TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Sorry, I'm not convinced.
While I was impressed and astonished by the Gators? resilient fight to beat host Alabama on Tuesday night, I will remember that "I" word about young teams.
Inconsistency.
UF looked lost in the first half and was lucky to only be down 47-40 at the break.
The second half was much different, as the three-guard attack took over with a combined 57 points on the game.
Nick Calathes looked like a floor general.
Jai Lucas showed an offensive game I have yet to see from him, and he did it in front of his father, John, a former NBA player and coach.
Walter Hodge, who was becoming an afterthought this season, stepped up like a veteran should when his name was called late.
But look at the first half, too.
Calathes had five turnovers in the first half.
Richard Hendrix bullied Marreese Speights inside, and Alonzo Gee scored 17 points to send the home crowd into a frenzy.
You can only attribute UF?s seesaw halves to one thing.
Inconsistency.
That is what you should expect from the Gators for the next two months, the unexpected.
Calathes said on Monday he thought the Gators were ready to trade blows in the SEC.
He called it a normal game, like it was nothing special, like he knew what he was talking about.
But Calathes had played zero Southeastern Conference games before making that statement.
And I don?t think Tuesday?s performance proves Calathes right.
Sophomore Jonathan Mitchell, like most of the returning Gators, played very little during SEC season last year.
From the bench, he got a good look at just how different the conference competition is.
BJust watching, you could see the competitiveness and physicality of the game,C Mitchell said. BIt?s totally different than the non-conference schedule. Guys are way bigger, stronger, faster.C
Teams like Tennessee Tech, Stetson, Charleston Southern and High Point don?t scream big, strong and fast.
And even though Calathes seemed poised for the 2008 portion of the 2007-08 schedule, Mitchell had some advice for him.
BYou knew it was a different animal,C Mitchell said of the SEC. BI mean wow, I don?t know if I was ready for it last year. (The '04s) even went through some games where we lost and struggled. That just goes to show you how hard the SEC is.C
The laughable non-conference schedule taught us very little about this new team, but it?s tough to question Billy Donovan?s motives when you look at his recent pedigree.
BJust playing games helped us,C sophomore forward Dan Werner said. BWith young guys, you just need to get them out onto the court. The experience playing together is just really important, more than competition out there.C
Speights helped spur UF to a comeback win against Alabama last year with eight points on perfect shooting.
The soft-spoken big man was asked Monday how the team would react to SEC play.
Despite his success against the Crimson Tide, he didn?t have an answer.
BWe don?t know yet,C he said.
After Tuesday night, I don?t know yet, either.
