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Complete repeat
Florida finishes off Ohio State for second straight title
Tuesday April 3, 2007
ATLANTA (AP) -- The Florida Gators took a chomp out of NCAA history with the
repeat they simply had to have.
Now they want more. They want to be called one of the best teams of all
time.
The Gators made their case Monday night with an 84-75 victory over Ohio
State to capture the second straight national championship that was their
only reasonable goal this season.
They became the first team to go back-to-back since Duke in 1992 and the
first ever to repeat with the same starting five.
"I think this team should go down as one of the best teams in college
basketball history," coach Billy Donovan said. "Not as the most talented,
and not on style points -- but because they encompassed what the word 'team'
means."
Al Horford had 18 points and 12 rebounds, Taurean Green had 16 points and
Greg Oden's 25 points and 12 rebounds weren't enough for Ohio State (35-4)
to stop the Gators (35-5) from completing the quest they set upon when all
the starters delayed their NBA plans for a try at another title.
"We all love each other and we all love playing with each other," Green
said. "People made huge sacrifices. They all came back for this and wouldn't
have been satisfied without it."
While the debate about the best teams of all time can truly begin, there is
no denying that Florida's overall athletic program is the best in the
nation.
This win completes a 2007 championship-game sweep of the Buckeyes in the two
biggest college sports -- men's hoops and football. Florida, a 41-14 winner
in the football title game in January, remains the only program in history
to hold both championships at the same time.
"I've said it a thousand times -- once you think you've got it all figured
out, you get in trouble," Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley said.
"We're just enjoying tonight."
The celebration looked much the same as last year. Lots of jersey tugging,
jumping onto press row and Joakim Noah running into the stands to hug it out
with loved ones.
Donovan added another gold star to his resume, which figures to command more
than his current $1.7 million next season, whether he returns to Florida or
bolts for a possible job offer at Kentucky.
"Right here at the University of Florida, I'm going to enjoy this moment
right now," Donovan said. "All that stuff will be addressed, but now isn't
the time to address it."
His job this season was hardly just a matter of rolling the ball out there.
He had to keep everyone motivated and focused -- at first when things seemed
too easy, then later when the Gators lost three of four toward the end of
the regular season.
They finished with a 10-game winning streak and haven't lost a postseason
game in 18 tries, counting sweeps at the Southeastern Conference tournaments
the last two years.
But all teams, no matter how good, need something to fire them up. On
Sunday, the Gators found it when Ohio State's Ron Lewis labeled Florida only
"good," not "great" or "excellent."
Lewis probably shouldn't have gone there.
"Great teams never lose to good teams," forward Chris Richard said. "It's
special and it speaks for itself. We're now part of history."
All season -- including in the 86-60 victory over Ohio State in December --
the Gators have morphed into whatever kind of team they needed to be to win,
and this one was no different.
Stopping Oden figured to be the key, but really it was more complex than
that. The 7-foot freshman, who may be one-year-and-done with the NBA
beckoning, stayed out of foul trouble and played 38 minutes -- just what the
Buckeyes figured they needed to have a chance.
Florida's focus, however, was more on stopping the rest of the team. Oden
drew mostly single coverage when the ball went into the post. Donovan played
a lot of zone and mixed his big men in and out. Horford, Richard and Noah
all took turns, and 6-10 freshman Marreese Speights was added to the mix to
give Florida five more fouls to play with.
"They had four bodies running in at me," Oden said. "Chris Richard, I swear
he plays on the football team."
Oden had to work for his points and Ohio State couldn't take advantage of
any other matchups, especially on the perimeter. Ivan Harris was the only
Buckeye to make a 3-pointer over the first 39-plus minutes of the game, and
he finished 2-for-8. Mike Conley Jr. finished with 20 points for Ohio State,
but lots of them came late after the Buckeyes were playing big-time
catch-up.
Meanwhile, one thing Florida has always been able to do is shoot the ball --
a nation-leading 53 percent this year -- and Monday night was no exception.
The Gators went 10-for-18 from 3-point range.
And Florida also had quicker hands.
How frustrating it must have been for Ohio State to watch Oden block shot
after shot, only to see the Gators grab the rebound and feed back out to Lee
Humphrey for a 3.
