If Billy Donovan can’t convince Anthony Roberson to stay at UF - and it’s unlikely he will - the men’s basketball coach did the next best thing.

Donovan signed a prospect who could be the next Roberson.

Walter Hodge, the Florida Gatorade State Player of the Year out of Florida Air Academy in Melbourne, doesn’t have quite the same accolades of Roberson - a McDonald’s High School All American - heading into UF, but the 6-foot guard’s style of play sounds very similar to Roberson’s.

"Hodge is a guy who is extremely fast baseline to baseline," said scout.com recruiting analyst Dave Telep. "The guy will fire threes; he’s not a pure point guard, but he’s a speed guy that can run your offense."

Hodge averaged 25.4 points, 5.4 steals and 4.2 assists as a senior.

In the Class 3A title game, Hodge scored 33 points, winning MVP of the state tournament.

"Walter adds speed, quickness and shooting to our backcourt," Donovan said. "He has the potential to be a very good defender and is coming out of a great high school program, so we're certainly excited to have him join us."

Despite the loss of senior David Lee and the likely departure of Roberson, UF could be loaded with young talent next season.

The potential battle between Hodge and soon-to-be sophomore Taurean Green for the starting point guard job should be extremely competitive.

Green had a solid freshman season backing up Roberson. Unlike Hodge, Green is a true point guard, looking to pass first.

But if Hodge turns out to be as explosive as Donovan hopes, it may be tough to keep him on the bench for long.

"It’s way too early to talk about a freshman’s playing time. You never know how freshman are going to react to a certain situation," Telep said. "But make no mistake, Walter Hodge was recruited to play early."

Assuming Roberson departs, another scholarship will open up, and the Gators could very well look at Keith Brumbaugh.

The 6-foot-8 athletic forward has said he may jump to the NBA, but Telep said Brumbaugh probably wouldn’t be a first-round pick, so he’d have to "scratch and claw just to stay in the league."

Although he’s rated as the top recruit in the state of Florida, there’s been some concern about Brumbaugh’s attitude and if Donovan would be willing to sign a guy some consider a head case.

Telep said it should be a no-brainer.

"Brumbaugh is an immensely talented offensive basketball player," Telep said. "This is a guy who’s 6-8 and can play on the perimeter. He [should fit into] the style of offense Florida wants to play. If he wants to come to Florida, they would have to take a long, hard look at him."

Telep is high on incoming freshman Derwin Kitchen, a 6-foot-4 guard who he believes could receive the most playing time of any freshman next season.

"Kitchen’s a combo guard that can play both positions for them. He’s also a proven winner," Telep said. "He’s a versatile a guy who can play both guard positions and defend both spots."

UF’s other two incoming freshman, David Huertas and Jimmie Sutton, may not be ready for extended minutes next year.

Telep said Huertas is a talented shooter, but his senior year was marred by injury.

At 6-foot-10, 245 pounds, Jimmie Sutton is an intriguing prospect, but he may find it difficult to crack into a rotation that includes Al Horford, Joakim Noah, Adrian Moss and Chris Richard.

"He’s a big body kid whose best days are ahead of him," Telep said. "He comes in with reputation as a defender rather than an offensive guy. I think he’s going to take time to develop, and I don’t think they expect Jimmie Sutton to [play much] as a freshman."

Other than the point guard competition, the battle for the starting power forward should be one of the top stories of the fall.

Horford should be a lock at center, but Noah, Moss and Richard will all compete for one starting position.

"It’s all about offseason strength training. With that group there, strength will be important," Telep said. "[There could be a guy] like Noah that could make leaps and bounds in the offseason. There’s going to be some interesting practice sessions to see who breaks through."

Many experts, such as ESPN’s Andy Katz, are already picking UF as a sleeper team in 2005-06.

"I think the talent is coming into place," Telep said. "They’ve got the young bigs they had last year as well as Corey Brewer. Hodge is a guy that can hopefully [give valuable minutes] at point guard. There’s a good amount of talent in this program and there should be reasonably high expectations."