Shots From the Dome

It’s always tough to evaluate players in games like this, for a number of reasons, but the overall thoughts are always about the future — when and how will these players play in college next year, how do their games translate for eventual NBA careers, and who aren’t we seeing that may eclipse any of them?

Specifically for the Gators, Kenny Boyton’s appearance is the focus, with his status as a top-10 player, one of the top shooting guards in the country, and a recruit from the state of Florida. 2 years ago, Florida had 2 players play in the game (point guards Nick Calathes and Jai Lucas, who has since transferred).

The question for next year regarding Boynton is who will be accompanying him in the backcourt. The final word on whether UF assist-record holder Calathes will be back next year is about 2 months away, since basketball players can wait until a week before the NBA draft (this year’s is June 25) before pulling their name out. In the meantime, it’s of interest to think about next year’s team both with and without him.

Kevin Brockway of the Gainesville Sun has a entry in his blog detailing some of the perceived ups and downs of Calathes relationship with Billy Donovan. I confess, I discounted Brockway’s opinion that Calathes dalliance with the Greek National Team last summer was something that bothered Donovan, but he may very well have been right.

If Calathes comes back next year and improves, then this will all have been good coaching by Donovan with the appropriate response by his star point guard. There are lots of possible destinations in between, though, that don’t look as rosy for either of them. Is Donovan simply coaching him to be better, driving him away, or ruining his confidence? Is Calathes the victim of a coach never satisfied despite his stellar play, unable to raise the level of his teammates, too hungry for the next level to the point that he only listens to what he wants to hear, or just getting information to improve for a great next year.

As always, I don’t think that either is the villain or savior in this, and the fact is that for a few plays here and there, the Gators easily could have found themselves coming off 2 straight years continuing UF’s impressive streak of NCAA Tournament appearances rather than the shame and pointed fingers that comes with dual NIT berths.

If Calathes does not come back next year, the talent still remains to be a tournament team, but, just like these past two seasons, the margin for error will be relatively low, and the team will have fundamental flaws in its makeup. This time, the problem will be a backcourt that only really has 3 players in its rotation, and the only pure point guard would be 5-8 Erving Walker.

Boynton, rather than being able to concentrate on only scoring and defense at the 2, would almost certainly have to play some point guard to make the rotation with 6-5 G Ray Shipman work. And even though the “word” is that he’s looking forward to some lead guard work, those numbers limit the overall ceiling for next year’s team.

That, and the fact that SOMEONE on the current roster is going to be transferring one way or another makes things interesting. It seems mercenary to speculate, but given the facts, the early money would have to be on once-promising G 6-8 Adam Allen, who missed the entire year with a kind-of-mysterious leg injury, and 6-8 F Allan Chaney, who ended the year early from injury and suspension.

Adam Allen says he wants to return next year, despite the fact that he still can’t bend or jump on one of his legs, and, though no quotes have been attributed to Chaney himself, his mother was quoted as hoping that he’d be returning next year.