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If only they did this LAST year...
The budding Florida Gator Basketball "Dynasty" just collapsed, as all four of their Starting Juniors have decided to leave school early and head for the NBA. That's the infamous Joakim Noah, Corey Brewer, Taureen Green, and Al Horford. The fifth Starter, Lee Humphrey, was a Senior, so the Gators have lost 100% of the only Starting Five in History to win Back-to-Back NCAA Titles.
Gator fans did get one consolation: Coach Donovan is blowing off Kentucky and will remain at Florida. With any luck, the Bruins will get to meet Donovan in the Tournament next season, to get a little much-needed revenge for the Back-to-Back Final Four eliminations that he has visited on them.
And the Bruins should be in damn good shape to do so. Arron Afflalo has not made any announcements, but according to Internet chatter, he has certainly not ruled out a return. If he does return, the Bruins will be ranked #1 in many Preseason polls.
Anyone who has caught a glimpse of Kevin Love in a high school All-Star game will be inclined to give the 2007-8 Bruins the benefit of the doubt. Love, with his wide body, work ethic, and unparalleled outlet passing is sure to put the Bruins right back in Final Four contention. The Bruins will also be adding Chace Stanback, the local Player of the Year. Stanback has been getting more raves than Darren Collsion did, and DC came right in and was a significant contributor as a Freshman. Therefore, it's not crazy to presume that Stanback also will raise the Bruins' level of play another notch. Also, look for James Keefe to progress leaps and bounds beyond last year.
When you take this all into consideration, it becomes apparent that EVEN WITHOUT Afflalo, the Bruins will be a force on a National level. Josh Shipp showed in the last game that he can fill the void that Arron's departure would leave on Offense, especially with Love creating opportunities with his inside presence and fast-break-initiating pull-down rebound/long passes. And even though AA was the team's best Defender, is there any doubt that Ben Howland's team next year won't still have one the best Defenses in the Nation? No, of course not. In this case, it's the System, not the players. Of course the players have to buy into it, but the group that Howland has recruited certainly does.
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Speaking of Defense, Reggie Bush went on the Defensive this week, as his rep contacted the Press to deny the Playboy Ban. So now, trojan Scott Wolf of the Daily News admits that his previous article was a bunch of crap.
Nice fact-checking, Scott. That'll teach us to trust a trojan.
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