Times have been better for the UF basketball program.
After losing three of their last four games, the Gators have fallen from first place in the Southeastern Conference to fourth in the Eastern Division and are once again fighting for their NCAA Tournament lives.
But don't try to send UF coach Billy Donovan into a panic over it. This is exactly what he signed up for.
"One of the things that I looked at and knew going into last year and the opportunity that I had after 2007 was the challenge of taking on - just knowing there was going to be a drastic drop off," Donovan said. "A drastic drop off in talent, a drastic drop off in experience and just a drastic drop off of just having a lot of guys coming in that were going to be thrust into situations with no level of leadership above them and having to go through it and figure it out."
When Donovan spurned the NBA's Orlando Magic in favor of a return to Gainesville following the Gators' 2007 national championship, he said he looked forward to the challenge of starting over from scratch.
He's certainly had the opportunity to do so.
When UF (19-6, 6-4 SEC) plays Alabama (13-11, 3-7 SEC) tonight at 7 in the O'Connell Center, Donovan will be reminded of how rare such longevity and job security is in major college basketball.
Former Crimson Tide coach - and Donovan's friend - Mark Gottfried resigned in January after 11 years at the school.
Gottfried was pushed out amid pressure from the Tide's poor season and the surprising departure of star point guard Ronald Steele.
Steele, who at one time was considered to be a first-round NBA prospect by scouts, quit the team on Jan. 20 after becoming disheartened with the way injuries had derailed his career.
"I had a conversation about this the other day with Urban (Meyer)," Donovan said. "It is all so fragile in a lot of ways - the highlights of things when things are really, really incredible and then, maybe, when you've got some challenges. When I look at my time here, I probably have grown more as a person and coach through the challenging parts than when things were great."
The Gators' absence from the NCAA Tournament last season was chalked up to inexperience.
A year later, not much has changed.
UF is currently sitting on six conference wins with six games to play.
With an RPI that is currently 45th in the nation and with only one signature win to speak of (Washington back in November), the Gators will likely need 10 wins in the SEC to slide into the field of 65.
"I'm actually in a certain way - and I know because the level we've been at, people don't maybe have a tendency of looking at it this way - but the reality is I think our team totally overachieved last year," Donovan said.
UF follows up its game against Alabama with Vanderbilt at home on Saturday. The team considers both games must-wins.
"It's not time to panic, but it's time to clamp down," guard Erving Walker said. "We've got to win. We can't have many more losses. Yes, we have to win these (next) two games."
The Gators have not lost at home this season.
