Well, it's official: Florida has repeated as NCAA champions.
Even though I had hoped it would be a closer game, I'm glad Florida won. Here's why. The Gators were a team full of players that had already won championships, yet elected to stay in school.
Granted, it's doubtful anyone from last year's team would have been taken high in the draft, and though Noah, Brewer and Horford are likely first-rounders, I question whether they will become impact players in the NBA. Still, they could have cashed in last year but decided not to. It's a shining example of why, as they always told us growing up, it's cool to stay in school.
I like LeBron James, and I'm just as amazed as everyone else that he's so good as such a young age. For that matter, I think Greg Oden will be pretty good in the NBA next year as a 19-year old. But for every LeBron or Oden (who probably would have left were it not for the NBA's new eligibility rule), there are plenty of flops that never succeed in the NBA.
And what are they left with? Besides the payments on their customized Hummer, not much. Thank goodness for the NBA's new rule mandating a year of college. Here's hoping Florida's success will help make it stick.
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3 comments:
You're right to applaud the effort that the kids coming back made. They hung together as a group and they won. I agree that we need more of this. However, there was at least one gator out there last night who, in my opinion, hurt his draft status. That wild hair, wild eyed freak known as Noah, would have gone in the top 5 last year. He led his team to an unexpected championship and many were extremely high on him. By coming back, though, he showed his true colors. He's a good rebounder and certainly an emotional boost to any lineup but he will NOT be a star at the next level. I doubt many will talk about it, because the team cemented their place in the record books. Out of all the guys that could have gone last year, Noah stood to lose the most and at the very least lost some of that cash. I'm sure he's glad that he came back, he just will be a few million lighter. I'm sure he'll get over it for the chance at that second championship!
Ps. maybe he can use his signing bonus to get a haircut!!
Interesting point, Kent. I do think that players who win it all stand to lose a lot by coming back, and Noah certainly wasn't scintillating in the final. But he was in foul trouble, so he didn't get many minutes. Besides, I don't think he'll amount to much in the NBA. Maybe 6-8 points a game.
I see him amounting to a Shane Battier-type...someone who does all the little things to make those around him better but lacking a little on the stats sheet.
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