Mike Segar / Reuters

Billy Donovan is staying at Florida, but will have to defend the school's national title without his star juniors.

The four teammates and roommates have been the core of the consecutive titles, winning 68 games the last two seasons, including 18 in a row in the postseason and 12 straight in the NCAA tournament.

Brewer, Horford and Noah could be lottery picks, and the 6-foot Green might get drafted despite being somewhat undersized.

“The last three years have been an unbelievable experience,” Noah said. “What we did was more than just basketball. We followed our hearts. We didn’t listen to what other people said. This is something that we’ll remember for the rest of our lives.”

Brewer and Horford cried during the announcement, and Green fought back tears.

“I feel like it’s been the best three years of our lives up to this point,” Brewer said. “I felt like we did everything we possibly could do in college basketball. “It’s been so much fun, but all knew it was time to move on. We came in together and we wanted to go out together.”

Added Horford: “I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

Donovan felt the same way about Florida, turning down Kentucky before Barnhart even offered him the job or talked money.

“I’ve got a strong place in my heart for Kentucky because I started coaching there,” Donovan said. “I have great respect for the tradition, the fans, the program, for everything that it represents.

“I felt like the right thing to do was to be able to make a decision without stringing anybody along. Kentucky’s a great program, great tradition. Mitch is a terrific athletic director. They have great, great fans. But I felt that at this time in my life the best place for me was the University of Florida.”

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