tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33624629.post7767109425486535504..comments2024-03-17T03:18:56.070-04:00Comments on Dan Shanoff: Florida: Best. Team. Ever.(But I'll Settle for "Best of '07")Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger61125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33624629.post-87532035602961246632007-04-03T18:30:00.000-04:002007-04-03T18:30:00.000-04:00I think that what David was referring to was that ...I think that what David was referring to was that every team mentioned in the entire thread, not just since 2000 could beat that Duke team. Such as the Fab Five, UNLV, Duke 91-92, Arkansas, UNC 2005, UConn 99 and 2004, all 3 Kentcuky teams from the mid 90s, Arizona 97. Though I would argue that the Duke team would probably lose to every team since 2000 except 2003 Syracuse.David Kippehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09873631867494898033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33624629.post-5820644597921897522007-04-03T17:33:00.000-04:002007-04-03T17:33:00.000-04:00To the David that says the '01 Devils would have b...To the David that says the '01 Devils would have been squashed by everyone mentioned you are wrong. I think since 2000 the only teams that would have beaten that Duke team are the '05 Tar Heels and maybe '04 UConn. It has been 6 years and how quickly people forget how good that Duke team was.futurelegendvinceyounghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10321227142567411487noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33624629.post-74369204556144349922007-04-03T16:35:00.000-04:002007-04-03T16:35:00.000-04:00How the supposed "Best Team Ever loses three times...How the supposed "Best Team Ever loses three times in a row to sub-par competition in the regular season is beyond me. Also, it's not like their competition in the last two years' tourneys have been all that outstanding.Tacomakerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11876391566374581584noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33624629.post-66371480748118383752007-04-03T15:55:00.000-04:002007-04-03T15:55:00.000-04:00Would anyone agree that people are starting to tal...Would anyone agree that people are starting to talk about this Florida team, the same way people talked about the Miami football teams from a few years ago?David Kippehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09873631867494898033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33624629.post-14593668719066919142007-04-03T15:50:00.000-04:002007-04-03T15:50:00.000-04:00David, you are saying things that look horrible fo...David, you are saying things that look horrible for me since we share the same name, damn it! That Duke team would have been squashed by every single team mentioned in this thread today.David Kippehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09873631867494898033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33624629.post-91810168016679719352007-04-03T15:14:00.000-04:002007-04-03T15:14:00.000-04:00Florida is not even the best starting 5 since 2000...Florida is not even the best starting 5 since 2000. A couple people mentioned 2004 UCONN, but what about 2001 Duke? Battier, Boozer, Jason Williams (pre-motorbike), Dunleavy, Duhon. 4 NBA starters and a sixth man.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03647959764723468126noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33624629.post-86386735277285671272007-04-03T14:53:00.000-04:002007-04-03T14:53:00.000-04:00sorry, they led the nation in FG% on offense and w...sorry, they led the nation in FG% on offense and were very good on FG % defense.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14327300576275668222noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33624629.post-32578223865179500842007-04-03T14:52:00.000-04:002007-04-03T14:52:00.000-04:00Florida should go down as at least a top 3 team. ...Florida should go down as at least a top 3 team. I would put them behind those old UCLA teams for sure. But I think they are right up there with early '90s Duke and UNLV. <BR/><BR/>The impressive thing about this Florida team compared to UNLV and Duke is their defense and balance. That Duke team had 4 or 5 10+ point scorers but they did not have nearly as good of defense as UF. Same goes for UNLV. <BR/><BR/>This Florida team led the nation in FG% defense in the last two years. They were also very near the top in defense FG% and #1 in 3 point % against. Perhaps they are not appreciated because of how easy they made it look. If you look at Florida's tournament runs, very few of the games were even close and in all of them except for the Georgetown game, the opponent never had a chance to tie or go ahead in the last 2 minutes.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14327300576275668222noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33624629.post-5892248737199883212007-04-03T13:58:00.000-04:002007-04-03T13:58:00.000-04:00I wonder if Florida's place in history will be sli...I wonder if Florida's place in history will be slightly tarnished due to the lack of memorable games. There have been no moments like the Laettner shot to provide lasting memories of this team. Of course, that should be even more of a reason to rank them with the all-time greats--they blow everyone out.