Early Thoughts: Florida Gators, National Champs

by awiggo on Apr 3, 2006 11:32 PM CDT in Texas Longhorns Basketball

Least competitive Final Four in my lifetime. The three games were decided 14, 15, and 16 points. I really thought this one would be a low scoring, defensive, and close game. I was wrong.

Florida owned this game from the beginning led by the dynamic inside duo of Joakim Noah and Al Horford. How many dunks did Florida have? 12? 15? Noah finished just shy of triple double: 16 points, eight rebounds, and six blocks. Noah intimidated the Bruins' big men and completely dominated the paint. Horford contributed 14 points and seven rebounds. If their inside strength wasn't enough, they dominated the perimeter as well. Point guard Taurean Green was solid with eight turnovers to just one turnover. Even though he scored only two points, he controlled the game. There is nothing more you can ask for from your point guard. Add Lee Humphrey's four three pointers and 15 points to Corey Brewer's 11 points, six rebounds, four assists, and two steals (not to mention stifling defense) and you have a blowout victory. This game was never in doubt. Florida controlled the both ends of the floor for the full 40 minutes.

Congratulations to the Florida Gators, Swamp Ball, and Billy Donovan. They were solid on offense and on defense and dominated the tournament like no other team over the last three weeks. They were clearly the best team in the tournament. Their defense was solid. They forced turnovers and turned them into easy fast break points. They lived in the paint, and they shot an extremely high percentage from the floor. Noah was clearly the best player in the NCAA tournament and deserves the MOP award. Horford may have played his way into an NBA lottery pick if he chooses to declare following this season. And they got balanced scoring in every game. I guess it is possible to win a national championship in basketball at a traditionally powerful football school. By the way, this was Donovan's 12th year at Florida. Rick Barnes just completed his 8th at Texas.

Also, congratulations to UCLA and Bruins Nation. The Bruins were outstanding on the defensive end in every game but this one. The Bruins also completed one of the most incredible comebacks of all time with their Sweet 16 victory over Gonzaga. UCLA won the Pac 10 regular season and Pac 10 tournament titles. Jordan Farmer and Arron Afflalo are as good as any backcourt in the country. Ben Howland is a fantastic coach who took a storied program back to the Final Four in three short years. Great season for the Bruins.

Comments here.

--AW--

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WELL

that sucked.

Florida was clearly the better team, and really dictated the tempo. Congrats to Florida.

But it still sucks.

GO BRUINS. HOOK 'EM HORNS.

A Trojan can only be used once. A Bruin is forever.

by uclawarren on Apr 3, 2006 11:34 PM CDT reply actions

So anticlimactic for all of that potential

The moment George Mason started to miss threes I stopped watching the final four. With probably the best and most exciting tourney leading up to this final four, it really did not live up to its billing. What is too bad is that everyone will remember this weekend and not the two great weekends of basketball leading up to this.

Leslie beat Adam at pool!

by Wells on Apr 4, 2006 8:26 AM CDT reply actions

I agree....

Farmar is overrated. He's nowhere even in the same breath as Andre Miller was when he was a point guard at Utah and Miller has had a good, but hardly stellar NBA career.

by Michael Bean on Apr 4, 2006 9:20 AM CDT reply actions

Solid College Backcourt

I don't think either of them are ready for the NBA, but Farmer has been solid and was the best player on the floor last night for the Bruins. Afflalo played terrible but averaged over 16 for the season. Unfortunately for Bruins' fans, he didn't play as well during the tournament.

As far as college backcourts, UCLA's is near the top. Nova was by far the best this season. Iowa State's is solid but too far under the radar. A lot of other teams have one amazing guard but no one can name their backcourt mate.

Farmer and Afflalo may be overrated but they are still talented. Most people, including me, didn't get to see UCLA play too many times this season until the NCAA tournament. I came away very impressed with Farmer.

--AW--

by awiggo on Apr 4, 2006 9:40 AM CDT reply actions

Backcourt

I have watched every televised game this year and last year, and can say that Farmar is a little overrated. He is a decent shooter and passer, but he needs to work on his ballhandling, especially in traffic. Afflalo is usually the real deal, but he was shut down by Brewer in this game. If you had seen any of the games earlier this year, you would have seen how good Afflalo can be. As for Collison, he is a pretty good ballhandler and is very fast, but he tends to play out of control sometimes, especially when he is racing to the rim.

