Will the past Florida team be considered won of the greatest | Jagator's Blog

FLORIDA: GREAT OR JUST REALLY GOOD?

Over the past, Florida basketball has always been overshadowed by the great Florida football program not only by it's fans, but by the nation as well. Be honest, did anyone really ever hear about Florida basketball prior to their first national championship game back in 2000? No. Not even the fans. Billy Donovan has brought them to 3 final fours and 3 national championships since he started back in 1996. He won 2 national championships which everyone knows about, in 2006 and 2007. After winning their 2 national championships back to back and losing all their starters Florida has slid off the radar.

Is Anyone really going to talk about Florida anymore until they win another national championship or at least make it back to the final four? Probably not. Does anyone out there think the 2006-2007 Florida team should be considered one of the greatest of all time? I do, but something in my mind is telling me that other people don't feel the same way.

Why shouldn't Florida be considered won of the greatest? They were crushing opponents in the tournament and they won 2 national titles back to back. The 1991-1992 Duke team that did it before them is considered one of the greatest, so why not Florida? Florida is only the 7th team to occomplish that since 1973 and the only one in the past 15 years.

So what is your oppinion? Do you think Florida is considered one of the greatest teams of all time? Do you think they should be? GO GATORS!

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November 3, 2007 01:29 PM ET

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Personaly im a Hurricanes fan but i like the Gators too.

Jamie0

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November 11, 2007 01:04 PM ET

Jagator,
Are you the same guy from the old SI message boards back in the mid-to-late nineties? Good to see you again. That being said, it's hard for me to hear that the Gators aren't one of the best of all time simply because they lack any opponents that the media considered "tough" competition. In short, the Gators didn't have to play a team like UNLV of the early nineties, which could say that this Gator squad was so dominant in championship situations that they never allowed the competition to be considered tough. The 2006 & 2007 B-Ball teams were never dominated by competition when a championship was on the line (see Duke in 1990 Final Four.) Also, the SEC was a really tough conference in 2006. We had two teams in the NCAAs and South Carolina won the NIT. The same could not be said in 2007, but Florida did beat a team that was ranked number 1 for a long time during the season twice (Ohio State.) Florida ranked number 1 during the season. Additionally, they dominated a UCLA program that is considered by many as the best program of all time. Those six guys were special (I include Richard in the mix, but Moss and Hodge could be considered HUGE contributors.) I don't know if they will ever be considered as special as some of the schools that are considered dynasties, but they should be honored as one team that dominated the competition of their time (and isn't that the definition of a dynasty?!?)

GATOR4(of5)LIFE

Will4of5

Beaufort, SC

Total Comments (39)

November 12, 2007 02:45 PM ET

I think the past UCLA teams and the 80's Carolina teams and the 90's Duke teams were pretty awesome. Kentucky has had some decent teams too... Florida was at that level and those two years had an awesome team.