That happened twice in the second half, both times when an Oden block looked
like it might spark Ohio State, which kept the game in reach but couldn't
get the deficit below six.
"The difference was they made some incredible plays, and we took away what
we wanted to take away," OSU coach Thad Matta said. "They were shooting
runners in. When you're playing a great team like Florida and those guys
step up and make the plays, there's not a lot you can do. They made some
incredible plays on us."
Green finished 3-for-3 from 3-point range and Humphrey was his usual killer
self, going 4-for-7 and scoring 14 points. Florida's versatility showed most
in the first half when those two and Brewer (13 points) hit
back-to-back-to-back 3s to push Florida's lead to double digits.
Horford had a monster game, bodying up with the 7-foot Oden on defense and
more than holding his own on the other end. Those runners Matta was talking
about -- a bunch came from Horford, who spotted up and made three
15-plus-foot jumpers and twisted and turned for a few more hoops.
Clearly, another year in college has helped this 6-10 junior, who no looks
every bit like a lottery pick.
Noah, on the other hand, probably sacrificed the most. He might have been
the top pick had he left last season, but the presence of Oden and Kevin
Durant, to say nothing of Noah's dwindling stats, have pushed him down.
He finished with eight points and three rebounds in this one, but big
individual numbers were never the point with the Gators this year.
They came back for the championship and anything less would have felt
hollow.
But there will be no regrets. Instead, how about a nice little debate about
the best programs of all time?
"It's in the book," Noah said. "It's not going anywhere."
Repeats will almost certainly go down as a rarity in this age of
one-year-and-done college players, and nobody in the last 15 years -- even
before the NBA money started skyrocketing -- could do it anyway.
"Kids don't stay long when they have a high level of success," Donovan said.
"To keep a program together these days, it's very, very hard. Twenty years
ago, all the kids would be coming back and the whole thing would start, `now
can you three-peat?"'
There were, indeed, a few fans yelling: "One more year. One more year. One
more year," as the trophy presentation began.
Nothing wrong with dreaming, right?
In a way, though, the Gators have already lived out their dream.
Complete repeat
Florida finishes off Ohio State for second straight title
Tuesday April 3, 2007
ATLANTA (AP) -- The Florida Gators took a chomp out of NCAA history with the
repeat they simply had to have.
Now they want more. They want to be called one of the best teams of all
time.
The Gators made their case Monday night with an 84-75 victory over Ohio
State to capture the second straight national championship that was their
only reasonable goal this season.
They became the first team to go back-to-back since Duke in 1992 and the
first ever to repeat with the same starting five.
"I think this team should go down as one of the best teams in college
basketball history," coach Billy Donovan said. "Not as the most talented,
and not on style points -- but because they encompassed what the word 'team'
means."
Al Horford had 18 points and 12 rebounds, Taurean Green had 16 points and
Greg Oden's 25 points and 12 rebounds weren't enough for Ohio State (35-4)
to stop the Gators (35-5) from completing the quest they set upon when all
the starters delayed their NBA plans for a try at another title.
"We all love each other and we all love playing with each other," Green
said. "People made huge sacrifices. They all came back for this and wouldn't
have been satisfied without it."
While the debate about the best teams of all time can truly begin, there is
no denying that Florida's overall athletic program is the best in the
nation.
This win completes a 2007 championship-game sweep of the Buckeyes in the two
biggest college sports -- men's hoops and football. Florida, a 41-14 winner
in the football title game in January, remains the only program in history
to hold both championships at the same time.
"I've said it a thousand times -- once you think you've got it all figured
out, you get in trouble," Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley said.
"We're just enjoying tonight."
The celebration looked much the same as last year. Lots of jersey tugging,
jumping onto press row and Joakim Noah running into the stands to hug it out
with loved ones.
Donovan added another gold star to his resume, which figures to command more
than his current $1.7 million next season, whether he returns to Florida or
bolts for a possible job offer at Kentucky.
"Right here at the University of Florida, I'm going to enjoy this moment
right now," Donovan said. "All that stuff will be addressed, but now isn't
the time to address it."
His job this season was hardly just a matter of rolling the ball out there.
