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Whipping

Well, that game pretty much sucked. What can I say? I thought Ohio State was better than that.

(An aside, before we get started here: I don't play fantasy sports, but I had a sort of fantasy-like dilemma tonight. Basically, I had Ohio State winning it all, and I was pulling for Ohio State, but if Florida won, I was actually going to win or tie for the win in both of my bracket groups. So who do I pull for? It was easy: I still went for Ohio State. And I don't even really like the Buckeyes for any reason. So I will never get people who like it when some NFL star torches their favorite team. Just absurd. (Plus it turned out my math was off and I might have lost anyway.))

Anyway, since the game was so lame, I just thought I'd share a few thoughts on some of the most famous players. And they are:

Joakim Noah: Could Noah have been any less impressive on the college game's biggest stage? He was plagued by foul trouble throughout, and he wasn't even aggressive when he was on the floor. Turned out Florida didn't need him, but it was surprising for a guy who plays so much on emotion.

Al Horford: I'd heard rumors this year that Horford was superior to his frontcourt running mate, and saw nothing tonight that would make me challenge that opinion. To be fair, I don't watch Florida much, but he was sweet. 18 points and 12 rebounds are plenty. Of course, Florida has so many widebodies up front that I probably confused half of his nicest plays with those of backup Chris Richard, who stepped up when Noah was out.

Mike Conley, Jr.: Conley finished with 20 points, six assists, and four steals, so it was a fine statistical night. But because he and his teammates got off to such a slow start, he had less of an impact than you'd think from just reading a box score. I don't know if you heard, but Billy Packer mentioned once or seven times that Conley plays low and can really challenge an opponent's dribble. He also braces himself a good minute before someone sets a pick on him. Thus, Florida neutralized his defense with screens whenever they needed to in the halfcourt.

Greg Oden: His performance wasn't quite as legendary as Jim Nantz and Packer were making it sound, but he played his guts out. 25 points, 12 rebounds, four blocks. Most of the time I've seen Oden this year, he's sort of blended in with his team, making some nice plays and disappearing for stretches. That was not the case tonight-he stood out the whole evening. While his defense was fantastic, I was most impressed with his offensive repertoire. He was not only bigger than Florida's inside players, he was quicker around the basket. I can't wait to see him in the pros, where he'll have some shooters that can spread the floor behind a deeper three-point line. I just hope he's not the next Patrick Ewing, which I guess is a pretty harsh standard to hold a freshman to.

Comments

David said…
oden needs to bulk up a lot to become a scorer... in my opinion.

else i see him becoming like a camby. adroit defenseman & rebounder, nominal scoring ability.

i don't think any of the florida guys are going to do anything in the pros. they are a good team, a very good team, but i don't think any of them are stars per se.
8:56 AM
John said…
I guess we'll soon be able to test your hypothesis re: the Florida players. I don't know if any of them are stars, but I think three of the four (minus Green) can become decent role players, especially Horford. But, that said, I wouldn't mind if the Nuggets grabbed Green, who may even fall to the second round.
9:10 AM
David said…
how 'bout some masters coverage up in here?

j/k
7:44 PM
Mike said…
Well, I would say Oden seems bigger already than Camby, and of course he's 18, so he should fill out no problem.

I sort of agree with both of you on Florida's lineup-they could all be solid pro players in certain roles, but I don't think any will be stars. Of course, one of them could fall in the draft to like the Spurs or something and do real well in the right system.

Masters, eh?
8:08 AM
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