Since there isn't much discussion in college and Midnight madnesses are about to begin. I love to stir up a good debate and last year the Gators were the best form of debate, so here we go.... 1. Are the Gators the favorites for this season? a)If yes, then how do you think they will fair under the extra pressure. b)If no, who do you feel should be the favorites? 2. Who do you feel is the best Florida Gator player? What do you feel their chances are at bringing home Player of the Year? 3. Are the Gators the most talented team in the NCAA this year? 4. What are the chances that the Gators can repeat as champions this year? If low, then who is your projected champion and Final 4 teams. 5. If you were(or are) a Gator fan, would you be disappointed with anything less than a championship? Hopefully this will spark some debate and hopefully we will get a Voodoo Child sighting dissing the Gators again.
I don't see why they wouldn't be the favorites; they return every major player from a championship squad! I think that OSU and UNC will be up there, too, but I always have to remind myself that both teams will be extremely young. A sleeper contender for the title might be Georgetown - they've got a helluva frontcourt with Hibbert and Green, and frosh DeJuan Summers and Vernon Macklin will contribute up front, too. They've got some work to do with their backcourt, but that's what they said about Wisconsin a couple years back when we went to the Elite 8. A strong frontcourt, good coach, and solid system can take a team a long ways...
ofcourse theyre the favorites, its all about Noah' and his impressive play. He can take em' all the way again..
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">1. Are the Gators the favorites for this season? a)If yes, then how do you think they will fair under the extra pressure. b)If no, who do you feel should be the favorites?</div> a & Yes and No, they're ONE of the favorites. It's pretty hard for me to distinguish at this point between Florida, Kansas, and UNC though, especially with the way that UNC and Kansas's teams' success relies so much on certain unproven players living up to their 'potential'. Take a guy like Julian Wright for example. The guy has all the potential in the world. He has all of the physical tools and the skills to be an All-American this year, but last year he was really inconsistent, out of control, and well... just a typical freshman. It's really unpredictable how he'll wind progressing this year. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">2. Who do you feel is the best Florida Gator player? What do you feel their chances are at bringing home Player of the Year?</div> The Mr. Basketball Tennessee Runner-up to Dane Bradshaw; 50/50. The media loves Joakim Noah, and they'll try to get him the POY award no matter what kind of season he has, but it'll be hard for any of the Gators to put up POY type numbers with the other options they have on that team. I'm liking Tyler Hansbrough for POY at the moment. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">3. Are the Gators the most talented team in the NCAA this year?</div> The most talented? Definitely not. Kansas, North Carolina, Georgia Tech, and even UConn have more talent. However, their talent is young, inexperienced talent. Their talent is mostly potential-based, and they don't have the kind of chemistry that the Gators have. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">4. What are the chances that the Gators can repeat as champions this year? If low, then who is your projected champion and Final 4 teams. </div> 50/50. Right now I'd have to definitely project them in the final four, because of their experience, desire, unselfishness, and all of those other intangibles. Really though, the Gators winning the title last year shows you how unpredictable it is on any given year. Who would have thought at the start of last season that they'd even finish ranked, much less the national champs, and who would have thought that Duke would have missed the final four while Michigan State and Iowa took first round dives? <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">5. If you were(or are) a Gator fan, would you be disappointed with anything less than a championship?</div> No way. Like I said, there are better teams out there if they can get their pieces to fall into place. Besides, one is enough to go on for a looong time... I'm still coming off the high from MSU's 2000 title (over the Florida Gators might I add ), and really, how often do teams win back-to-back titles in college ball? Florida's great, but they're no dynasty. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Hopefully this will spark some debate and hopefully we will get a Voodoo Child sighting dissing the Gators again.</div> I'm kind of stuck in a college football loop right now. That's all everyone cares about on campus. I still don't get how the hell you guys are ranked over us in the polls. It doesn't make any damn sense.