He had to keep everyone motivated and focused -- at first when things seemed
too easy, then later when the Gators lost three of four toward the end of
the regular season.
They finished with a 10-game winning streak and haven't lost a postseason
game in 18 tries, counting sweeps at the Southeastern Conference tournaments
the last two years.
But all teams, no matter how good, need something to fire them up. On
Sunday, the Gators found it when Ohio State's Ron Lewis labeled Florida only
"good," not "great" or "excellent."
Lewis probably shouldn't have gone there.
"Great teams never lose to good teams," forward Chris Richard said. "It's
special and it speaks for itself. We're now part of history."
All season -- including in the 86-60 victory over Ohio State in December --
the Gators have morphed into whatever kind of team they needed to be to win,
and this one was no different.
Stopping Oden figured to be the key, but really it was more complex than
that. The 7-foot freshman, who may be one-year-and-done with the NBA
beckoning, stayed out of foul trouble and played 38 minutes -- just what the
Buckeyes figured they needed to have a chance.
Florida's focus, however, was more on stopping the rest of the team. Oden
drew mostly single coverage when the ball went into the post. Donovan played
a lot of zone and mixed his big men in and out. Horford, Richard and Noah
all took turns, and 6-10 freshman Marreese Speights was added to the mix to
give Florida five more fouls to play with.
"They had four bodies running in at me," Oden said. "Chris Richard, I swear
he plays on the football team."
Oden had to work for his points and Ohio State couldn't take advantage of
any other matchups, especially on the perimeter. Ivan Harris was the only
Buckeye to make a 3-pointer over the first 39-plus minutes of the game, and
he finished 2-for-8. Mike Conley Jr. finished with 20 points for Ohio State,
but lots of them came late after the Buckeyes were playing big-time
catch-up.
Meanwhile, one thing Florida has always been able to do is shoot the ball --
a nation-leading 53 percent this year -- and Monday night was no exception.
The Gators went 10-for-18 from 3-point range.
And Florida also had quicker hands.
How frustrating it must have been for Ohio State to watch Oden block shot
after shot, only to see the Gators grab the rebound and feed back out to Lee
Humphrey for a 3.
That happened twice in the second half, both times when an Oden block looked
like it might spark Ohio State, which kept the game in reach but couldn't
get the deficit below six.
"The difference was they made some incredible plays, and we took away what
we wanted to take away," OSU coach Thad Matta said. "They were shooting
runners in. When you're playing a great team like Florida and those guys
step up and make the plays, there's not a lot you can do. They made some
incredible plays on us."
Green finished 3-for-3 from 3-point range and Humphrey was his usual killer
self, going 4-for-7 and scoring 14 points. Florida's versatility showed most
in the first half when those two and Brewer (13 points) hit
back-to-back-to-back 3s to push Florida's lead to double digits.
Horford had a monster game, bodying up with the 7-foot Oden on defense and
more than holding his own on the other end. Those runners Matta was talking
about -- a bunch came from Horford, who spotted up and made three
15-plus-foot jumpers and twisted and turned for a few more hoops.
Clearly, another year in college has helped this 6-10 junior, who no looks
every bit like a lottery pick.
Noah, on the other hand, probably sacrificed the most. He might have been
the top pick had he left last season, but the presence of Oden and Kevin
Durant, to say nothing of Noah's dwindling stats, have pushed him down.
He finished with eight points and three rebounds in this one, but big
individual numbers were never the point with the Gators this year.
They came back for the championship and anything less would have felt
hollow.
But there will be no regrets. Instead, how about a nice little debate about
the best programs of all time?
"It's in the book," Noah said. "It's not going anywhere."
Repeats will almost certainly go down as a rarity in this age of
one-year-and-done college players, and nobody in the last 15 years -- even
before the NBA money started skyrocketing -- could do it anyway.
"Kids don't stay long when they have a high level of success," Donovan said.
"To keep a program together these days, it's very, very hard. Twenty years
ago, all the kids would be coming back and the whole thing would start, `now
can you three-peat?"'
There were, indeed, a few fans yelling: "One more year. One more year. One
more year," as the trophy presentation began.
Nothing wrong with dreaming, right?
In a way, though, the Gators have already lived out their dream.
