It doesn't take much for old friends to become familiar foes.
When UF (13-2) takes the court against Mississippi (9-5) on Saturday, the Gators will try to avoid being haunted by a ghost of the past.
Rebels guard David Huertas, a UF transfer, was a member of the 2006 national championship team.
Huertas, who leads Mississippi in scoring with 20 points per game this season, said farewell to Gainesville after his freshman year because of concerns over playing time.
Now, UF coach Billy Donovan hopes he won't be stung by the one who got away, and Mississippi coach Andy Kennedy knows Huertas will be ready to play his old team.
"No question his emotions will be charged," Kennedy said.
Huertas scored 7 points in the Rebels' 89-87 win against the Gators in Oxford last year.
Senior Walter Hodge looks forward to going toe to toe with his long-time friend once again.
Hodge, who played with Huertas as a freshman at UF, goes back quite a ways with the Rebel sharpshooter.
Like Hodge, Huertas is a native of Puerto Rico, and the two have fond memories of playing with and against each other as children.
"It will be just like back home," Hodge said.
Hodge said he regularly talks to his old teammate, and they are both looking forward to Huertas' homecoming.
"I spoke to him two weeks ago. Just to see how he's doing and wished him good luck," Hodge said.
The two guards came off the bench for UF during the Gators' 2006 national title run.
Huertas, a junior, has been forced to shoulder the load for Mississippi this season after injuries to three of the Rebels' top four scorers.
Eniel Polynice, Trevor Gaskins and Chris Warren have all been sidelined with knee injuries, leaving the Rebels almost solely dependent on Huertas on the offensive end of the floor.
"We've had to try and reinvent ourselves a couple of different times this season," Kennedy said. "But we realize this is the hand we've been dealt."
With Huertas now the focal point of the Rebels attack, Kennedy worries the guard might make Saturday's game a little too personal.
"I don't want him to put too much pressure on himself," Kennedy said. "That's what we're trying to guard against."
Kennedy will have his hands full trying to calm a young team that he says is more than eager to start off conference play against the Gators.
"They have never been in Gainesville before, so they're excited about it," he said. "I don't think that would be the case if they had been there before."
For UF, the more things change, the more they stay the same.
The Gators start Southeastern Conference play with the same record they did last season - and the same questions.
A young team, a short bench and an inexperienced frontcourt are all cause for concern.
But Donovan is optimistic this year's team will be more prepared for the long road they are about to travel down.
"Having been through the conference once, I think there is a little more of an awareness of what's in front of them," Donovan said.
It's the freshmen who keep the coach up at night.
While Donovan has tried to explain the jump they are about to make, no explanation may be good enough.
"In life, we learn and grow from our own individual experiences," Donovan said. "They just might have to see it for themselves."
Wins and losses may hinge on how fast Erving Walker, Kenny Kadji and Ray Shipman acclimate to the SEC.
"In the non-conference, you're not really playing for anything other than to get better," Donovan said. "I think we're all playing for something now."
