http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/college-basketball/news/20140307/florida-gators-seniors-sec-ncaa-tournament/ 

margin: 0px; font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- To best understand how Florida's four scholarship seniors turned from benchwarmers to role players to the stars of the nation's top-ranked team, ask the teammate who once did their laundry. Jacob Kurtz, the mechanical engineering major/walk-on/former student manager who is better known to his teammates as Jake the Snake, has had the best view of the metamorphosis.

Like center Patric Young, guard Scottie Wilbekin and forwards Will Yeguete and Casey Prather, Kurtz arrived in Gainesville in 2010. The difference? Kurtz didn't expect to join the basketball team. But his high school coach knew then-Florida assistant Larry Shyatt, and Kurtz got an invitation to watch practice from the second-floor balcony of the Gators' facility. Kurtz came back every day his first semester until Florida coach Billy Donovan finally asked what the blond-haired kid was doing up there. At the semester break, a manager spot opened. Kurtz handed out socks and washed practice gear until a walk-on spot opened before his sophomore season. Then the 6-foot-5 Oviedo, Fla., native proved he could play.

Jacob "Jake the Snake" Kurtz was a team manager before joining the Gators as a walk-on.

Bll Frakes/SI

For the past three seasons, Kurtz has been the Gators' scout team dynamo. Because he can quickly assimilate another team's scheme, he finds himself playing a lot of roles at practice. That has brought him head-to-head frequently with each of the four players whose development has made Florida a rarity in this era of college hoops: a senior-led high-major that could play its way into a No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament. These Gators own the top ranking and are on a 22-game winning streak but they are not nearly as talented as the ones who won back-to-back national titles in 2006 and 2007. Still, they have grown up together and might have the chemistry to win Florida's next title. Jake the Snake knows why:

On Prather: "He knows what he's doing. He's not trying to do too much," Kurtz said. "He's playing within himself."

On Wilbekin: "When Scottie came in, he was 17 years old. Now he's maybe 18 years old," Kurtz joked. "No, he's 20 now. He's grown up a lot. ... He's been much more vocal this year. He's a great senior leader point guard. He's commanding the offense."

On Young: "Patric's become a much harder worker," Kurtz said. "He continues to push through everything. He doesn't let the little things get to him anymore."

On Yeguete: "Even in practice when he was a freshman, he did a lot of things that didn't show up [in the box score]," Kurtz said. "You notice it now."

Unlike the 2007 national title team, which had three top-10 NBA draft picks in the starting lineup (Joakim Noah, Al Horford, Corey Brewer) and a first-rounder (Mareese Speights) on the bench, none of Florida's current seniors projects as a first-round draft pick. In fact, none of the four cracked the top three in scoring at Florida in their first three seasons. "We're not the most talented team in the country," Florida coach Billy Donovan said. "We don't have all these lottery picks running around." Those national title teams meshed the moment Noah, Horford, Brewer and 2004 classmate Taurean Green -- known in Gainesville as the Oh-Fours -- came together as sophomore starters prior to the 2005-06 season. This group needed much longer to reach its potential.

Young, the highest-rated recruit, needed some humility. He needed to stop listening to those who told him he was another Dwight Howard and start listening to Donovan, who realized Young could build a quality but not otherworldly post presence if he hustled and stood his ground defensively. Wilbekin, the youngest of the group, needed to learn how to handle life without parental supervision. Yeguete, who grew up in France and the Ivory Coast and whose family lives across an ocean, needed to overcome his shyness. Prather, who went from spot duty last year to the Gators' leading scorer this season, needed to embrace who he was and stop trying to be who he wasn't. But given the current realities of the game, it's surprising the current quartet of seniors remained together long enough to learn those lessons together.

Last year, SI's Luke Winn did a fascinating study of the transfer culture in college basketball. Examining a seven-year period, Winn found that of the top-100 recruits who stayed in college at least two years, 34.3 percent transferred from their original school. Florida's class of 2010 had a transfer as well. Cody Larson, a top-100 recruit from South Dakota, transferred to South Dakota State last May after three fruitless years in Gainesville that included on-court frustration (0.5 points and 0.8 rebounds a game in the one season he actually played) and off-court drama (a 2011 arrest in which Larson was accused of trying to break into a car). Prather and Wilbekin also seemed prime candidates to transfer at various points, but they elected to stay.

Casey Prather may be better in roller blades than basketball shoes.

Bill Frakes/SI

Prather probably would have made the most logical transfer. The 6-6 wing from Jackson, Tenn., never averaged more than 6.1 points or 17.1 minutes in his first three seasons. When he arrived at Florida, he needed time to adjust to a world different from his hometown. "I remember the first time he heard Will speak French on the phone," Young said. "He was flipping out. He was going crazy."

The younger Prather was also obsessed with proving himself a capable three-point shooter. Outside range mixed with his natural slashing ability, he thought, would get him to the NBA. For three offseasons, Donovan told Prather to work on his long-range shooting. If it was acceptable by the start of each season, he'd get the green light in games. The green light never came. Last summer, Prather wowed his teammates in pickup games by attacking the rim. "You could just tell when he slashed to the rim that this kid could play," Kurtz said. "He just needed a little more confidence. Now, he's definitely playing confidently."

