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January 16, 2007

My blog entry from April 2006 that was erased.

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.

08:28 PM in general hoop comments |

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