Udonis Johneal Haslem ( born June 9, 1980) is an American professional basketball player for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Florida Gators, where he was a key member of four NCAA tournament teams. Haslem began his professional career in France with Chalon-sur-Saône and then signed with his hometown Miami Heat in 2003 and has become the longest tenured Heat player in franchise history. He has also won three NBA championships while playing for the Heat. Early life Haslem was born in Miami. His father, John, played college basketball for the Stetson Hatters from 1972 to 1974. His mother, Debra, was Puerto Rican. Haslem attended Wolfson High School in Jacksonville, Florida, then Miami Senior High School in Miami. He helped lead Miami High to state titles in 1997 and 1998 (the last two of three in a row), playing alongside another future NBA player, Steve Blake. The team was coached by former South Carolina head coach Frank Martin. However, an investigation by the Miami New Times revealed that Haslem, Blake and several other players circumvented residency requirements. The New Times reported that while he claimed to live in Miami, he actually lived in Miramar. His official school address was an efficiency apartment owned by a longtime Miami High booster, which was also a violation of Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) rules. As a result, Miami High was stripped of its 1998 title and ordered to forfeit its entire schedule. College career Haslem accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for coach Billy Donovan's Gators teams from 1998 to 2002, while majoring in leisure service management. As the Gators' starting center for four years, he was part of Donovan's 1998 recruiting class that raised the national prominence of the Florida Gators basketball program, and included future Miami Heat teammate Mike Miller. His sophomore season saw the team advance to the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship game, before falling to the Michigan State Spartans 89–76. The Gators received NCAA tournament invitations four consecutive years during his college career–the first time in the program's history. During his tenure with Florida, Haslem averaged 13.7 points per game and 6.7 rebounds per game. He was named to the coaches' All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) team four times: as the third team in 1999 and 2000, and the