The greatest class in Florida basketball history and one of the greatest classes in the history of the sport officially said goodbye today. A group that was the embodiment of passion and teamwork, showed how deeply the emotion they played with runs for them when at the podium they all shed tears for the decision to part ways. They allowed us a glimpse into the soul of one of the greatest teams to ever walk onto the college hardwood. They shared stories about private moments when four freshmen teammates became brothers. They personified everything right about intercollegiate athletics and the student athlete; this at the end was a window into what made them tick. For Florida fans such a moment was truly bittersweet. Having embraced this foursome the way they have, it was both enjoyable and saddening to share a few laughs now with these young men as their memories were shared. On such a day it is only fitting to in return share some of ours.
We all know the stats, 68 wins, 18 straight postseason wins, the SEC and NCAA Tournament Titles, the Coaches v Cancer Title where it all started. But behind the stats were some of the greatest memories Gator basketball fans have ever seen made. It’s hard to believe now how far they have come from obscurity to greatness like few have ever known. Their assault on the record books began November 17, 2005 when this unknown group took the floor in Madison Square Garden against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. The 18th ranked and favorite Wake Forest squad was officially the second of many victims to come. Taurean Green took center stage on the biggest stage of them all in the Garden. He scored 23 and dominated the game. For an encore, Green dropped in 23 again the next night to lead Florida past the 16th ranked Syracuse Orangemen. A legend had been born and this was just the beginning. At the time Billy Donovan described them as “young and just eager to be out there playing.”
The next time the then baby Gators took the floor, they quickly found them selves well behind rival Florida State 24-7 in the middle of the first half. In something that would become commonplace, 5 Gators evenly distributed the points and all 5 scored in double figures as the Gators came back to win. This group wouldn’t lose a game as starters until their 18th game, a fateful trip to Knoxville, Tennessee. The first taste of defeat wouldn’t be their last. They began to look more human, losing 6 games in SEC play. 3 straight heartbreakers that culminated in a 82-77 loss at Alabama had people wondering if the team that had rose meteorically early in the season had hit a wall and would limp to an early exit in March as the 5 previous Gator teams had. Little did anyone know another legend was about to step up and take his rightful place in Gator lore. Joakim Noah turned the Gator season back around on March 1, 2006. On that night Noah scored 37 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in an effort that included a 19-for-22 free throw shooting clinic from the big man. The team, which earlier in the season had routed Kentucky in Gainesville, was tasked with trying to lock up second place in the SEC East and a first round bye in the SEC Tournament by winning at Rupp Arena on Senior Day. A task considered to be all but impossible. All this young and hungry band of brothers did was route the Wildcats again. In a sight the Nation would get used to seeing, Al Horford and Joakim Noah dominated the paint while Florida’s 3-point sharpshooter Lee Humphrey (a year ahead but equally important to the success of the team) provided the timely daggers that broke the will of the other team.
The 18-game postseason win streak began where over a year later it would climax, in the Georgia Dome. The “04’s” led Florida past Arkansas to set up a much anticipated rematch between Noah and Horford with SEC Player of the Year Glen Davis. Davis was limited by the dynamic duo to 12 points and 7 boards while Noah shined with 15 and 12. Green chipped in a team high 18 to go with 6 steals. Florida finally got the South Carolina monkey off of its back in the SECT Championship Game to claim a second straight SECT Title for the University of Florida in a low scoring and hard fought battle.
