With 0.6 seconds left, Nick Calathes finally became like the rest of his teammates.
He morphed into an average college basketball player.
Calathes won't forgive himself for missing the game's final free throws that more than likely would have sent the game into overtime - ever.
That's why he has become one of the best players in the nation, as a 33-point and seven-rebound showing proves.
When the rest of your team shoots 35 percent and only hits 12 field goals, however, it makes those 33 points not enough. And you can't blame Calathes for that.
He was the only player to show up for the Gators in their 68-65 loss at Kentucky on Tuesday night. Alex Tyus made a cameo every now and again, but Calathes was the only UF player who stood out.
Tuesday night's show featured Walter Hodge missing a wide open three while Dan Werner tossed the ball right into the hands of Kentucky defenders. And most of Tyus' scores come off of Calathes' ability to see the floor so well. This is why UF is still stuck in the mud of mediocrity.
Without Calathes, the Gators are one of the worst major-conference teams in the nation. With him, they'll be one of 65 teams getting to play for a national championship. The Gators have other players who are capable of scoring, but they can't be counted on for every game, as this loss shows.
There is nobody to grab the tough rebound. There is nobody to guard the opponent's best player, regardless of position. There is nobody who can be counted on to find the open teammate when the defense breaks down.
Calathes is not that big or strong, but he's tough enough to wrestle the ball from players bigger and stronger than he is. He's not exceptionally athletic, but he leaves players far more physically gifted than he is behind him and wondering what just happened.
He is the only reason the Gators have any chance of advancing past the opening round in the NCAA Tournament.
When it looked like this UF-Kentucky rivalry was beginning to simmer and go on the back burner, Calathes played with a passion that made you think he was putting on North Carolina blue and playing at Duke's Cameron Indoor Stadium. He was a Boston Red Sox hitter going up in the bottom of the ninth, down by one run with two outs going against the New York Yankees. He was a star Miami Dolphins linebacker looking to dismembered the New York Jets' quarterback.
His teammates, on the other hand, played like they were the Los Angeles Clippers hiding behind the shadows of the Lakers, hoping to not even be noticed. Or maybe they were the Cincinnati Bengals, just hoping to be average.
It's too bad the lasting memory of this game for UF fans will be Calathes shaking his head at the free-throw line. They should be reminiscing about that Chandler Parsons miss or the Werner clanker, maybe even Hodge's ejection.
Calathes was shaking his head after those misses, but it was those other guys who will be keeping their heads down all the way back to Gainesville.