However, I do think that they are one of the top 5 backcourts in the country. I also think that with experience (the team had only 2 seniors and was missing Josh Shipp, considered their best all-around player) they will be better next year. Hopefully, they will get the right draw to make it to the championship game next year, so they can finish the job.

GO BRUINS. HOOK 'EM HORNS.

A Trojan can only be used once. A Bruin is forever.

by uclawarren on Apr 4, 2006 9:45 AM CDT reply actions

Farmar

Since one of the Bruin spies has decided to out me on the bruinsnation.com site, I should make sure that Farmar does get his due. He played well all season, and very well in the tournament. I would not trade him for any other point guard in the country. But like I said above, he needs to improve on some things, like breaking down defenses and ballhandling in traffic. He has shown flashes of that this season, and I am sure in the offseason he will get his chance to improve on all of that. He was an extremely highly regarded high school player, and because of that, it is hard to play to the level of that hype. I think most people forget that he is only a sophomore. Someone tried comparing him to Andre Miller, but Miller's breakout season was his senior season. I think Farmar is well ahead of where Miller was in his sophomore season. I think Farmar-Afflalo will end up being the best backcourt in the nation next year.

GO BRUINS. HOOK 'EM HORNS.

A Trojan can only be used once. A Bruin is forever.

by uclawarren on Apr 4, 2006 10:29 AM CDT up reply actions

See

I think it's classless to deride you for your opinion. I think you should be able to give your opinion. I think most everyone here at BON has said Gibson was over rated and there have been numerous posts about what he needs to work on, but that does not mean he is not good, or that we hope he does not do well, just not as good as the media, who see him once or twice a year make him sound. (this is also similar to an unnamed white receiver we are not allowed to discuss).

I really like the way they left out your statement "I do think that they are one of the top 5 backcourts in the country". I also really enjoyed how they said they would accept constructive criticism, but then want to kick you out of the bruin nation for giving it. Which is it?

by billb on Apr 4, 2006 11:32 AM CDT up reply actions

Sweet Lord

What a vicious pack of jackals they have over there... BON has its internecine arguments (see: some mysterious white guy named Jordan Shipley) but rarely do they involve personal attacks for differing opinions.

Warren's dissent earned him the adjectives "pathetic", "classless", "disrespectful", "disingenuous", "ball-less", and "duplicitous", not to mention several people suggesting that he wasn't a "true" Bruin fan or should have his fan membership revoked.

I wonder, if we were all posting in this forum back in the Mackovic/Penders days, when Texas was more or less mediocre in every sport not included in the Summer Olympics, would we have the same negative, vindictive attitudes toward each other? Is it our fellowship in Texas' superior winning ways that allows us to be civil and friendly in spite of our differences?

Or is it that UCLA fans, Warren excepted, are a bunch of jerks?

Warren, I know true loyalties are hard to set aside, but you might consider letting the UCLA pukes go their own way. BON will always be happy to hear your dissenting opinion and discuss its merits/lack thereof in a more or less adult manner.

Well, if nothing else, this gives me a renewed interest in the future UT/UCLA football games...

by Kahuna on Apr 4, 2006 12:37 PM CDT up reply actions

Internacine arguments are one thing...

but to support your team on one blog, and then openly criticize it on another blog is not going to get the respect of your peers, no matter how constructive the criticism. Not exactly what I would consider honorable behavior.

I would think Texas fans would react in much the same manner as "those vicious jackals" over on Bruinsnation if one of their own who professes to be a member of the "Burnt Orange Nation" hops on another teams blog site and proceeds to call out certain players as over-rated.

by stoptothink on Apr 4, 2006 1:21 PM CDT up reply actions

Yikes

I didn't mean to start an interscholastic (or interblog) rivalry here...for those who don't know, I went to UCLA as an undergrad and Texas for business school. I will ALWAYS be a Bruin first (regardless of what some people may think), and a Texas fan second. Think of it like this: if you (UCLA) and your friend (Texas) played in a basketball league, you would always be rooting for both yourself and your friend to win, unless they were playing against you. That is how I feel about the teams.

As for this current argument, it started because someone on this board called Farmar overrated (and said that UCLA's backcourt was not that good), so I, being a UCLA fan who has watched all their games this year, thought I should put in my 2 cents. No one brought it up on bruinsnation.com, so I didn't think it necessary to bring it up, especially the day after such a painful loss.

But I don't think that I (or people who disagree with me) should be labeled as representative of UCLA fans. Honestly, I think this argument has gone further than necessary.

GO BRUINS. HOOK 'EM HORNS.

