In a disappointing season for the Gators, Nick Calathes' success was the silver lining.
Although the 6-foot-6 guard's two years in Gainesville weren't filled with team success in the way previous years were, Calathes left his mark on the men's basketball program as one of the most versatile, talented players to ever take the floor in the O'Connell Center.
Calathes, who left after his sophomore year to pursue a pro career in Greece, was the only player in the country last season to average at least 15 points, five rebounds and six assists per game. He led the team in points (17.2), assists (6.4) and finished third on the team in rebounds (5.3) while averaging more than 33 minutes per game.
He broke UF's single-season assists record in his first year, then proceeded to top his own mark in his sophomore year with 231. Despite only playing two years, Calathes' 452 assists rank third all-time at UF.
In his freshman year, Calathes joined Corey Brewer as the only other Gator to record a triple-double, racking up 11 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists in a second-round blowout of Creighton in the National Invitation Tournament. He then became the only player to do it twice, recording 20 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists against Georgia on Jan. 28.
Calathes had to fill many roles for the Gators during his two years. He was the team's primary ballhandler and scorer, having led the team in assists in 33 out of 36 games in the 2008-09 season and was the leading scorer in 20 of them. His versatility and stuffedstat sheets came as a result of his exceptional court vision and natural feel for the game.
"The kid can't jump over a newspaper, but he had 13 rebounds tonight," said teammate Chandler Parsons after Calathes' second career triple-double.
Despite being a unanimous selection to the All-Southeastern Conference First Team in 2009 and logging sensational stats throughout his career, Calathes may not be remembered as fondly as other UF basketball stars due to his team's lack of success - two straight NIT appearances - and his failure to step up in the clutch.
If Calathes had stayed at UF, he may have been able to further improve on his already outstanding statistics, as he was already one of UF's most prolific scorers. His 1,170 points were more than any other Gator after their freshman and sophomore years.
If he returned, a junior season could have possibly given Calathes the opportunity to lead the Gators to their first NCAA Tournament berth since winning back-to-back national titles, as heralded freshman Kenny Boynton and Georgetown transfer Vernon Macklin have joined the team.
For putting up impressive numbers throughout his career and being a much-needed bright spot during an otherwise disappointing year for the men's basketball team, Nick Calathes is the alligatorSports No. 4 UF Athlete of 2008-09.
BY THE NUMBERS: Calathes earned two third-place votes, one fifth-place vote, two sixth-place votes and was left off one ballot.