Coming in the Gators are my number one team and my favorite to win it all next year. I'm a big beliver in "you're the champ until somebody knocks you off". In this case for the Gators, nobody may knock them off. They return all five starters to Gainesville. Have on of the best centers in the nation in Joakim Noah. Also they have a lot more experience during the NCAA tournament then the young kids coming intot Ohio State and North Carolina. Billy Donovan is one of the best coaches in the nation, in my mind I think it's going to come down to him and Georgetown in the national championship. I've been a sold on Georgetown ever since the NCAA tournament last year, and I'm sure they would love another shot at Florida. As far as frontcourt rankings is concern, they're right up there with Florida with Roy Hibbert and Jeff Green. Also Vernon Maklin has a chance to be an impact freshman this year. Until somebody shows me that they can knock off the Gators, I have no reason to belive why they won't win it all again. When it's all said and done the Ohio State's and the North Carolina's of this year are going to be talented, but it all comes down to experience. Edit -- Just realize that Schaddy shared the same view on G'town with me. Didn't see that as I was looking through the posts.
<div class="quote_poster">Voodoo Child Wrote</div><div class="quote_post"> I'm kind of stuck in a college football loop right now. That's all everyone cares about on campus. I still don't get how the hell you guys are ranked over us in the polls. It doesn't make any damn sense.</div> Me too But I'm getting back into the hoops steadily. I don't have a problem with FLA being ranked over UofM right now; they won at Tennessee, and they beat Bama and actually licked LSU pretty good at home. I was arguing that I would rank Michigan #2 over on PSH, because of their beat down of the Irish, and, probably, a little Big 10 bias , but I have no problem at all with Florida being #2. They're having a hell of a season. What I've got a problem with is USC ranked over Michigan. They stomped Arkansas, who just beat Auburn, but USC didn't beat the same Hogs team as Auburn faced; they've now had time to gel a bit, and also they now have better QB play. USC beat Nebraska, too, but their resume simply isn't as impressive as Michigan's. I'd say... 1. Ohio State 2. Florida 3. Michigan End of off-topic rant Whoa, this is some serious news. Apparently Mario Manningham could be out for awhile...http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article...NEWS99/61009021 Too bad if he misses time, he's having an amazing year. Someone said he's in a cast and crutches.
Sorry for turning this into a football thread, but the Gators definetely deserve to be ranked ahead of the Wolverines. They beat Tennessee in Neyland, which is argued as one of the toughest places to play. We spanked Alabama(they are halfway decent) and we spanked LSU(shoulda been a worse score, but we went conservative at the end). Mad props for the Wolverines beating the Irish in South Bend, but who else have they beat? I would put 2 top 25 wins(basically 2 top 10-15 teams) over one win against the Irish, no matter how hyped up the Irish always are. IF we beat Auburn this weekend, we should move into 2nd for sure(all other polls have USC ahead of us) and should steal a couple of 1st place votes from OSU and there will be no questioning the Gators over anyone other than OSU. Don't worry, if Michigan takes care of their business and beats OSU they will be in the title game. Truthfully right now I would say that there are only 2 teams that could compete with OSU right now and they are the Gators and the Wolverines.
Of course they are the favorites. They have a tournament tested team who looks like they are hungry for another championship. They got a good coach who is also very experienced in the post season. I really just want Duke to keep losing and disappointing their fans.
Ha, I love the football discussion. Ohio State #1 there, no question. As for basketball, Florida is #1, no question, and the favorites to repeat. It's hard for any team to repeat though, and there will be a lot of challengers. OSU, Kansas, and UNC will be the biggest name ones, but it could be anyone. I have to say, I'm really high on the Buckeyes outlook for this season. This team has strong veteran leadership with PG Jamar Butler. He was one of the best players in the Big Ten last year, and his presence should help the young guys. Ron Lewis also scored in double digits last year and will return. Those guys will help anchor the young fellas coming in. But a lot of these young guys are really mature already, like Greg Oden and Mike Conley. They handle themselves so well. They don't have the experience, but I think a combination of their talents (plus Cook, Lighty, and others) with veterans like Lewis and especially Butler makes this OSU team contender #1 to take the title from Florida.
Well Florida got 30 out of the 31 first place votes in the Coaches poll, with OSU(who were 4th) getting the other one.
