One under reported story this basketball season so far is the $600 Nick Calathes lost in online poker. The reports from the Gainesville Sun, AP and Yahoo all imply that Calathes is in the clear, just stupid for losing $600 in online poker. However, Yahoo's reporting of former walkon Michael Weisenberg might be the more troubling factoid. Apparently, Weisenberg has dabbled in drugs and now is a hanger on, despite leaving the basketball team. Although, if you had to guess who was the one who started leaking information about the inquiry (investigation I think is too strong a word here), Weisenberg is my guess.

But let's get back to Calathes. No one should be concerned with a $600 lost by a college student in online poker. If you ask any college male, especially at UF, they know people who have lost more at live games or online. Poker has become part of the UF experience. The difference is by junior and senior year, you realize $100 a week on poker (or worse, Ocala Jai Alai) is the dumbest thing you can do in Gainesville next to punching a police horse. (Third is eating at the 13^th Street Waffle House between 2-6am.) In my own case, I stopped playing when I had something better to spend money on; a girlfriend.

College basketball and gambling have had a relationship since the days of the 1950s' CCNY and the New York mob, to point shaving at Arizona State and Toledo recently. Calathes did nothing wrong, let's remember that. But as a public figure, Calathes has to keep his head on a swivel. And this applies to all college athletes. The attention on the Florida Gators is just as intense, if not more, than the Miami Heat or Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Someone less friendly or looking to make for themselves will catch you drinking a beer underage, or making out with a girl or worse.  Being a crappy poker player is not a crime. But in the court of public opinion, everyone is guilty. It's a bit unlucky, but as poker player Phil Hellmuth said, "If luck wasn't involved, I'd win every time." And Calathes has lost more than 600 bucks here. He has lost a level of trust.

Tuesday night Al Horford had 27 points and 17 rebounds in his team's sixth consecutive victory to start the season.

Yes, Big Al is with the Atlanta Hawks now and it says something about the fall to mediocrity the Gators took last season. That line used to describe a Gator game. Now, two years past, we are still looking from someone to take the torch from Horford, Noah, Brewer and Green. This season is as much about the team as it is one player; Nick Calathes.

The Gators do not have the horses to win the SEC, much less the division. They don't have the old men to inspire a run like Georgia did either. (I'm getting the negativity out of the way now.) What Florida does have is a core group of players who got burned last season when they thought the name on their jersey guaranteed them a NCAA spot. Do they have the talent? Sure. Do they have the will to compete? Well, it is time to find out.

Last year, I outed myself as someone who was not convinced in the Nick Calathes Experience. In victories, he'd fill a boxscore. In losses, he contributed as much as the student section; just another person in a Gator jersey. He is the most talented player on the team and with the losses of Marreese Speights and Jai Lucas, he must lead the team this season. No more disappearing for 20 minutes at a time.

Lucas leaving is a blessing for the Gators. I wish him well, but for Lucas to bounce this close to the start of the season is a reflection on what has been happening in practice. Assumptions are not always correct, but it's not crazy to say Calathes will run the offense at the point, effectively pushing out Lucas who was exposed last season. Calathes belongs at the point and it was only a matter of time before Lucas realized this.

So now what happens now? Calathes needs to be able to carry the team when necessary but also push along a young front line with Alex Tyus and Chandler Parsons rotated with Kenny Kadji and Allan Chaney. Calathes is a sophomore like Tyus and Parsons and just a year older than Kadji and Chaney, but Calathes is (hopefully) mature enough to work them into the offense. We will see how this dynamic works in out-of-conference play and amend this prior to the SEC season. (I don't trust preseason stats, especially since lame duck Lucas got 20 minutes in the first game.)

I'll be in Gainesville this weekend and we will all get a better sense of the club when they play a real team (apologizes to Warner and Rollins College). Friday night UF plays Toledo and they return four starters. Plus, they have a chucker;

Tyrone Kent is a dangerous scoring threat, but that is mainly because he shoots way too much. The guard took over 400 shots this past season, netting just 36.3 percent of those attempts.

Well played Mr. Kent!

Bradley is a different story. They made the NIT last season (hey, just like the Gators!) but lost a significant amount of scoring in their backcourt. Like the typical mid-major, they have restocked with juco players. They are good enough to challenge the Gators, so they cannot just show up Sunday.

The Gators have one strength that continues. Billy Donovan is still a great coach who built a program out of nothing. Without Billy at the helm, there would not be as much confidence in the Gators this season. Whether this turns out to be a Sweet 16 season or another dud will depend on Billy's ability to inspire the team. Let's hope he can do it and Nick Calathes leads the way.

Another season and another first round draft pick for the Florida Gators. Marreese Speights is nearly a lock for the first round in Thursday’s NBA Draft. NBA scouts look beyond his relative lack of fitness and see the .624 field goal percentage and averages of 14.5 points and 8.1 boards a game. Put him in an NBA system, where he can be tutored by Shaq (in Phoenix, pick 15) or by Dwight Howard (Magic, 22), and he can become a force. He was playing 24 minutes a night in college. If he gets 10-15 a night in the NBA, he will easily make a team’s rotation.

But does his decision to go pro really matter? Was there ever a point this season where you said, “Wow, Speights is dominating here.” If there was, let me know. Because for better or worse, the offensive options for UF were;

1a. Calathes outside

1b. Calathes inside

3. Who ever has the ball with five on the shot clock whenever Calathes is sitting

Calathes is the most dynamic player the Gators have. In the absence of players matching his caliber or willing to support him, the team fails. If Florida had done this, maybe they would have flamed out in the NCAAs and not the NIT.

Speights’ exit means the reinforcements coming in (Allan Chaney, Kenny Kadji, Eloy Vargas) will have to play more as freshman, which is what everyone wants anyway. I’m not trying to downplay the output of Speights, but being the most efficient player on the floor will not get you the ball when you’re only out there half the time. He is truly heading for greener pastures. Now it’s up to Calathes to take the reins and realize that there are four other dudes on the floor. Some of them may actually be able to shoot too.