Donovan's Gators Are Hungry

March 13, 2000 / 10:24 PM EST / CBS/AP

Billy Donovan revitalized Florida 's recruiting like no coach before him. His next task is to keep the talented players.

It's a problem top teams have been dealing with for about a decade, one the Gators will get their first taste of this year.

Florida (24-7) makes its second straight appearance in the NCAA tournament Friday, against Butler in the opening round of the East regional.

When the tournament ends, sophomore forward Mike Miller and freshman center Donnell Harvey will both decide whether to stay.

Miller has indicated he would consider leaving and some analysts predict he would be a first-round pick in this year's NBA draft. Harvey was the high school player of the year last season and has been tabbed as a sure-thing NBA prospect.

Donovan's next recruiting pitch is to make those players believe their best interests are served by staying in college for another year or two.

"This is a good problem to have, to a certain extent," Donovan said. "I think we've got some guys in our program that have a chance to play at the next level. But it's going to take a couple years."

Miller was considered among the best recruits two seasons ago when he chose Florida over Kentucky, Kansas and Duke. The South Dakota native has averaged 13 points and six rebounds over his two years, sacrificing statistics to play an unselfish role in Donovan's running, ball-movement offense.

"That's why I love him," Donovan said.

NBA scouts love his height (6-foot-8), combined with his ability to shoot and handle the ball. He'd make a perfect small forward in the league and he appears to have the talent to do it.

"I'm not going to think about that right now," Miller said last week when asked about his postseason prospects. "I'm just worried about this right now."

Donovan is taking early steps toward convincing Miller the best thing to do is to stay.

"In my opinion, Mike's physical development needs another year," Donovan said. "I think Mike has tough times sometimes with playing back-to-back games. He gets physically worn down."

That's not so much the case with Harvey, the 6-8 center who averaged 10 points and seven rebounds in his first season. Still, there are flaws.

"His offensive skills need to get better, and he needs to shoot free throws better," Donovan said.

Freshman point guard Brett Nelson has been touted as future pro and some others including Brent Wright and Udonis Haslem could get their chances.

But Donovan scoffs at the idea that Florida might be enjoying its best days right now, and that his team is ripe to be picked dry by the pros.

Nelson, a hot-shooting, ball-handling wizard from West Virginia, is among the players who many predicted would last only a short time in Gainesville.

"To a certain extent, the publicity and hype surrounding our talent level was completely unfair to our guys," Donovan said. "People said Brett Nelson is the next Jerry West, and I think now, everyone sees that he's not."

At least not yet.

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