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Gators Finish Tuneup For SEC

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By MIKE DiFERDINANDO

Tribune correspondent

Published: January 7, 2009

GAINESVILLE - It's all uphill from here.

Florida polished off its nonconference schedule Tuesday night with a 95-69 thumping of Longwood in the O'Connell Center.
Nick Calathes again led the Gators (13-2), scoring 19 points, grabbing 10 rebounds and finishing two assists shy of a triple-double against Longwood (7-9), which is in Farmville, Va. It was Calathes' second double-double of the season.
Kenny Kadji scored 14 points while shooting 70 percent from the field. Now, as the Gators turn their attention to Saturday's matchup with Mississippi and the start of Southeastern Conference play, they hope the freshman will be able to provide much-needed depth in the frontcourt.

"I need to keep getting more consistent," Kadji said. "In high school you can get away with playing good one day and then just relaxing the next. In college you have to be ready everyday and it's something I'm working to get better at."

While Kadji has shown he can provide the Gators with minutes off the bench, he isn't sure what to expect from conference play.

"I have no clue," Kadji said. "I guess we'll find out Saturday."

Calathes said that while he has tried to help prepare his young teammates for the SEC, they might have to experience it for themselves before they can fully understand the jump they are about to make.

"The SEC is a lot stronger, a lot taller and a lot tougher than the teams we have played so far," Calathes said. "I think we definitely have a tough task ahead of us."

Gators coach Billy Donovan also is unsure about how his team will fare in the coming weeks.

"We are very inconsistent," he said. "But I think that is part of this team's growing and maturing process. We have a big challenge ahead of us and we need to figure out a way to handle that."

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