<BR/><BR/>Florida has won 18 consecutive postseason games (which I assume is second all-time, after that UCLA run in the 60's and 70's). The closest NCAA tournament games during Florida's streak were the 4-point win over Georgetown last year and the 7-point win over Purdue this year. Other than those, the margin of victory has always been at least 8.James Sinclairhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10213045233649924060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33624629.post-42135805942417344962007-04-03T12:42:00.000-04:002007-04-03T12:42:00.000-04:0090 UNLV, 92 Duke, 96 Kentucky, 2004 UConn, would a...90 UNLV, 92 Duke, 96 Kentucky, 2004 UConn, would all beat this Florida squad. No doubt the Gators are great, but not as great as any one of those teams. but hey Dan, your a gator fan, I would not expect you to say anything different. Now as far as accomplishments? Definitely could be argued as the best since 1985. Be tough to argue against them other than Duke.David Kippehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09873631867494898033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33624629.post-84081319570789348972007-04-03T12:34:00.000-04:002007-04-03T12:34:00.000-04:00Oh and Dan, NBAdraft.net has the following in...Oh and Dan,<BR/><BR/> NBAdraft.net has the following in their mock draft (which I think has a lot of stock to it)<BR/><BR/><BR/>Al Horford #4<BR/>Joakim Noah #6<BR/>Corey Brewer #8SAMOhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05147036967049463093noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33624629.post-33456955753320173742007-04-03T12:30:00.000-04:002007-04-03T12:30:00.000-04:00I do think this team was solid but not the best ev...I do think this team was solid but not the best ever. Maybe they will be the best ever in the post-Garnett era, but not of all-time. The only way we will get a team in the future that will be as good as this one is if also we get a group of great players to stay another year, or if we witness an insane freshman class, something better than the Fab 5...imagine Ohio State but with Kevin Durant also.SAMOhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05147036967049463093noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33624629.post-70846342721729691102007-04-03T11:41:00.000-04:002007-04-03T11:41:00.000-04:00As an "unbiased" Illini fan, I don't see how the 1...As an "unbiased" Illini fan, I don't see how the 1982 North Carolina team hasn't been even mentioned yet if only for the presence of Michael Jordan. Add in James Worthy and Sam Perkins as fellow starters and that would have been a top team in the NBA, much less college.Frank the Tankhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08122854104202974281noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33624629.post-63885169200418019692007-04-03T11:29:00.000-04:002007-04-03T11:29:00.000-04:00Thank god I got someone to cover my shift this mor...Thank god I got someone to cover my shift this morning. Jennifer read my post at the top for mention of Foley. I used gloat because typically our rivals really like to denigrate us so we have to throw it in their face to keep them from getting to high and mighty. I watched the game on tv this morning and I really don't think it did justice to how many Gator fans there were there last night. The thing with Joakim is that he is pretty funny. His postgame interview was hilarious. It was also the first time I had seen his mom. I think his dad is prettier than she is. I really like how Richard plays. Can we nickname him C. Dick? C Dick Run, C Dick shoot, C Dick explode on that backdoor jam. Awesome. I have a crappy tv so it didn't so justice to Brewer or Oden but I bet it was great on hi-def. In person their performances were transcendent last night.<BR/><BR/>I know that we are always in the top schools in those all sports competitions. If you go back to when we won our first title in FB for the 96 season we have won 9 titles 2 in fb, 2 in bb, 3 in womens tennis which was fun to watch when I was there, 1 in women's soccer and one in men's golf. We have the possibility to maybe win another one in golf and gymnastics this year. This doesn't include all the natl indoor tennis titles. We have been in the top ten of the directors cup rankings every year since 83. Only other school to match this is UCLA. I think it is all the work of Dr. Cade. Oh yeah we also had a 14 year streak in the SEC allsports competition ending in 40/05. <BR/><BR/>We may not be the number one athletic program of all time but we sure as hell have been enjoying one of the most dominant runs in NCAA history. Then again we are the 3rd or 4th largest university in the country (OSU is 1 I think) so we should be able to compete with a larger talent pool to work with. Plus we actually graduate most of our players. <BR/><BR/>I was thinking how the champions league is similar to March Madness. Think about it.The heroin sheikhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16860402732123149415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33624629.post-59338413857391961402007-04-03T11:13:00.000-04:002007-04-03T11:13:00.000-04:00When talking about a team's greatness, I don't thi...When talking about a team's greatness, I don't think you can play the "Team X would beat Team Y" game. Hell, we can't even accurately predict things like "Gator football team would beat OSU football team" even when we get to watch both teams playing in the same year, let alone the same era.TJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14923521765537437204noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33624629.post-25125196948451122642007-04-03T11:04:00.000-04:002007-04-03T11:04:00.000-04:00Great Great team, but nowhere near the best ever. ...Great Great team, but nowhere near the best ever. The UCLA teams would pose huge matchup problems for them.