Can Gators repeat in NCAA?
Florida's Billy Donovan emphasizes team, not individuals
What does it take to win during March Madness? Big men, 3-point shooters or defense? With Joakim Noah, Al Horford, Lee Humphrey and Corey Brewer, UF has it all.
What does it take to win college basketball’s national championship?
Talented players help. So does great coaching. A team achieving its peak during March Madness doesn’t hurt, either.
Teams have won titles with great defenses. Others have won with great inside games. Or three-point shooting. If you’re the Florida Gators, however, you do it with all of the above. But most of all, you do it with teamwork.
Last March, the Gators were a No. 4 seed as the NCAA men’s basketball tournament began. By the time it was over, they had become national champs. Three players -- Joakim Noah, Al Horford and Corey Brewer -- turned down the chance to earn millions of dollars in the NBA draft, instead remaining at the University of Florida in an effort to win a second national title.
If ever there was a team in college basketball which plays unselfishly, it’s the Gators. Any of the starting five -- or maybe even two or three players off the bench -- can end up the team’s leading scorer in a game. In fact, there have been seven different players who have been Florida’s leading scorer in a game this season.
Maybe it’s guards Lee Humphrey or Taurean Green from three-point range. Or maybe it’s Noah or Horford inside the paint. Or perhaps versatile defender Brewer is doing it with steals.
In the final analysis, however, it doesn’t really matter to Coach Billy Donovan -- or the players -- who leads the team in scoring. This is, after all, a team that emphasizes playing as one, and is rewarded for it in victories.
Evidence is found in the starting five’s scoring averages. All five average in double figures. The team’s leading scorer is Green at 13.6 points per game. Brewer is at 13.0, Noah at 12.7, Horford at 12.6 and Humphrey at 10.2. Noah and Horford are both averaging better than eight rebounds a game.
No wonder the Gators are 26-5 and Southeastern Conference regular season champions. Every opponent is setting its eyes on the Gators, which makes every game more difficult to win.
So who will be it when March Madness has come an gone? The Gators again? Ohio State? Wisconsin? North Carolina?
Or will it be a Cinderella team, a team like Florida was last year, which surprises everyone and wins the national title? A Butler, maybe. Or Air Force. Or Notre Dame.
Who knows? What we do know is, it will be another exciting time for college basketball.
