Florida Gators 2006 National Champs

Thanks for the pic Doobie

Woohoo!!! I can finally retire all of my 1996 National Championship Gators T-Shirts. Between the paint, dirt, food, and blood stains (some very intense basketball games) they have on them, it's probably the right thing to do. Sports Authority and the Union's Gator store are going to be making a killing on me.

Ok, on with the game. Wow!!! What a complete game. Taurean continued to struggle from the field, but he was the general on the floor. Eight assists and one turnover is very impressive. And the most important thing is he can finally rest those legs. It seems like every box score I look at, he has a minimum of 36 minutes a game. Hopefully next year he will have a suitable backup and bring back the hot shooting he displayed earlier in the year.

Humphreys continued to be consistent from the three point line. He is the Steve Kerr of our team, with the addition of some great defense. This guys defense is so overlooked, but when it comes down to it he is our best one-on-one defender with quick guards.

Corey Brewer put up two great back to back performances in the Final Four. This guy is going to be real special. Sometimes when he gets hot he makes some bad shot selections, but he makes some of them so you have to give him the green light. If he can put on some weight and work out in the offseason he is gonna be a lottery pick after next season.

Al Horford is Mr. Consistency. If it wasn't for Noah, he would be a double double guy every game. Would love to see him get the ball more in the post next year, and unfortunately I think we are going to see that (see two paragraphs down). It amazes me how good he is with passing, ball handling, and controlling the boards. The guy is so much stronger than he looks.

And then there is Mr. MVP. He is the heart of this team. When I think of this guy the words that I think of are team, unselfish, heart, hustle, intimidating, fun, work ethic, etc. I'm sure there are a lot more. He is the real deal. The only thing he would need to improve if he wants to be successful in the NBA is a mid range jump shot.

Speaking of the NBA, I can't see him not taking advantage of the opportunity to go this year. I know he is having fun and all, but the ultimate goal is to make it to the NBA and make some money (yes, I know he already has it, but it's not the same). Right now his stock is as high it's gonna get unless the Gators repeat (unlikely).

I'll wrap up this post with the bench play. They all did great. Richard provided some tough defense down low and got some easy buckets. Hodge had some great defense and came away with some steals. But what I was so happy to see is Adrian Moss playing well in this game. This guy has so much heart, and I am guessing most people who went through the injuries he went through the past couple of years would have hung up the sneakers a long time ago. Just shows you how tough this guy is. He is the only guy on this team who went through all of the 1st and 2nd round mishaps of the past. What a way to go out, a National Champ.

What am I thinking? How can I write a post like this and not comment on the superb coaching of Billy Donovan. I am not going to lie. Earlier in the season I was one of those guys complaining about the lack of game time adjustments made in the Tennesee and South Carolina games. Well, I think Billy D proved me and all of the doubters wrong. He is one the of the elite coaches in College Basketball. His resume certainly proves it, and last nights game was a big exclamation point. The last time I saw a coach get outcoached like that was the Florida / Michigan State championship game back in 2000 (damn Izzo). Well, we can finally put that to rest.

Thanks Billy D and this years Florida Gator team. Go Gators!!!!