This Championship Gator team should be studied!
I almost don’t know where to start. To say that I expected this
is somewhat
irrelevant, as in basketball what we expect is often different than what
actually happens. Since mid-November I
thought Florida had the look of a team with the necessary components to win a National
Championship. By January they proved me
right, ripping off 17 straight wins. And
after getting healthy (after 2 key injuries and 6 SEC losses) they resumed
their butt-kicking performances, and in my estimation, looked like the team to
beat along with UCONN. When they beat Kentucky on the Wildcats
home floor-on Senior night no less and by 16 points, it was clear to me that
they were the nations best team. Name
another team that could have done that? Winning the SEC tournament title, but only earning a 3 seed to the
NCAA’s, provided the final detail ensuring a Gator celebration last night. You see, along with a long list of things
that this team has taught us all, PLAYING WITH A PURPOSE may be the most
important lesson gleaned from these orange and blue competitors. And PURPOSE is exactly what these guys
have-along with pride and a trophy. No
pre-season rankings? Fine. Mocking the 17 game streak to start the year? No worries. Too young to do anything in the tournament, and a recent history of
tourney failures? A 3 seed for the SEC
tourney champ? All proved to be driving
forces in Gator practices each day, to be sure. And that is what I hope all coaches and players around the world take
from this terrific team. Because make no
mistake about it-this team won a championship at practice each day, and the
evidence is overwhelming.
Practice is the place where a team and coaching staff
bonds-or doesen’t. Where leadership is
earned, and roles are defined. Find me a
college team in recent memory with better chemistry and leadership than this
team. We all know Joakim Noah is their
best player, a likely top 5 pick whenever he enters the NBA. But he refers to Florida's lone senior, Adrian Moss, as “Boss
man”, and said last night after the game that he’s proud to be on Moss’s
team. MOSS’S TEAM!! Did your best player think, or say, anything
similar to that after the season? Last
week in a press conference, when Noah’s teammate Taurean Green gave a short
answer describing the solid play of a seldom used player off Florida’s bench in an early round win, Noah
jumped in to the discussion to add how hard that player has worked each day in
practice. For press conferences, that is
the equivalent of a player getting a quadruple-double, it basically never
happens, as players only answer questions directed to them. Even after the game last night, Noah told the
press that sharpshooter Lee Humphrey “was a monster on D”. When your best player speaks that glowingly
about his teammates, it is easy to get refined roles and avoid petty
jealousy.
Florida’s best players are SO INVESTED into
winning, playing with incredible heart and unselfishness, that it is clear to
us they don’t care about individual stats. Can you say the same about your team?
But chemistry is not the only class this team aced this
year. BASKETBALL SKILLS 101 was on their
schedule as well, and Professor Donovan and his assistants mentored their class
to perfection. This team gave clinics
all year on court spacing, shooting, feeding the pivot (relentlessly), beating
pressure, and finding the open man. Last
night’s efforts, the Gator’s final exam, showed just how much they learned in
Donovan’s class. Dribbling and passing
are skills that can be worked on all year, not just the off-season. Anyone who watched the Gators all year could
see their skills improving as the season progressed. Green and Humphrey combined for 10 turnovers
in their Coaches vs. Cancer Final 4 victories back in November over WakeForest
and Syracuse. In the real Final 4, with hundreds of
millions of people watching and a National Championship at stake, and against 2
excellent (if not incredible) defensive teams, they committed only 3. That’s 2 players, playing a combined 142
minutes as primary ball-handlers, and turning it over 3 times. Wow. Joakim
Noah went from scrub to mega-superstar in one season. There are 10 basic statistics in college basketball, Al Horford improved in 9 of them
from last year (the 10th was 3 pt shooting %, and he did not attempt
one in either season). His backup, Chris
Richards, improved in 8. Florida’s has redefined
the term “skill position”, demanding all of its’ players to improve their
skills. The wins and stats prove their
successes. They led the country in FG%. Led the SEC in FT%. And on and on and on…
Perhaps most importantly, this team taught all of us the
importance of “living in the present”. Moreso than any team I’ve seen in years, this team seemed to love
playing for their school, their coach, their fans, and each other. No worries about previous seasons, or their
future careers. Who scored and rebounded
mattered not at all-that somebody did it was all they cared about. Can your team say the same?
As I wrote in this column back in January, this team should
be studied by coaches and players for years to come. They played basketball the right way, and have
now become a legend in the process. I
hope your team can say the same thing next year.
