Author: John Paulsen (Page 786 of 937)

The Gators had control for most of the game and capitalized on Ohio State’s dreadful 4-23 (17%) shooting from long range en route to an 84-75 win. Billy Donovan told his team that they were not “defending” anything – that they had to go out and play hungry, just like any other team – and that’s exactly what they did. The difference in the game was three-point shooting. The Buckeyes struggled for the entire game, while the Gators shot a blistering 10-18 (56%) from behind the arc.

A few random observations from the game:

The way Corey Brewer was writhing on the floor in the first half made me wonder if he was ever going to play basketball again. A minute later, he’s back in the game, going on to win Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four, an award I thought should have gone to Al Horford. Here is a look at each player’s stats from the two games:

Brewer: 32 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, 3 blocks
Horford: 27 points, 29 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 blocks

Brewer was terrific, especially defensively, but he only scored two points in the second half of the title game. Meanwhile, Horford scored 13 points in the second half – including several key jumpers and buzzer beaters – to ice the game for Florida. And how do you ignore Horford’s 29 rebounds?

But the best part about a Gator winning the MOP award is Billy Packer’s pronouncement towards the end of the game that Greg Oden was going to win it. Man, I love it when Billy’s wrong.

Speaking of Billy, he made some enemies tonight in Ohio with his pile-on statement at the end: “That’s some year for the Gators. National champions in football and now national champions in basketball.” That sound you hear is the groundbreaking of a Billy Packer voodoo doll factory in Columbus.

“Man, that’s some bullshit.” Some form of that statement is always uttered when a player gets called for what he believes to be an incorrect foul. It’s uncanny how players are always saying that right as the camera cuts to them heading to the bench. Othello Hunter filled the role nicely tonight.

Greg Oden is the real deal. It’s true; his performance in the tournament has not lived up to the hype. But his play against the best frontcourt in America – 25 points, 12 rebounds, four blocks – cements him in my mind as a top two pick. However, if I’m Jerry West and want the Grizzles to be an up-tempo team, I don’t know that I can pass on the jaw-dropping offense of Kevin Durant. That assumes that Memphis wins the lottery, of course.

I thought Oden’s block of Brewer in the first half was a foul. Sure, it was a spectacular play, but his body collided with Brewer’s and sent the Florida swingman tumbling to the floor. I guess the referee was thinking that the block had already occurred before the contact was made, because there’s no way Oden had the principle of verticality. Considering how tightly they were calling the Gator big men on the other end of the court, that play should have been called a foul.

When Jim Nantz was talking about how Oden “looks a little bit older,” saying that his mother carried around his birth certificate to prove his age, there was a shot of Oden’s mom and twenty-something brother. My wife continued Nantz’ statement: “And there’s his brother; he’s 10.”

Chris Richard is going to be a nice second round pick for some lucky NBA team. He’s 6’9”, strong as a bull, and showed some nice touch and quickness down low.

In my mind, Joakim Noah has officially been passed by Al Horford and Corey Brewer as a NBA prospect. Noah’s name might be called before Brewer’s, but Horford’s display of a clutch face up game in the second half makes him a legitimate top five pick. He already has the toughness and defense to play at the next level and if he can develop a consistent jumper, we might be looking at the next Elton Brand. Noah is still a lottery pick, but his lack of a 15’ jump shot is going to weigh down his draft stock. Speaking of Jo, what was the deal with that post game interview? You and your buddies are going to party for a couple of days? Really? Your team has just become the first in 15 years to win back-to-back titles and that’s what you want to say to the world?

So who thinks Donovan is going to jet to Kentucky? I’d be surprised if Florida didn’t match any offer the Wildcats put on the table.

After a slow start, this year’s tournament has really picked up. Looking back, the scores of the Elite Eight games were a little misleading. Memphis gave the Buckeyes a pretty good run, while that UCLA/Kansas game was nip and tuck until the Jayhawks’ wheels came off at the very end. (Remind me to never pick a Bill Self-led team to go to the Final Four again.) The Oregon/Florida game was closer than the score would indicate and G’town’s comeback against a talented (yet directionless) North Carolina squad provided some of the best moments of the tournament.

So, now we’ve got our Final Four, and we couldn’t have two better matchups. In the early game, we have the battle of two seven-footers — one’s a freshman phenom who has been destined for stardom since he was just a pup, while the other is a battle-tested junior who has worked on his game, developing into a future lottery pick. In the late game, we’ve got a rematch of last year’s title bout and, save for Jordan Farmar, all the stars from both teams stayed in school to play for this very opportunity.

This is a Final Four with some serious star power…

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