Nick Calathes has left the building, ladies and gentlemen. If my shock over the matter seems rather lacking, it’s simply because we’ve all seen this one coming for a long time.

He’s going to Greece.

The short-lived Nick Calathes era is over at Florida.

Calathes confirmed in a text message to The Sun on Saturday that he will forgo his junior season at Florida to play professionally in Greece. He did not return additional calls seeking comment.

A source close to Calathes’ family said the 6-foot-5 guard from Casselberry had agreed to a three-year contract with reigning Euroleague Basketball champion Panathinaikos. The source said the deal, with incentives, could pay Calathes up to $2 million per season.

Hey, in today’s economy, a $2 million dollar paycheck is hard to pass up. We understand the dollars and cents part of the equation.

Calathes leaves behind an incomplete legacy at Florida, likely to be buried as a brief two-year interlude of brightness in otherwise forgettable, downtrodden times for Gator hoops. Calathes, despite his brilliant play, never competed in the NCAA Tournament, never won a championship of any sort and must bear the somewhat uninspiring mantle of “best player on a mediocre team.” In fact, Calathes was often the best player on the court regardless of whom the Gators happened to be playing any given night. He was that good. But for all his individual highlight reel no-look passes, he was never the catalyst that charged and inspired his team to greatness. Timmy Tebow, you are not, sir.

Enjoy the great pay and life on the road in Europe. We here at Orange and Blue Hue wish you the best of luck. And we mean that sincerely.

P.S. May the blinding and seemingly constant glory of Florida football continue to keep our hoops issues in the shadows.

Farewell, gentlemen. You’re Great Gators, all of you, now to be remembered and cherished as part of the greatest era of Florida football to date.

Percy Harvin did indeed go in the first round, despite the “pot” thing. As a Florida fan, it’s weird to see phrases like “character issues” associated with Percy. Are you kidding me? This kid was perfect at the University of Florida. Not only was he the most spectacular athlete in Gator history to don the orange and blue, he was also a humble guy, a great teammate, and responsible for zero “off-field incidents” in his career.

How he ended up testing positive for Marijuana is beyond me, but I’ll bet he was at the wrong place at the wrong time. I find it hard to believe he would have knowingly inhaled an illegal substance prior to the NFL Draft. No way.

Louis Murphy: possession receiver, downfield burner, and absolutely one of the most physical wide receivers I can remember at Florida. That’s not to say he’s the strongest or the biggest — he’s not. But in terms of sheer physicality, whether it was beating his man or blocking downfield, Murphy truly gave it his all on every play. #9 also had just the right amount of “mean streak” you want to see in a football player, and he was a great leader. A winner. Two national championships. Yeah, I’d say he had a good career. Remember when he caught that wobbly touchdown pass from Tim Tebow in 2006? History, man, history.

Cornelius Ingram: surely this guy possesses the prototypical superhero body. Is it possible to have a more freakish frame? 6′4, hands like butter, and looks more imposing out of his pads than in them. Runs like the wind. Tons of power. Maybe he’s not exactly the right build for an NFL Tight End, but something tells me CI will do just fine in the League. Ingram also suffered through a senior year devoid of playing time, thanks to an ACL injury, with aplomb and grace. Ingram is soft-spoken, honest, and humble. A gentle giant.

I would have liked to see CI taken higher. He deserved it. It was bad luck to go down in fall practice without ever enjoying one on-field snap in his senior year. And think what we missed as fans: how would you have liked to see those 2-TE sets featuring Ingram and Hernandez? My goodness, that would have been a thing of beauty.

I will be tuning in to watch the Vikings, the Raiders and the Eagles, to watch “my boys” as they embark upon what I hope will be long and productive careers in the NFL. Three cheers for Percy, Louis, and CI!

CBS is reporting that Nick Calathes intends to test the waters of the NBA Draft.

Florida sophomore Nick Calathes will enter the NBA Draft, a source told CBSSports.com.

An official announcement is expected soon.

The source said Calathes spoke with coach Billy Donovan on Sunday night, and that Donovan supported the decision. Still, Calathes will not immediately sign with an agent, which will make returning to school an option if it’s necessary.

Calathes averaged 17.2 points per game this past season.

Florida finished 25-11.

Okay, the important keyphrase here is “not… sign with an agent”, and for heaven’s sakes, you’d think the NBA scouts would tell Nick to return to school for at least one additional year. At least.

I love Nick. He’s a great college player. At this point in time he strikes me as very Matt Walsh/Anthony Roberson-like insofar as his pro prospects are concerned. Don’t make the same mistake, Nick.

From the NFL Combine.

Hope he ends up with an in-state team… Bucs, Jags or Dolphins would be okay with me. That way I can watch him on TV.

Surprising no one, Percy Harvin announced today his intention to forego his final year of NCAA eligibility in favor of the NFL Draft.

Florida loses one of the most dynamic playmakers in school history, but Gator Nation sends Percy Harvin onward with love and appreciation for all that he’s done for his University.

Simply put, it is not possible to ask more of a player. And it is not possible for a player to give more than Percy did during his time in Gainesville.

