Great Oden's Raven

The title is a quote from Anchorman, I know that it would be more fitting to go with a title that celebrated Florida given that they won the tourney, but I like this one better. Plus the whole "It's good...To Be...A Florida Gator" thing just doesn;t come through that well in print. Anyway, for my purposes, Oden was the main story because I don;t care as much about who wins these things as I do about who could possibly help the Celtics win a few playoff series in the next decade. I'm not trying to be greedy but winning three playoff series since Larry Bird retired is just not gonna cut it. But I digress, Oden looked frickin awesome and I want him more than ever. He had at least two incredible blocks that made me salivate plus he showed decent touch on his post moves and he's already a better free throw shoote than Tim Duncan or Shaq. The other big story from an NBA fans perspective was Corey Brewer emerging as the best pro prospect on the Florida. The hyperbole got a little bit out of control when Billy Packer started claiming that Brewer was effectively guarding both Oden and Conley on seperate plays. Neither Dennis Rodman nor Scottie Pippen could've pulled off that feet, and they're the two greatest defensive small forwards ever. Brewer is a fine player, but he's the type who fills out the highlite reels moreso than dominates a game. I also couldn;t help but notice he acts kinda like a douchebag on the court, to paraphrase John Thompson's comments after the game, it's a good thing they play so well on the court because otherwise their shenanigans drive me crazy. After a timeout half way through the first half he walked away from his own bench and started clapping towards the OSU players, then later in the game he wagged his finger in Oden's face after Oden went for a pump fake. Of course all of this was far more acceptable than seeing Noah perform his tired act in the midst of falling to the bottom of the lottery in next June's draft. The only way I will ever root fo Jo Noah is if he does his hair like Sanjaya (the ponytail mohawk) on draft night. Until he realizes that he needs that hairdo, I shall not root for him. The one thing that I kept thinking during the broadcast monday night was, when did Lenny Kravitz get so old?

The main point of discussion for fans of college basketball should be , where does this Florida team rank in terms of all-time greats? Obviously they can;t be too high on the list because the dynamics of the college game have changed so much in the last twenty years, but given the fact that they one two in a row they have to be considered as better than any team this decade. They really played well together, they all knew their roles and were willing to let their teammates shine if the situation called for it, but I have trouble imagining this team being able win championships back in the early 90s. Certainly the Duke team who won back to back was better. I think that the UNLV teams of those years were a lot better as well. They were actually very similarly put together, but UNLV had Larry Johnson back when he was an explosive force and Greg Anthony was easily better than either Taurean Green or Lee Humphrey. Couls this Florida team have beaten the '93 UNC Tarheels? I think they would've had a shot but I still would take UNC if I was a betting man. All that being said, this team has officially put Florida on the map as a basketball power from this point forward. I was amazed to hear that Florida hadn't made the tournament before twenty years ago. I believe that was back in the days os the M&M boys, Vernon Maxwell and Andrew Moten, not even sure if Dwayne Schintzius was on the scene yet. but starting with Lon Kruger's run in the Early 90s and now with Billy Donovan leading them to two titles and a runner-up in 2000 they have been the most succesful south of Durham, NC.

The other subplot revolves around Billy Donovan's future with the team. I gotta believe that he'll hang around. Sure Kentucky is offering a bit more money, but there's something to be said for creating a national powerhouse that will last for a long time. Kentucky already has it's coaching legends, but Donovan could be to Florida what Coach K is to Duke. He could be the one true legend that created the program, he'll have plenty of money to live comfortably for the rest of his life and someday they'll name the arena after him. none of that can ever be his in Kentucky, and although they'll be rebuilding next year, they'll be a contender again just as easily as he could build UK into a contender.

On a final note, Billy Packer used the term "fag" on the Charlie Rose show last week, and I want him fired from announcing for CBS. I'm not a very PC person, and I think it's ridiculous that someone in his position would throw out that term in a normal conversation or interview. But really I just want him fired because I think he takes away from the broadcast, he seemingly takes the wrong side on most debates and sometimes during instant replays I honestly believe that he isn;t watching the monitor, perhaps signalling to a vendor instead. So I'm gonna try to use this incident to get Packer out fo there. Who's with me? No one? Oh well, in that case.

-Bender Out