A Trojan can only be used once. A Bruin is forever.

by uclawarren on Apr 4, 2006 1:34 PM CDT up reply actions

You can say this about any discussion anywhere

on the internet:
Honestly, I think this argument has gone further than necessary.

Leslie beat Adam at pool!

by Wells on Apr 4, 2006 1:36 PM CDT up reply actions

Being a USC fan

probably does not help your argument, no matter how knowledgeable you are on UCLA.

Leslie beat Adam at pool!

by Wells on Apr 5, 2006 10:32 AM CDT up reply actions

Well...

That's how they are over at BN.

BON has always entertained enthusiastic and spirited discussions. When they don't agree they let you know but never with personal attacks or threats of banning you off the site if there is something they don't agree with. There is always some good natured needling but also very informative.

There is a lot of maturity and class on this blog and I'm happy that they let me post here.

I know- gratuitous sucking up.

Fight On!

by Paragon SC on Apr 4, 2006 9:38 PM CDT up reply actions

I wish you SC folks would just go now

We beat you. Fade into oblivion.

by GoHorns on Apr 5, 2006 9:40 AM CDT up reply actions

Well...

I guess I had that one coming.

Fight On!

by Paragon SC on Apr 5, 2006 6:53 PM CDT up reply actions

Just kidding

It's good to have dissenting views every once in a while. And you're not just assholes coming on to rip us for no good reason. It seems y'all are here for the same reasons we are. Good conversation about sports (focused on Texas).

by GoHorns on Apr 6, 2006 8:24 AM CDT up reply actions

Understood

Lots of great topics here. I would never step outside the lines of being a guest here on the blog. All have been hospitable here.

Fight On!

by Paragon SC on Apr 7, 2006 9:33 PM CDT up reply actions

Yeah

it's definitely legitimate to say they are a top 5 backcourt. They had an incredibly consistent season (it seems, not that I've been following too closely). I'm just not sure they're going to be too special at the next level.

by Michael Bean on Apr 4, 2006 9:57 AM CDT reply actions

BON Editors

You guys did a fine job of comparing UT's strengths and weaknesses against each of our opponents throughout the season. Just for fun, how do you think UT would have matched up against Florida if we had made the championship game?

Patience Restored

by patienthornsfan on Apr 5, 2006 9:46 AM CDT reply actions

Probably Close to Even

Florida was really playing well to end the season staring with their win over Kentucky, then through the SEC tournament, and then for all six rounds of the NCAA tournament.

Florida is slightly deeper than Texas but relies mainly on their first seven guys. Taurean Green doesn't provide a scoring threat but does take care of the basketball well at the point guard. He would be matched up with Kenton Paulino. KP has a more consistent jump shot and takes care of the ball reasonably well. Green is a better distributor. No signifcant advantage.

Gibson and Lee Humphrey would match up at the shooting guard. Both are streaky shooters. Gibson is better on defense and adds the occasional dribble drive. Slight Advantage Gibson.

Tucker and Corey Brewer. PJ is the biggest matchup problem is college basketball, but Brewer might be the best equipped to handle him. Brewer is nearly as long as PJ but doesn't have the same build. Brewer is as quick if not quicker than PJ and could draw fouls on Tucker. If Tucker played more physical, Brewer would have to rely on his bigs to help out. Almost even, but slightly favoring PJ.

Buckman and Al Horford. Both of these guys have huge bodies. Horford may even be more physical than Brad. He led the Gators in rebounding. He can also block the occasional shot. Buckman has more range on his jump shot but is not as active on the boards. Advantage Horford.

Aldridge and Joakim Noah. Both are longer than seven feet. Noah played exceptional over the last month of the season. Noah is skinny but still may be more physical than Aldridge. Noah doesn't have great low post moves but is an animal on the glass. He also has superb shot blocking skills. If Aldridge relied on his fade away, Texas probably would have lost. Slight advantage Noah.

It would have been a great matchup. Both teams are loaded with athletes and dominate down low. Both teams have guards who can score and are very streaky shooters. Texas relied on defense and rebounding. Florida plays good defense too but is a better offensive team in the half court than Texas. The Gators also have another body or two if fouls or fatigue became a factor. The Longhorns would have had a better shot at matching the scoring of the Gators but still probably would have come up short.

Just my take. Say what you will about a one and done tournament deciding the national champion, at the end of the year no team was playing better than Florida.

--AW--

by awiggo on Apr 5, 2006 7:14 PM CDT up reply actions