You have to be proud of Florida and its cast of characters, a cast that was more crusty than cuddly until now.
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| David Lee finishes with 17 rebounds against UK's bigger front line. (Getty Images) |
Florida basketball was like a bad molar. It had the right size and shape, but inside was a cavity.
The Gators took No. 4 Kentucky to the dentist on Sunday, performing a root canal not only on the overrated Wildcats but also on the image of Florida basketball.
In beating Kentucky 70-53 for the first SEC Tournament championship in school history, Florida cleaned up, grew up and wised up. All in one glorious afternoon.
Roberson was special but not selfish. He took the ball to the rim when he had it, he shot when he was open, and on all other occasions he did what mature point guards do -- he passed the ball.
Walsh was stylish and substantial. When Kentucky was on the brink of taking over midway through the second half, Walsh started ripping home 3-pointers. He finished with 26 points. Florida won by 17.
Lee scored just seven points, but the pretty boy was impressively ugly in the post, pulling down 17 rebounds against Kentucky's bigger front line of Randolph Morris and Chuck Hayes.
And Donovan? He's the architect of this whole thing. CBS SportsLine.com named him its SEC coach of the year last week, but what Donovan did this weekend in Atlanta trumped his previous body of work. The Gators (23-7) knocked off Mississippi State, Alabama and Kentucky, the best 48 hours in Florida basketball history.
Donovan always brings talented freshmen into the program, but not since 2000 has he integrated them with his veterans with this much success. Wing Corey Brewer is a future All-SEC player, maybe more than that. Center Al Horford is a future SEC rebounding champion. Point guard Taurean Green will be a fine replacement next season should Roberson enter the 2005 NBA Draft.
The Gators have always been fun to talk about. Now they've become fun to watch.
They've even become fun to root for. Assuming you're the rooting type.
