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Tampa subregional
© St. Petersburg Times, published March 21, 2003
TAMPA -- He has SEC Freshman of the Year honors from both the coaches and the Associated Press on his resume, but Florida guard Anthony Roberson said that's not enough.
According to the Saginaw, Mich., budding superstar, he wants a degree and several more years of college life. And he believes his teammates do too.
"Me and Matt (Walsh, freshman forward) both will be here next year, everybody that's an underclassman, that's not a senior, will be here next year," Roberson said. "Believe it and believe I told you. I'm speaking for them too. Every underclassman will be here next year. If one of them leaves, you come to me. I'll make sure ... I'm going to stay here four years."
BONNER'S BETTER: After missing 10 days of practice, senior forward Matt Bonner returned to drills on a limited basis this week and his injured right foot has improved.
Bonner began suffering from plantar fasciitis and a muscle injury in his foot on March 5 and didn't practice until Monday. The day before, coach Billy Donovan said he didn't expect him to practice much and wasn't sure he could play back-to-back games if necessary.
"He's feeling better," Donovan said. "This week he's had some limited practice time and it's been good for him and our team and it hasn't set him back at all."
BACK OFF: Donovan apparently is getting a little tired of people taking shots at his freshman stars, Roberson and Walsh. Both have cooled off since their big-time debuts early in the season, but they still average 12.7 and 12.6 points respectively.
"They are fine," Donovan said. "I don't know if you people understand how hard it is for those kids, because in December and January they were being put up on a pedestal as the best thing since sliced bread. And then when their numbers dropped off a little, they're getting questioned. And I worry about that because they are 18 years old.
"I told them the only person they need to be concerned with is me."
Donovan said the players are in the process of learning to do other things to help the team besides scoring, something all young players face.
"There are not two other freshmen in America I'd want on my team more than those two guys," Donovan said.
NO HOME COOKING: The NCAA's new "pod" system of placing higher-seeded schools closer to home did not do Sam Houston State any favors.
Tonight's crowd will be overwhelmingly pro-Gators, but the Bearkats are trying to put the best possible spin on a tough draw.
"We got everybody back from last year; we played Texas Tech and Nebraska and won," senior forward Donald Cole said. "They had real hostile environments; we got used to that."
Cole led the way in those games during the 2001-02 season, but they were early in the campaign and coach Bob Marlin said there was no game this season that could remotely compare to the atmosphere the Bearkats will face.
"We've played in some big games in past (years), but they've all been in November and December," Marlin said.
Still, he has an optimistic view, noting that everyone in the St. Pete Times Forum will be wearing orange. It's one of the Bearkats' colors.
FAMILIAR FACE: Donovan said he enjoyed watching tape of Sam Houston State, and one player particularly jogged his memory.
"I think they've got an outstanding player in Cole," Donovan said. "Cole is an inside-outside kind of guy. He reminds me a lot of Rod Grizzard, 6-7, 6-8, lefty, deep range, postup, wiry, athletic, can offensive rebound. I'm very impressed with him."
Grizzard was a standout at Alabama from 2000 to 2002, a 6-8 guard who, like Cole, could score and rebound. He helped the Crimson Tide reach the top five in the polls last season before it made a surprisingly early tournament exit in a second-round loss to Kent State.
STATE CONNECTION: Sam Houston's Marlin coached at Pensacola Junior College from 1990 to 1995, winning a national title in the 1992-93 season, the first for a state junior college.