Prather knew he'd be relied upon more this season, so he accepted who he was -- a guy who can take the ball from the top of the key to the basket in the blink of an eye. He has attempted only five three-pointers this season -- as opposed to 15 when he was a freshman playing only 6.7 minutes a game -- and he leads the Gators in scoring with 14.5 points a game. Though some teammates worried he would, Prather said he never seriously entertained the idea of leaving. "I was depressed at some times," he said, "but it never got to the point where I was ready to transfer."

Donovan has had his share of players leave the program, and when the topic of transferring arises, he always offers one piece of advice. "When things don't work out in the short term for a player, a lot of times the answer is 'I'm going to leave and make a change.' In some cases, change may be good," Donovan said. "But I always say this: When you leave and make a change, the problems that you have are going to follow you to the next place."

In the case of Wilbekin, it was Donovan who was suggesting the transfer. Remember how Kurtz said Wilbekin is still only 20? He's right; Wilbekin, who graduated high school a year early to join Florida's class of 2010, is more than a year younger than each of his fellow seniors. Maturity has come to him unevenly. Last summer, Wilbekin earned a second suspension for an undisclosed violation of team rules. Donovan gave Wilbekin two options. He could transfer, or he could accept a list of punishments that would allow him to return to the Gators. The punishments included rigorous early morning exercises from Florida's strength staff, which is a fairly typical penance. The second half of the behavior contract was less typical. Wilbekin would have to move back in with his parents.

As part of his punishment for repeated violations of team rules, Scottie Wilbekin agreed to live with his parents for a year.

Bill Frakes/SI

Svend and Katy Wilbekin live about eight miles from Florida's campus. Svend is a pastor at a church called The Rock, and Scottie starred on the church school's basketball team. Though he wasn't far away from them, Scottie struggled throughout college to follow the rules set out for him. Donovan offered him one last chance, but it would require sacrificing some of his freedom. "It was awful. It was the worst time of my life," Scottie Wilbekin said. "I've never been lower in my life. But I saw a light at the end of the tunnel."

After a while, Wilbekin didn't mind the idea of a year at home. His brother, Mitchell, is a senior in high school about to head to Tulsa on a basketball scholarship. His youngest brother, Andrew, will graduate high school and leave home in 2016. This allowed the family to be together for one last extended period. Plus, Katy makes dynamite cinnamon rolls and Sasha, the German Shepard-golden retriever mix, constantly amazes with her ability to open drawers and doors.

Wilbekin missed Florida's first five games, but he returned playing his best basketball. He could always flummox opponents with his personal-space violating defense, but this season he has developed as a scorer. When the Gators need offense, Wilbekin has learned to get to the basket or the line. In a win at Kentucky on Feb. 15, he scored 23 points and made 5-of-6 free throws in the final 5:07 as the Gators pulled away from the Wildcats, who start five freshman and who might have as many as eight NBA first-rounders on the roster.

The 6-9 Young is probably the team's most NBA-ready player, but it took a few years in Gainesville for him to understand that he wasn't as ready as he initially thought he was. Young didn't plan to be a four-year collegian, but as he built relationships on and off campus, he's happy he is one. During a visit to Florida's academic counseling center in mid-February, Young squeezed counselor Brenda Phillips with a hug and reminded her that he remains on track to graduate with a degree in telecommunications on May 3. "You know I'm going to cry," Phillips said.

Patric Young fully embraces his life as a four-year Florida student, even though he never expected it.

Bill Frakes/SI

Though he probably won't let anyone see it, Young might drop a tear as well. The gregarious ESPN hopeful from Jacksonville, Fla., has made a lot of friends in Gainesville, from Phillips to the students at the elementary school he mentored as part of a class to the sorority members who invited him to lunch at their house last week. He always made friends easily, but he was shocked at how quickly he fell in love with college life. "I didn't know it was going to blossom and multiply this much when I got to college," he said.

Still, Young's best friends are the teammates who have been with him each step of the way. "We have an unbreakable bond," he said. After the past two seasons, Young debated between entering the draft and staying in Gainesville one more year. Since he wasn't an obvious first-rounder, the decision came down to quality of life. Was he ready for basketball to be his only job? Was he ready to leave behind the classmates who felt more like brothers? "Every year," Young said, "the answer to that question was no."

With each year came a greater understanding of what would eventually work in the NBA. While he may have come in with comparisons to Howard, Young has realized that he doesn't have the same genetic gifts as one of his sport's best athletes. Young realized he would have to work harder, and, as Kurtz explained, he has. No play signifies that understanding better than Young's dive to corral an offensive rebound in the final minute of a win at Tennessee. He went horizontal to snatch the ball away from two Volunteers, then passed to a teammate before he tumbled out of bounds. Kentucky coach John Calipari, whose team faced Florida the following Saturday, showed a clip of the play to his fabulous freshmen to demonstrate how hard they would have to play to beat the Gators. As a senior, Young understands what sets him apart on the court. "Running the floor and grabbing rebounds, that's what I'm best at," he said. "That's what's going to get me paid at the next level."

