Werner faces coach who signed him

Florida sophomore forward Dan Werner was tempted to take the recruiting trip out west two springs ago.

Had Werner gone, he may have ended up in an Arizona State uniform facing Florida in tonight's NIT quarterfinal matchup. Instead, Werner will wear Florida blue tonight against an Arizona State team that some felt was the most unjust snub of the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee.

"Everyone said they got the raw deal, that they should have been in the NCAA Tournament, so this is a tournament-caliber team," Werner said. "Now we can see how far we've come against really good competition."

Here's how Werner's path to Florida unfolded. Werner had originally signed a letter of intent to play at North Carolina State for coach Herb Sendek in November of 2005. Sendek left North Carolina State in April of 2006 to take the head coaching position at Arizona State.

The NCAA granted Werner a release from his LOI after Sendek left. Werner, from Middletown, N.J., was approached by Sendek after being granted his release about visiting the ASU campus.

"He was respectful and he didn't try to get me right away because I was still tied to N.C. State," Werner said. "But as soon as I got my release he was wondering if I would be interested. He told me just to come out and visit, but I told him, 'If I went out there, I might love it.' I really deep down inside didn't want to go that far from home. So I didn't even bother going out there."

Werner said that playing in front of his family was a priority and that playing on the West Coast in the Pac 10 conference would have made family trips difficult.

"I knew if I did go out there it was going to be very difficult to see my family as much as I do now," Werner said.

Werner made visits to both Kentucky and Florida when his recruitment re-opened. Sendek, who has a close relationship with Florida coach Billy Donovan, made a call on Werner's behalf.

Werner chose Florida and won a starting job as a sophomore after playing off the bench his freshman season. The 6-foot-7 Werner has made marked improvements defensively while averaging 9.0 points and 6.3 rebounds this season. Werner is third on the team in steals with 41.

Werner acknowledged it will feel strange facing Sendek tonight.

"A couple of years ago, I thought I was going to be playing for him," Werner said. "Now I'm going to be playing against him. He's a great coach."