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ANTONYA ENGLISHFlorida's No. 23 ranking is their lowest since 2001, but they expect success.
GAINESVILLE - For the first time in several years, the Florida basketball team won't open the season ranked high in the polls. And that's okay with coach Billy Donovan and his players.
In the previous three seasons, the Gators opened among the nation's top 10. Each year, Florida faltered late in the season, suffering early-round upsets in the NCAA Tournament.
Florida opens the season tonight against Jacksonville with five returning starters but ranked No.23, its lowest preseason ranking since 2001.
"I'm not really sure ... but for whatever reason they've chosen to not rank us as high as usual," senior guard David Lee said. "And it's not bothering us a bit. It definitely is motivation, but at the same time it (preseason ranking) really doesn't matter. If it mattered, we would have finished top 10 the last three years at the end of the year. But it is a different feeling."
Last year Florida opened at No.8 in both the Associated Press and the ESPN /USA Today polls and rose to No.1 the week of Dec.8. It lost twice that week to fall out of the top spot, and by February had fallen out of the Top 25 for the first time in 94 weeks.
Even then Donovan argued, as he often has, that the rankings were too high for his team. So this year, he's not complaining.
"I think it's fair, based on the way we finished last season," Donovan said, adding that preseason is based on how you finished previously.
Florida was upset by Manhattan in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last year.
But the Gators return three All-SEC performers in Lee, Anthony Roberson and Matt Walsh, and have added an impressive freshman class that includes guards and big men that could provide some much needed strength in the post. Forward Adrian Moss and guard Lee Humphrey, both of whom were part of the starting lineup at the end of the season, also return.
Freshmen Taurean Green, Joakim Noah and Al Horford all come from well-known athletic families. Green is the son of former NBA player Sidney Green. Noah is the son of 1983 French Open champion Yannick Noah, and Horford is the son of former NBA player Tito Horford.
With the outside expectations much lower, the Florida players said they expect to be a team that surprises some people.
"I have a good feeling about this year," Lee said. "I think we've definitely got the talent, it's just a matter of putting it together."
"I think our team is going to be very explosive," Roberson added. "I'm happy about our chances this year."
In two exhibition games, Lee averaged 23.5 points, while the backcourt of Walsh and Roberson combined for 18 assists and just three turnovers.
Roberson averaged a team-high 17.9 points last season in his new role as a point guard. He was often criticized for having a shooter's mentality, rather than a floor general's attitude. But Roberson said he plans to do exactly as he did last season.
"I just do the things that coach needs me to do to win," Roberson said. "My career has been a lot of scoring, and my freshman year I had to wait for my opportunity to lead. ... A lot of people look at me in different ways, but I can't help how other people judge me as a player. I feel like I'm a point guard that can score and get my teammates involved when I need to."
Donovan said the criticism of Roberson is unfair.
"If there was one guy who went out of his way to try to hold our team together, it was Anthony Roberson," he said.
The Gators hope to have marked improvement in rebounding and defense, problem areas that helped contribute to some late-game losses last season.
"Defense is a lot about effort and just a mentality. I think they're trying to build that mentality," Walsh said. "Plus we're learning the fundamentals and we're going to be more disruptive this year."