When it comes to Florida basketball history, Nick Calathes will go down as a monumental disappointment. He made that decision this past Friday when he signed a three-year contract believed to be worth about $1.1 million per year with Panathinaikos, the reigning Euroleague Basketball championship club in Greece.

The Orlando Sentinel first reported this story over the weekend.

Calathes’ brother, Pat, who was a star for Phil Martelli at St. Joseph’s a few years ago, is also playing in Greece. Calathes obviously got a sweet deal and will get paid like an NBA rookie picked late in the lottery.

The Sentinel reported that Calathes can opt out after the first year to play in the NBA. If he leaves his name in the draft, teams can take him and retain his rights while he plays overseas this year.

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Calathes was the nation’s only player to average better than 17 points, six assists and five rebounds in 2008-2009. He carried the Gators during both of his seasons in Gainesville, but his poor play down the stretch as a freshman and a sophomore was the main reason UF settled for NIT bids in the two years after winning back-to-back national titles.

What will Gator fans remember most about Calathes? They will recall missed free throws at crunch time. They’ll remember him missing a pair of front ends that could’ve put South Carolina away in a gut-wrenching loss to the Gamecocks this past year. They’ll remember him missing those potential game-tying free throws in a loss to Kentucky at Rupp Arena.

His presence was the main reason Jai Lucas transferred to Texas. Two years after inking Calathes and Lucas, two of the best prep guards in America, Billy Donovan is left with sophomore Ervin Walker as the only true point guard in the program.

Calathes’ decision to bolt is certainly his right, no doubt about it. But where’s the loyalty? Calathes comes from a family with a secure financial situation, so monetary concerns aren’t a part of this equation. Neither is the “life-long dream of playing in the NBA” that we so often hear.

I’m not saying Calathes owes UF anything. I’m not saying this is a selfish move on his part. All I’m saying is that at the end of the day, Nick Calathes’ much-anticipated collegiate career wasn’t all that.

With a chance to return for his junior year and join Walker, incoming McDonald’s All-American Kenny Boynton, Georgetown transfer Vernon Macklin and two-year starters Dan Werner and Alex Tyus, Calathes passed at a chance to lead the Gators back to the Big Dance.

Instead of becoming one of the best guards in UF history along with Andrew Moten, Taurean Green, Anthony Roberson and Clifford Lett, Calathes joins others like Jose Ramos, Darryl Gresham and Jason Williams, who came and left quickly and never lived up to the hype.

Brian Edwards can be reached at briane@vegasinsider.com.