They say they hurt. They better

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© St. Petersburg Times
published March 16, 2002

CHICAGO -- The legacy no longer is theirs to control. Instead, it is up to history to decide how these Gators shall be remembered.

So was this a team lacking in heart?

Or merely capable of breaking hearts?

Neither choice is attractive. But, then again, neither was the performance.

Say what you like about a 20-win season and a fourth straight NCAA Tournament bid, but, in the end, there is not enough gloss to make 2001-02 shine brightly in retrospect.

On Jan. 19 Florida was 15-1, and its No. 2 ranking was the highest in school history. From there, the Gators stuttered and stumbled. Which, as it turns out, was merely a segue into a dismal and disappointing finish.

Florida won seven of its final 15 games, concluding with Friday's wholly unnecessary double-overtime loss to an inferior team. The Gators not only swallowed their pride, they choked on it.

"It's over. We missed our chance. And the worst part is we can never get this time back again," junior guard Justin Hamilton said. "As hard as we worked and as talented as we are, we didn't accomplish any of our goals. All those months of work were all for nothing."

Florida fans are left to wonder whether the team was overrated in January or whether it underachieved in March. The first explanation would be disappointing. The second would be infuriating.

Choose whichever fits your mood best.

"I don't think we were overrated at all. That's what makes this so difficult. We kept losing games we should have won," Hamilton said. "I hope it stings. I hope these guys remember this feeling. I hope it gives us a killer instinct for next year. Because, for whatever reason, we didn't have that instinct this year. We lost too many games that way."

That, unfortunately, was Florida's most recognizable trait. This was a team without a strong identity otherwise.

It was not especially big. It was not great in the backcourt and not particularly ferocious on defense. It did not have enough battlers in the starting lineup and it did not have enough depth on the bench.

But when it came to collapsing in the clutch, the Gators were without peer.

"That's how we've lost the entire year," coach Billy Donovan said. "Everybody has made shots against us. It was Arkansas, it was Kentucky, it was Alabama. It was certainly here against Creighton. (Opponents) have made shots. We've had chances to make shots to win games and we haven't done it."

It was Donovan, in a fit of pique, who made the question of heart an issue. He never called out individuals, but he suggested there were those who did not have enough fight in them. Players who were happy with victories but not angry enough with losses. Players who were not tough enough to stand up in the final minute when a game's outcome was available to either side.

It is hard to argue differently. Florida was 0-5 in games decided by three points or fewer and 2-7 with a margin of five or fewer.

Never was the trend more visible than Friday's loss to Creighton, a game the Gators could have won at three different buzzers.

The Gators could have won in regulation when they had a six-point lead, had possession and had less than two minutes to kill. Instead, they missed their final three shots and committed a turnover.

They could have won in the first overtime when the score was tied and they had possession in the final 30 seconds. Instead, Hamilton slipped while dribbling up court and lost the ball.

They could have won in the second overtime when they had an 82-80 lead and had possession with 29 seconds left and no shot clock. Instead, they turned it over and, in the final four seconds, failed to keep the ball out of the hands of the one player who could beat them.

"This team had enough talent to go to the Final Four and it hurts to know that," sophomore guard Orien Greene said. "We wanted to win the SEC, we wanted to make it to the Final Four, we wanted to win the national championship. It's hard to explain where we went wrong. We just never came together at times we needed to most.

"I don't think it was heart, but I can't tell you what it was."

And, yes, you can argue the Gators are victims of their own success. At a school known for football, Donovan has convinced players and fans they should be cranky when the basketball team fails to finish among the nation's finest.

Somehow, that does not feel like a consolation today.

"This is going to haunt me for a long time," Hamilton said. "It is really, really disappointing."

In the end, the Gators could not exit quickly enough.

They were off the court and out of the tournament in a matter of seconds.

There was nothing left to play for, no one left to impress. Player after player walked past the bench and toward the locker room without pause.

There was no sense looking back.

History will do that for them.

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