatever I have to do."
Regardless of what happens during the next three weekends, Haslem's place in Florida history is secure. He has the most wins of any Florida player and a candidate for the Naismith College Basketball Player of the Year award. He is only the second UF player to be named to one of the first three Associated Press All-America teams and the only player in Florida history to be named All-SEC four times.
"Udonis' legacy will be that he's going to go down as a fighter, a competitor, as a winner and as a guy that represented this school in the right fashion," Donovan said. "He's going to go down as one of the best players to ever play here, and his name will be etched in the history books of Florida basketball for the rest of his life, and that's a tremendous accomplishment."
Haslem, a 6-foot-9 center, is third on the Gators all-time scoring list with 1,761 points and ranks in the top 10 in eight categories. He is one of two with 1,700 points and 800 rebounds.
The Florida players have a strong desire to ensure the teammate they affectionately refer to as "U-D" gets his due.
"That's been one of our driving forces all year long," freshman David Lee said. "He's worked so hard and had such a great career here at Florida, it would be a shame for him to go out on a bad note. So far, to tell the truth, we haven't accomplished the goals we wanted to this year. And it would be a real shame to have an early exit for this tournament for Udonis. That's going to be something that's going to cause us to play hard down the stretch."
It is abundantly clear Haslem is the anchor. Like co-captain Matt Bonner, he leads by example. Haslem is the leading scorer (tied with Bonner at 15.8 points per game) and rebounder (8.3).
"Udonis has been here four years and he's the heart and soul of this team," junior guard Brett Nelson said. "As he goes, we go. He means just that much to this team."
When Haslem struggles, the Gators do, most noticeably when he is in foul trouble. Haslem has 405 fouls in his career, second in UF history, and 91 this season.
He played three minutes of the first half of Florida's loss to Mississippi State in the SEC tournament, then picked up his third foul two minutes into the second half.
Haslem said he won't temper his aggressive style in fear of being called for a foul.
"There's only one way I know how to play, and that's the way I'm going to play," Haslem said. "That's what made me the player that I am. That's the way that I'm effective. I can't change the way that I play based on the calls that the referees make. I don't really go into the game worried about foul trouble. I just play. If they call it, they call it. If they don't, they don't."
Donovan is toying with benching Haslem for the first few minutes to allow him to get a feel for how officials are calling the game, but he admits he would rather have Haslem play smarter.
"My mind-set right now, to be honest with you, is to start him just because he's a senior," Donovan said. "It's his last go-round for the NCAA Tournament, but I need to make a strong point to him about his intelligence level playing post defense; scoring from the low post, what rebound he chases. The things that he does have got to be very smart. Udonis is going to have to play, he's going to have to be able stay on the floor, and he's going to have to do a good job of using his judgment based on the way the game is being officiated."
Haslem wants to go out a winner, which won't be possible unless the Gators win a national championship. So his backup plan is to go out fighting as hard as he can.
"That's very important," Haslem said. "You always want to be remembered as a winner. ... We haven't accomplished any of the goals we set this year. For us to accomplish at least this one last goal would sit a lot better with me, going out in that kind of fashion."