<BR/><BR/>I would love to see Florida play the 1990 UNLV who beat Duke by 30.Awful Announcing-https://www.blogger.com/profile/02512793293145554219noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33624629.post-64977234805552834842007-04-03T11:03:00.000-04:002007-04-03T11:03:00.000-04:00Best of post 1985? Just because UNLV didn't win b...Best of post 1985? Just because UNLV didn't win back to back titles doesn't make them less of a great team. Florida's title last year was the last of a watered down college basketball era (Beating George Mason in the semi's?). The 90-91 Rebels would beat Florida, the 96-97 Kentucky Wildcats would beat Florida, the early 90s UNC teams with Jamison and Wallace would beat Florida...David Fucillohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11053410473990279942noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33624629.post-80098260721549032372007-04-03T10:49:00.000-04:002007-04-03T10:49:00.000-04:00No mention of the 82-85 Georgetown teams - don't c...No mention of the 82-85 Georgetown teams - don't care that they didn't win it more than once. But honestly Dan, you thought ODEN handled the frontcourt well... Patrick Ewing was the most impressive college big man I ever saw play. Period. And the surrounding talent was just as good, if not better. Sorry. Congrats to the Gators on an impressive run, but if some are guilty of romanticizing the past, others are guilty of doing the same thing with today's teams.Mikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01768404184987332719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33624629.post-67622256234714123772007-04-03T10:35:00.000-04:002007-04-03T10:35:00.000-04:00I am not sure they were the best team this year. I...I am not sure they were the best team this year. <BR/><BR/>I am very impressed they won back to back, however I would not even consider putting them in the top 10 of best teams in historyDiggingOuthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00634022507349233974noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33624629.post-13253742937300947812007-04-03T10:34:00.000-04:002007-04-03T10:34:00.000-04:00I think your post is just a symptom of the times w...I think your post is just a symptom of the times whereas the things that happen now are the best things in history. There is no way to judge that in current context and you are simply giving in to present day greatness versus measuring against history. Many of the things pundits have declared "the best ever" (remember that WWL special with the USC football team?) will simply be regarded as very good or great. This need to think that because it happened yesterday means it is the best thing ever is very disturbing and does not bode well for us as a culture.Petehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17759059813818382920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33624629.post-12079157880312132712007-04-03T10:28:00.000-04:002007-04-03T10:28:00.000-04:00Why is there no mention of Jeremy Foley?If I were ...Why is there no mention of Jeremy Foley?<BR/><BR/>If I were a Florida fan, I would be trying to bronze a statue of him.Jenniferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06234390321441191258noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33624629.post-8087676407406241382007-04-03T10:23:00.000-04:002007-04-03T10:23:00.000-04:00I think people will remember Oden from this game a...I think people will remember Oden from this game as well. I'll remember the way he kicked his feet up after each dunk and hung on the rim a bit. All the other players are running back down the court while he's acting like he's in high school. I'll remember the way the refs let Oden get away with fouls, while every Florida post player that touched him got called for a foul. I think people cried so much about the UCLA big men getting into trouble in the semis that the refs were going to try and protect Ohio State's big man a little bit. <BR/><BR/>Solid game plan, again, by Billy Donovan. Florida chose not to double Oden, knowing that Oden would hit some of his shots and make some free throws, but that the rest of the team could keep Ohio State's outside game in check. Sure enough, OSU couldn't get good looks from 3 point land. <BR/><BR/>A little better job by the refs and Florida wins by 20 again. <BR/><BR/>I agree that it's difficult to say this is one of the best teams ever considering the lack of superstars. However, great teams are more than just a collection of great players, as the recent USA basketball teams find out in international play. The US keeps losing because they don't have what we just saw on display with Florida: Team Basketeball.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13007834045654353202noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33624629.post-8876579921466237502007-04-03T10:12:00.000-04:002007-04-03T10:12:00.000-04:00I was maybe 9 years old when I read for the first ...I was maybe 9 years old when I read for the first time in an SI article (1980):<BR/><BR/>Gators eat Boogers<BR/><BR/><BR/>They made every shot they needed to, so it's not like they weren't the better team. A bit freaky the number of loose balls that went their way. But they definitely were #1, but certainly not in an imposing Georgetown/Kentucky/UNLV sort of way.<BR/><BR/><BR/>On an aside, early in the season teams play these "exempt" games where they experiment with rules. I would LOVE to see the NCAA experiment by taking away all three-pointers for an early-season tournament. Just to see what would happen.Brian in Oxfordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16053368055698118199noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33624629.post-75953872777987903632007-04-03T10:07:00.000-04:002007-04-03T10:07:00.000-04:00*sigh*Why is it no sports writer or announcer unde...*sigh*<BR/><BR/>Why is it no sports writer or announcer understands the difference between irony and coincidence?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33624629.post-78484841013689759652007-04-03T09:53:00.000-04:002007-04-03T09:53:00.000-04:00Kudos to those Buckeyes freshmen who played a heck...Kudos to those Buckeyes freshmen who played a heck of a game and made it to the NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP game.<BR/><BR/>I despise Noah. He makes Gator bball so annoying. I've always rooted for the Gators of past since they were the Florida team I liked (Miami and FSU do a great job of gaining 'haters'), but Noah makes you want to go get a tooth extraction instead of watch the game. <BR/><BR/>Congrats to the Gators for the back-to-back!Jenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11071405721004631626noreply@blogger.com