Young's roommate, Yeguete, had no such basketball identity crisis. Just as Kurtz said, the 6-7 Frenchman prioritized hustle plays even as a freshman. He has been Florida's glue guy -- a quality rebounder, defender and interior passer -- the past three seasons, and losing Yeguete to a foot injury late in the 2011-12 season and a knee injury for part of the 2012-13 season hurt the Gators' chemistry. The injuries, he said, were a byproduct of him trying to pack on too much muscle as a younger player. This year, Yeguete has managed to stay healthy for the stretch run by keeping his weight down around 220.

While Yeguete has changed little on the court, he has opened up off the court. He came to Melbourne, Fla., from France at age 16 to chase a basketball scholarship. He sees his family for about three weeks every summer, but most of his contact with home happens over Skype, FaceTime or SnapChat. When he first arrived in Gainesville, Yeguete stayed quiet. His teammates helped break the shell. "I feel like we can talk to one another about anything," he said. "We have really good chemistry."

Once Yeguete got more comfortable with his surroundings, he fully embraced campus life. He is now the Gator most likely to help a campus group or assist a charity. Just ask, and Yeguete likely will make time. He learned what kind of impact he could have last year during a visit to UF's Shands hospital with Young. A woman named Theresa Stevens noticed the two giants striding down a hallway and asked what sport they played. She then led them to a room where they met her grandson, Kaedyn Ballew. They stayed and played with Kaedyn for an hour and a half that first day. Kaedyn was nine months old in 2010 when he was diagnosed with leukemia. The cancer took over the lives of Kaedyn and his mother, Shelsie, so thoroughly that even now, Shelsie mixes up Kaedyn's birthdate with his diagnosis date. When Kaedyn met Yeguete, Kaedyn had already endured two years of chemotherapy. He had recently undergone a bone marrow transplant, but doctors were still only giving him a 50 percent chance of survival.

Will Yeguete has formed a special bond with Kaedyn, a leukemia survivor, who comes to Gainesville for checkups.

Bill Frakes/SI

Yeguete saw how happy he made Kaedyn, so he stayed in touch. Nearly every time Shelsie brought Kaedyn from their home in Ocala, Fla., for his weekly follow-up visits, Yeguete tagged along. Yeguete watched a cancer-ravaged Kaedyn improve week after week, and the young boy grew more attached to the tall man with the Mohawk and the gentle brown eyes. Last week, Yeguete cuddled a thriving four-year-old whose cancer is in remission and who routinely screams at Yeguete to grab more rebounds when he sees his friend on television.

"Sometimes we think we go through a lot as human beings," Yeguete said. "We tend to complain a lot." When Yeguete is about to complain, he thinks about Kaedyn and the urge subsides. "I just realized that us athletes can have a huge impact on the community. Sometimes you just do stuff because people ask us to do it. But if we just get outside of our comfort zone and try to do something for others, people will remember that."

How people will remember this team depends largely upon how it performs in a single-elimination tournament. The seniors have reached the Elite Eight each year they've been in college, but they've gone no farther. This team likely will be judged by whether it reaches Arlington, Texas, the first weekend in April. The seniors, who are 9-3 in NCAA tournament play, know it can all end on one of the first two weekends if they face a team that can't miss. That's why they will do as Donovan says and try to live in the moment. They will try after each win, as their coach implored them to do in their first practice after beating Kentucky, to "start at the bottom" again.

Donovan doesn't need to employ too many motivational tactics with this group. After all, Prather, Wilbekin, Young and Yeguete have heard everything in his arsenal. At this point, Young can't help but discuss "u-man nature" as an homage to his Long Island-raised coach's accent. Still, this group may represent the best coaching job in a career already destined to be honored in the Hall of Fame. "To understand the results we're getting," Young said, "you have to look at the man behind it."

Donovan didn't know what he had with the group that brought him two national titles until they assembled for their sophomore season. With this group, Donovan didn't truly know what he had until several weeks into their senior season. "We don't have three top-10 players on our basketball team. We don't have four first-round draft picks. ... They're totally different people. Totally different experiences. Totally different talent level. And we play somewhat differently."

These Gators won't overwhelm anyone with their athleticism, but they might overwhelm a team with their defensive stubbornness. This group won't scatter to NBA outposts across the country. It more likely will scatter across continents as players seek a professional home. These aren't the Oh-Fours. These are four guys who needed four seasons to find their way. But if they keep playing at this level, they might wind up in the same place the Oh-Fours did -- on a stage with confetti falling and One Shining Moment ringing in their ears.

"I know there are a lot of people around college basketball that leave early nowadays -- especially with the one-and-dones," Wilbekin said. "But there's something special to me about what us four guys have been able to do here. ... Every year has been different. Every year has been a new challenge. It's just fun to see how far we've come."