Percy Harvin terrorized the SEC from the moment he stepped onto the field wearing orange and blue. As a true freshman, he quickly became the centerpiece of Florida’s spread option attack, rushing and receiving for 855 combined yards and 5 total TDs. As a sophomore he nearly doubled those numbers, catching 59 passes for 858 yards and 4 TDs, while rushing for an additional 764 yards and 6 TDs. Harvin’s stats in 2008 dipped slightly due to a combination of injury and defenses keying in on the talented junior, but was absolutely crucial to Florida’s championship bids and was the difference in the Florida’s BCS national championship victory over Oklahoma.
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Tim Tebow will return. Told ya so! Check FanHouse for details.

YESSSSS.

Initial thoughts:

1) This means pre-season #1 for Florida.
2) Maybe Spikes will come back?
3) Georgia is down a QB and RB. Guaranteed W next November for Florida, continuing (essentially) the ’streak’.
4) FSU returns Bobby Bowden. Oh, joy.
5) The nucleus of a great offensive line returns.
6) Almost the entire defense returns.
7) At minimum we get Demps, Rainey, Moody, Nelson, Cooper, Thompson, James, and Hernandez back… just an embarrassment of riches on offense.
8) Tell me why we shouldn’t expect to win back-to-back BCS national championships?

To summarize, “HELLLLL YEAH!”

This concerns your immediate futures as far as playing football is concerned. There has been rampant speculation that the three of you might try to copy Al Horford, Joakim Noah, and Corey Brewer in the stay-another-year-and-win-another-title-department.

If any one of you, two of you, or heck, even all three of you decide to come back (particularly you, Tim), your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to accomplish a feat that no champion in the BCS system or in the state of Florida has ever done.

Back-to-back national championships.

Granted, you have just come off winning it all already, and if you decide to leave, we won’t fault you for taking NFL money while the opportunity is available; you have proven everything to your university that you needed to prove, and we commend you for it. But if you choose to build upon your success, it will come at a hefty price, and not just in money.

If you thought the expectations last season were big, you ain’t seen nuthin’ yet. You’ve weathered a schedule that includes 11 bowl teams and 9 games in the toughest conference in college football. You went from a season on the brink of disaster following Ole Miss to one of the most dominating stretch runs in history.

But this season, everybody knows you can do it again. You’ll have to handle the risks of a championship swoon and the potentially overinflated egos that go along with it. In all likelihood, it will be championship or bust in Gainesville.

Your relationship with the other league teams is a complicated one. As the defending SEC and national champs, league teams will give you their best shot week after week. But if you can successfully navigate all of the challenges en route to Pasadena, you will go with the respect and support of the other 11 fanbases in the conference.

If you get hurt and your stock slips, millions of future earnings are on the line.

And there will be moments of self-doubt where you wonder if you made the right choice.

But if you can handle everything with aplomb and achieve the repeat, you will already take the dynasty you are in and push it into truly rarefied air.

No active coach in college football will have three titles - except Urban Meyer.

No Big Six conference will have back-to-back-to-back-to-back titles - except the SEC.

Heck, I wouldn’t be able to name a college football player with three titles save you guys.

One way or the other, your legacies have been cemented. But if you so choose, you can build upon them, and perhaps enjoy football immortality among an even greater group of fans.

It’s your choice. But regardless of if you stay or go, make the most of it.

Sincerely,

O&B Hue

PS: This message will self-destruct in five seconds.

PPS: Not really.

From Gainesville to Starkville for Mullen.

Reactions:

1) We all knew he’d move along sooner than later. Competing for two national championships in 3 years was sure to shatter this coaching staff. It is the natural order of things.

2) I’m rather shocked that Mullen wouldn’t hold out for something better than Mississippi State. His career is at a logical crossroads: he’s probably ready for a head coaching job. He’s had great success in the SEC. But he now takes on a massive challenge at Mississippi State, the kind of challenge that young up and coming coaches don’t always survive. Three or four miserable years at Mississippi State could end his coaching career early. And Starkville is… well, rough.

3) The timing is rather bad; this will be a distraction as the Gators prepare for Oklahoma. It also portends poorly for Tebow’s return to Florida as he is closer with Mullen than anyone else on the coaching staff. I am personally of the opinion that Tebow needs to return regardless of how anticlimactic it would be if Florida won another national championship; he needs a year of solid NFL prep. As it stands, I’m not sure he’d be drafted in the top 2 rounds as a quarterback.

Florida beat Citadel, 70-19. Everything that was expected and hoped for happened. It was an impressive victory, with the backups scoring most of the points.

But one otherwise innocuous quote has brought darkness into my heart. From Gatorsports:

Following Florida’s 70-19 win against The Citadel, Florida starting quarterback Tim Tebow dragged backup John Brantley with him to jog a victory lap around Florida Field.

“He was a little shy about it, but I told him he had to come,” Tebow said. “It’s about starting traditions.”

With speculation swirling that Tebow may have played his final home game of his Florida career, his potential heir apparent looked sharp Saturday.

Stick a knife in my spleen. That’d hurt less.

Ladies and gentlemen, prepare for the reality: Tebow has played his last game in the Swamp. The Legend has left the building.

I haven’t had any access to the Web in several days. Ideas for blogs just suggested themselves. Watching “Around the Horn” on ESPN just got to me.

Okay, got that out of my way. Unlike in some of my previous blogs, I’m taking a more generalized approach to my topics today. We start in Kobe Bryant’s birthplace.

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