Donovan looking for leadership in opener

When Florida neared the end of its second straight national title run, speculation centered around whether Billy Donovan would remain coach of the Gators.

The Kentucky job had opened following the firing of Tubby Smith earlier that March. Donovan, who began his coaching career as a Kentucky assistant under Rick Pitino, was considered the first person that Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart would call about the job.

So the day before Florida played Ohio State for the 2007 national title, Florida junior Al Horford approached Donovan following a team meeting.

"Al came to me and said 'Coach, you need to talk to the freshmen, because they are hearing this stuff and they are asking questions and they are not focusing on the game.'," Donovan said. "And we may need one of them because one of us is going to have to guard (Greg) Oden and one of us is going to get into foul trouble."

Donovan talked to the freshmen. Horford and Joakim Noah each drew two first-half fouls the following night. And freshman center Marreese Speights defended Oden well enough in the post, allowing Florida to beat Ohio State and become the first team since Duke in 1991-92 to repeat as national champions.

Horford's awareness of the team and the situation was an example that Donovan used when discussing leadership, which was in short supply for the Gators last season. Donovan is looking for more leaders on the team to emerge beginning tonight, when the Gators open the 2008-09 season tonight against Toledo in the first round of the CBE O'Reilly Auto Parts Classic.

Donovan has spent the summer and fall attempting to cultivate leaders on the team. To give his players more responsibility, he's rotated different upperclassmen with the four freshmen in scrimmage situations. "You try to the best you can to do that and part of it is hard because some players are so consumed that they want to do what's right and they want to be able to play well," Donovan said. "Then, all of the sudden, you start throwing other things on the plate that they have to handle and that's a challenge."

Senior guard Walter Hodge, the last link to Florida's back-to-back national titles, tried to assume the leadership role last season. But it wasn't always easy. Hodge had never been a full-time starter before his junior season, and had never been much of a vocal presence on previous teams that featured fiery leaders like Noah and Horford.

"Last year I was the only one trying to be vocal," Hodge said. "I didn't have that experience. You just have to try to do the best you can do."

Hodge should get more help this season from returning starters Dan Werner and Nick Calathes. Werner said he felt awkward speaking up last season because it was his first year starting.

"I was still trying to figure things out for myself because I couldn't really try to tell guys what to do when I didn't know what to do," Werner said. "Obviously, I don't have everything figured out but I feel like I have a better sense of what's going on and what coach wants."

Statistically, Calathes led Florida in scoring last season (15.3 ppg) and set a school record with 221 assists to earn Southeastern Conference co-freshman of the year. But Donovan is looking for Calathes this season to have a better awareness of the team and its issues on and off the court.

"That to me is what the great ones do," Donovan said. "They have the ability to have a pulse on the entire team and what's going on and understand how to manage a whole entire team and I think if Nick can learn and grow and develop into that type of situation and that type of leader, then I think he has the chance to be special."

Calathes spent part of the summer in Greece with a Greek 21-and-under national team, but said he is ready to take on the challenge of a leadership role.

"I'm trying," Calathes said. "I just have to keep progressing through the season. It's not going to come one day ,,, it has to be through the season."