What I did this summer ...

Gerry McNamara caught a personal best eight-pound bass near his hometown of Scranton, Pa., this summer. Also he spent a week in Ocean City, Md., with his family on vacation.

Oh, and between outdoor endeavors, the Syracuse sophomore guard worked on his jump shot -- for countless hours during individual workouts set up by Syracuse assistant Mike Hopkins.

But the only pickup ball McNamara has played since winning the national championship as a freshman came with a group of elite college and some NBA players at the structured Jordan Camp in Santa Barbara, Calif.

The summer of 2003 was crucial for McNamara as he becomes even more of a focal point for the defending national champions minus Carmelo Anthony. But McNamara wasn't about to deviate from his own summer mission, which included adding strength, working on that jumper, and most importantly, resting up for a title defense.

"It's very important to take it easy, to take a week or two off and be hungry when you get back," McNamara said. "That way you can have great legs for the whole year."

McNamara knows he'll get beaten up more this season. He's no longer the sneaky shooter who can find an opening for the Orangemen while defenses collapse on Anthony. Hakim Warrick, expected to replace Anthony's importance in the team's offense, simply won't draw the same attention.

That's why McNamara spent most of his summer hours working on gaining strength, getting in shape and putting up shots.

"I don't play pickup," said McNamara, who is an avid bass fisherman. "I'm more about the individual aspect of the game. When you play pickup, after a few games, everything just gets out of hand. People tend to relax after a few games and it turns into a joke when you're not playing with all the same level players."

This isn't a new McNamara. While he did try and get his name out nationally with the AAU circuit during his junior summer, after he committed to Syracuse, he wanted no part of that scene. He's always had a individual mindset when it came to improving his skills on the court.

McNamara, however, still didn't put up as many shots this summer as he will once he's back on campus. He said he puts up a few hundred shots a day during the season, but not in the offseason.

McNamara (13.3 ppg, 4.6 apg, 34.5 on 3s, 91.1 at the free-throw line) emerged as a surprising second option to Anthony last season, and will now be counted on to be a leader as a sophomore with Warrick. McNamara's classmate, Billy Edelin, will share a similar role at the point. But McNamara probably has the toughest personality for the job.

"We're all about business," McNamara said. "Right now we're getting back to the point where we can play at a high level."

McNamara's summer may not have followed the routines of his contemporaries, or been a traditional way of getting ready for the season. But it was one of the more unique breaks from school. You can pick any five players and see how they got ready for the season and probably find a myriad of stories.

Here's how three other players spent their summer:

Denham Brown, Connecticut: The sophomore guard played next to ... Steve Nash on Team Canada. Yes, that Steve Nash. And it was quite a thrill for Brown. But Brown also showed why the likely No. 1-rated Huskies are so loaded.

If Brown can score like he did this summer, then Ben Gordon, Emeka Okafor or Charlie Villanueva will be pushed for top billing.

Brown averaged 12.4 points, 4.2 rebounds and shot 43 percent on 3s in starting eight of 10 games for Team Canada in its fourth-place finish at the Tournament of Americas in Puerto Rico. Brown was playing for Team Canada, while Tracy McGrady played for Team USA.

"This was real crucial," Brown said. "I've learned so much. The FIBA rules means it's a lot more physical than college. I'll be much more of a factor this year."

Team Canada also went against pro teams at the L.A. Summer League. Brown didn't play in the Pan Am Games because of a sprained ankle. But playing with Nash meant learning how to find the open spots fast, or risk having the ball hit you in the head.

"You've got to work and come off screens quickly," Brown said. "You have to get to the spots quickly.'"

Brown, who scored 100 points in a game for Bathurst Heights High School in Toronto, was erratic as a freshman. He averaged 7.7 points and 3.4 rebounds, shooting 41.7 percent on 3s for the Huskies last season.

"Clearly he's gained great confidence," Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun said. "He's feeling so much better about himself. Last year was tough on him."

Brown will still have plenty of competition for minutes. The Huskies will likely start senior Taliek Brown at the point, Gordon at shooting guard and either Brown or Rashad Anderson at the third guard. Anderson made 36 of 40 3s during a workout this week. Calhoun will work Villanueva at power forward where there is less of a glut of players.

"Denham is coming off an incredible summer and spent more than half a season going against better competition than an awful lot of teams we'll face this year," Calhoun said.

Dee Brown, Illinois: OK, how about this summer schedule:

A few days at home in Maywood, Ill., following school then heading off to Colorado Springs for the USA Basketball trials, where Brown made the World Junior Championship team. Next he traveled to Champaign for a few days before heading to Dallas for two weeks. Following their gold medal win at the Global Games in Dallas, the team then flew to Greece for two weeks, where they didn't medal at the World Junior Championships. Brown then spent a week back at home before joining the Illini for a trip to Sweden and Finland (Sweden was his favorite).

"I think I logged 8,000 miles," said Brown, who did the same trips with backcourt mate Deron Williams. "I learned what it's like to be a professional."

Brown said he didn't want to go to Scandinavia after the Greece trip. The reason being that Ernie Kent of Oregon ran the U.S. team like it was a regular-season college trip. He said there were scouting, shootarounds and plenty of meetings.

"But it was important for my team and it was a great experience," Brown said.

Brown averaged 17.3 ppg for Team USA in Greece and was one of the go-to scorers on the team (Williams averaged 8.4 ppg).

