It must really be a difficult time for all of the people in America who dislike the University of Florida. I am not one of them, but I can imagine why some may have unsavory feelings towards the Gators. Ever since Steve Spurrier brought his high-octane, run up the score and laugh in you face brand of football to Gainesville, ever since UF became the envy of all other SEC schools with it's huge revenue and constant success in basically every sport, it has been an easily dislikeable institution. It's gotta be a tough day for the people who harbor these feelings because the Gators are officially taking over the country. For everyone who thought China would eventually come and take over everything, you were wrong. We are now officially a Gator Nation.
Donovan's boys did exactly what everyone knew they would do. They were very businesslike in their 84-75 victory over the Buckeyes. No flash, no gimmicks, just a victory. Every time Ohio State made a half-hearted effort at getting back into the game, Lee Humphrey hit a three, or Corey Brewer made a play on D, or Taurean Green made a play. I don't know why anyone would have expected anything other than what we saw last night. Although going back-to-back puts them in remarkably exclusive company, they can't be considered one of the great teams in NCAA history. Top ten sure, but not top five. Given that, this will be a team that we remember forever. Four guys who had millions of dollars on the table go back to school for each other, to do something that would put them in the same breath as Duke and UCLA, to be BMOCs for one more year. Outstanding.
On the other side, Greg Oden was O.U.T.S.T.A.N.D.I.N.G. It's good to see that his final game as a collegiate was his best. There have been doubters, but anyone who saw his performance last night would not dispute his status as the #1 pick in the upcoming draft. Some have said that the Buckeyes are better when he sits, some have said Mike Conley is the best player on that team, and some have said that he doesn't have that killer instinct, he's not mean enough, and that despite his stature as a legit center at the next level it should be Kevin Durant who goes #1. Look, whoever gets Kevin Durant will be getting arguably the greatest college basketball player ever, but Oden is my guy to stick in the middle night in, night out in the NBA. Last night proved it. He was the best player on a court of first-round picks. If Thad Matta had given him one or two more minutes to catch his breath, he wouldn't have played the last six minutes completely exhausted, and maybe the game would have been a game late. Nonetheless, this was the dominant performance everyone had been waiting to see and it came on the big stage, when the lights were on, and when his team needed it most. The problem was that the money three-point looks that the Buckeyes had been knocking down all year weren't falling. Butler was 2-6, Harris was 1-8, Lewis was 0-4. It's too bad because that team wasted their best player's best performance in the biggest game of they year because they couldn't knock down a shot when they needed to.
As far as Florida goes, it's going to be hard for teams in the middle of the lottery to pass on Corey Brewer. I have said time and again that I would love to see Jeff Green in a Blazer uniform next year but after he chickened out against OSU, I put Brewer in his place. He's a tremendous defender, crazy athletic, has great instincts (which can't be taught), and a solid mid-range jumper. He's like a smarter, better shooting version of Travis Outlaw. If the Blazers are sitting there at about the sixth pick and Brewer is on the board, he's the guy I want, at least as of now. The guy is phenomenal, as is Al Horford, the biggest MAN in the tournament. The guy has the tools to be tremendously effective in the league. He is as strong as OJ's legal team, can box out a bulldozer, and is a solid low-post defender. The only knock is he's a little on the raw side offensively, but he shows signs. In the first half, he faced up on the left block, drove to the middle, spun baseline, and put up a gorgeous left-handed baby-hook off the glass that fell. If he can develop that and one or two more moves, he will be a beast at the next level. Joakim Noah continues to puzzle. He was tired, proved he can't hit a jumper outside of about five feet, and shows no signs of being worth a lottery pick, especially in the most loaded draft maybe ever. But he's a great teammate, a great defender, and a great rebounder. He is worth a mid-first round pick, but not a top ten pick.
Now the question is: what becomes of the Florida basketball program? This thing could be completely different next year. Think about it. They lose Humphrey and Richard to graduation and will likely lose Noah, Horford, Brewer, and probably Green to the draft. If everybody's gone, Donovan may leave while his stock is as high as it can get and take the UK job. If all this happens, the two-time defending champs will lose their top six players and their head coach. It will be like the Chicago Bulls after Jordan retired and they completely got rid everything. It will be shocking really when and if all this happens. That said, what they did was awesome and is something that will go down as one of the most impressive feats in college basketball history, even if it wasn't done by one of the greatest teams in college basketball history. We saw history last night and should not forget it. I would love to see all four guys plus Billy Donovan return to Florida next year but I'm pretty resigned to that not happening. Oh well, it was a great ride.
By the way, John Beilein, one of my top five favorite coaches, has reportedly taken the Michigan job, which means that Ernie Kent will not be taking the Michigan job. There is good and bad to this. The bad is that Ernie will probably be coaching at the O next year. The good is that Tom Izzo and John Beilein will now be competing against each other on a daily basis. They will be competing for recruits, for PR, and for victories in the great state of Michigan. I love Beilein almost as much as I love Izzo. I just decided that I'm going to dedicate an entire post at some point to this ridiculously awesome head-to-head so I'm not going to waste all of my excitement now. All of a sudden I don't care the EK is still coaching the Ducks because JB and TI will now be occupying the same general vicinity. Honestly, I may have to move to Michigan, or transfer to a college in Michigan just to experience the genius mojo that will be flowing from those two universities. I won't transfer to UM or MSU because I wouldn't want to offend the coach of the university I don't go to. I'm definitely looking into this and will update my progress at a later date. Also later, a Mariner baseball update and why yesterday's Opening Day win was such a tease. Enjoy your...um...Tuesday...I guess.
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