Walter Hodge's haircuts have gone through almost as many ups and downs as the UF basketball team this season.
Everything from "GATORS" to "DEFENSE" has been shaved into the side of the senior's head.
But Hodge is hoping his style will lead to a bit more substance for a UF team that has been anything but consistent.
"It's not about just looking good with a haircut," Hodge said. "I'm doing it for the other guys."
Hodge's hairstyle has changed almost on a game-to-game basis this season - each opponent bringing the guard a new artistic vision.
"It will change. It just depends how I feel," he said. "The guys like it. They're always looking for something new."
If defensive back Joe Haden's BCS design during last week's championship game looked familiar, it's because the pair share the same barber.
"At the SEC Championship, (Justin) Trattou had a Mohawk, and I liked the designs that he had in his head, and I asked him who did it so I could get it for the National Championship Game," Haden said.
Haden also wore a star with his number, 5, on the other side of his head.
The man behind the madness is Tony, or as he is known by his customers, "Mr. T,"of So Sharp Cuts and Styles.
"Joe and I go together sometimes," Hodge said.
Designs range from team-oriented - he sported the word "TOUGHNESS" for a while early this season - to personal.
During the Gators' November trip to Kansas City for the CBE Classic, Hodge paid tribute to his 2-year-old daughter, Kaylanis, with the name "KIKI."
"It's something she can look at on TV and point at," Hodge said. "She gets all excited and calls out, 'Daddy! Daddy!'"
In fact, you could say Hodge has started a bit of a hair renaissance within the basketball team.
"I got a little Mohawk going," sophomore forward Chandler Parsons said. "But my hair is made a little different than his. It must be a Spanish thing."
Parsons claims his new look started out as a Ray-hawk, as he cheered on the Tampa Bay Rays during the MLB playoffs, but the Hodge influence is unmistakable.
"I'm not trying to do anything too flashy," Parsons said. "I just like the way it looks."
According to Parsons, Hodge's hair has made an impact on the team this season, though.
"He's all about the team," Parsons said. "He'll write whatever he thinks will help motivate us."
Even the always-put-together, often-gelled Nick Calathes has been caught up in Hodge Mania.
"It's something we make fun of him about, but I think it definitely helps us," Calathes said. "When it says defense on his head, it means we have to lock down."
But would Calathes, who has been taunted by opposing fans in the past for his painstakingly styled hair, be willing to make the same sacrifice for the good of the team?
"If the team needed me and wanted me to do it I would," he said. "But probably not."