"I hate the whole traveling thing," Brown said. "I got tired of McDonald's.

"There was one time where we took a plane, then a bus and then played right away. There was a lot of adversity to get through. This will end up being good for me and Deron."

It was also imperative for Brown and Williams to get used to new coach Bruce Weber, who used the foreign trip to introduce himself to his new players. Brown said he stands up more than Bill Self and runs a different offense, one that involves more motion and less structure.

Brown averaged 21.5 points on the trip to Scandinavia (Williams 13.8 ppg).

"Overall, they both played 19 games this summer," Weber said. "They're both fine and still have a lot of energy. During the last game of our tour, Deron sprained his ankle and I was going to sit him. But he wanted to play. He got it taped and played the final 12 minutes. He impressed me how much he loves to play.

"We're a young team that will still have to develop a go-to guy, but we're easily 12-15 days ahead of schedule."

Drew Lavender, Oklahoma: The Sooners' new point guard didn't make a splash until he got to school and the squad took off for a Labor Day weekend tour of Costa Rica. Oklahoma patterned this trip after Duke's to London last year -- waiting to take a foreign trip until school started so it could practice with the freshmen and newcomers and then take them on the trip.

If the trip had occurred a week earlier, Lavender wouldn't have been able to go as an incoming freshman.

Lavender, who is being listed at a more accurate 5-6 instead of 5-8, was the story of the trip. He asserted himself as the likely starter. In the outing's last game, Lavender scored 10 points, dished 12 assists and had only one turnover. Lavender led the Sooners in another game with 22 points, making 3 of 5 3s.

He'll replace Quannas White as the team's leader at the point, but possibly become the soul of this team -- a role Hollis Price filled last season.

"I got four games of experience," said Lavender, who spent most of the summer at home in Columbus, Ohio. "We got some chemistry going with the team. This helped me a lot. I now know the defensive plays and know how much different the college game is. I got the early start I needed."

Oklahoma coaches knew Lavender could score but they still had to see it to believe it at the next level. Granted, Oklahoma wasn't going against Big 12 competition, but Lavender proved he could score when pressed.

"I don't have to shoot a lot for me to score," Lavender said. "I don't need to score for the coaches to have respect for me. But I'm playing harder on defense and I learned that I couldn't take any possessions off. In high school you could, not here."

What else we're hearing
Jeremy Foley felt no pressure to bump up Billy Donovan's annual salary nearly $500,000 to an average of $1.7 million. He simply wanted to ensure there was no doubt that Donovan would remain at Florida instead of pursuing another college job.

Foley also insists Donovan and he started conversations on a new deal before Kentucky offered Tubby Smith his monster contract in the spring.

"I don't want to take things for granted," said the Florida athletic director, easily one of the most proactive administrators in the country.

Donovan said Foley originally wanted to offer him a 10-year deal but Donovan settled on the six-year contract.

"I didn't know if 10 years was good for me or the school," Donovan said. "I've never gone in there and asked for a contract extension. Jeremy has always initiated it. I'm loyal to Florida and very appreciative of everything they have done for me."

As for the NBA? Foley doesn't have to worry about Donovan leaving for a big-money job. Why? Donovan is on record as saying that if he ever did go to the NBA, he would first go as an assistant -- a gig that usually doesn't pay more than $200,000 to $350,000 a year.

"To do it the right way, you've got to go in as an assistant coach," Donovan said. "NBA players have a bad feeling about college coaches. You have to gain their respect.

"You've got to do what Kevin O'Neill did (go in as an assistant after being a college head coach, before landing as the head coach of the Raptors)," Donovan adds. "He learned the ropes and gained a respect level. Why would you want to go into the NBA and get a job that you have no chance to win at." Think Tim Floyd with the Bulls and Leonard Hamilton with the Wizards.

But does this talk of a path to the NBA sidelines mean Donovan is destined to land there?

"I can't say it's my dream to be a head coach in the NBA," Donovan said. "If I were able to finish my career at Florida then I wouldn't look at my career as disappointing. If I did go to the NBA, then it's going to be a career change and that's when you have to go in as an assistant with a head coach that you know well."

Donovan did spend a few days last week with Houston Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy. But Florida fans shouldn't read too much into it.

And, as for Florida not getting past the second round of the NCAA Tournament since its national title game appearance in 2000? Foley doesn't care about the early exits as much as he does the direction of the program and the consistency of getting to the NCAAs, which the Gators have done a record five-straight years under Donovan.

What else we're hearing
Within the NABC ... The goal of the mandatory head coaches meeting Oct. 15 is to define cheating. Coaches need to get to a consensus on the term. Is helping a player's family move to the city where the school located cheating? What about buying food for a player, or making too many calls, or watching recruits, or working out with your own players in the offseason? Yes or No? The concern among some coaches is that the meeting will turn into a few coaches pontificating about unethical conduct and others checking their cell phones for recruiting calls. Optimism is not high that something productive will come out of this gathering. Presidents need to step in and show some support for coaches who are not committing violations, or behaving unethically, and are winning -- but maybe not enough. Coaches like Larry Hunter (Ohio), Steve Seymour (Drexel) and Don Holst (Montana) were let go after having successful runs. They didn't have NCAA violations, yet were replaced. Presidents need to make a decision to alleviate the pressure to cheat. Do they only want a clean program and a high-winning percentage, or will they take a clean program and a competitive team that makes a decent run to the top of the respective conference every few seasons?