It was on to the NCAA Tournament where they advanced with ease out of the first weekend, beating South Alabama (coached by former Gator assistant John Pelfrey) and Wisconsin-Milwaukee by an average 24, while putting on a show that featured all of the dangerous weapons the team had in its arsenal. Horford, Noah and Corey Brewer each scored in double digits both games. Corey Brewer solidified his place in Gator lore during the Sweet 16 game against Georgetown University. Down 1 with less than 30 seconds to go in the game, Brewer grabbed the ball out of the air and hit an acrobatic shot while being fouled to put Florida ahead for good. The incredible play was arguably the biggest play of the entire season for Florida. In the Elite 8 match up with Villanova, Al Horford and Joakim Noah once again proved too much for the opposition as they combined for 33 points and 30 rebounds in the Gators blowout victory. The Gators chomped Cinderella when they dispatched of George Mason in the Final 4 with incredible ease. The win was punctuated by the early second half 3’s from Humphrey that ripped the heart out of the Patriots. Florida then went on to face one of college basketball’s royalties in UCLA. UCLA had 11 National Titles, Florida had 0. UCLA had the defense nobody could solve. UCLA had Arron Afflalo and Jordan Farmar. How could Florida match up? Taurean Green carved up the UCLA defense with 8 assists while turning the ball over just once. Noah and Horford slammed home with thunderous dunk after another. Noah shattered the tournament and championship game blocked shot totals with 29 for the tournament and 6 for the championship game en route to his Final 4 Most Outstanding Player Award. Florida had claimed its first ever National Title in Men’s basketball.
As amazing as that achievement was, it was nothing compared to the unexpected but entirely welcomed announcement that the 4 then sophomores would all return for their junior years and the National Title defense. During the team’s celebration in the O Dome, they shocked the sports world declaring “We back!” With that, knowingly or not, they had accepted major expectations and a microscope they would have to play under for the next year of their lives. But they had each other and their teammates, what else could they need?
Florida began this season dismantling one challenger after another. They looked like a team of a mission to lay waste to everyone in their path. This culminated in a route of Western Kentucky in Los Vegas. That marked a second 17-game win streak for the team. But illness befell the team with Noah developing an upper respiratory infection and Brewer being stricken by a case of mononucleosis. The sick and weakened Gator squad battled its heart out against a talented, 10th ranked Kansas team that was at full health. Taurean Green’s shot to win at the end of regulation just missed the mark and despite the illness, Florida again had a chance to win at the end of overtime. Brewer tried to summon another great game winner despite his condition. Fatigue and mono had taken its toll, though, and the 3 point shot came up just short. Kansas had knocked off Number 1 Florida by 2 points. After beating Southern 83-27, that isn’t a typo, the team traveled to Tallahassee to face rival Florida State. The Gators once again got behind the Noles big, but this time with illness still a factor, the team didn’t have enough in the tank to rally from behind and fell just short. That loss came on December 3, 2006. That would be the last loss for some time, as yet again they went on a 17-game win streak that lasted until a February 17, 2007 road trip to Vanderbilt saw the Gators suffer the first loss of the season in SEC play. Florida had won the first 11 SEC games by nearly a 13 point per game average and saw few tests to that point. Florida did trail by as many as 12 to Vanderbilt in Gainesville on January 31, but the team scored 13 unanswered to start the second half and erase the 11 point halftime deficit. The 13-0 run was keyed by 9 points from Taurean Green. Lee Humphrey hit a trio of 3 pointers to put Florida comfortably ahead. The trip to Starkville, MS on January 24 was nip and tuck all the way, but the Gators used an early second half run of 10-1 to pull ahead against the pesky Bulldogs. Brewer’s 20 points helped guide the team through that potential pitfall.
Florida again swooned in February, dropping three straight road games, the aforementioned game at Vanderbilt, then a game at LSU and finally the trip to Knoxville for the University of Tennessee. Florida had fallen as many as 25 points back at one point in the second half and then with less than 12 minutes to go in the game, something seemed to click again for the ’04 led Gators. The Gators won the final 12 minutes by 15 and rode that momentum to a SEC record 6th straight win over Kentucky by a single SEC opponent. The “Mildcats” once more proved no match for Florida’s dominant interior as Horford and Noah combined 31 points and 20 rebounds. Taurean Green also deposited in 17 points.
It was then back to the Gator Invitational Tournament in Atlanta, where Florida rolled through the challengers, Georgia, Mississippi and Arkansas, by an average margin of victory that was just shy of 20. During the post game interview on the court, Al Horford summed up the class of 2004 and the Florida Gator team when he said, “This is what we do, we win championships.” Simple and to the point. Notice was served to the rest of the country that the defending champions were prepared to Dance into April again. Florida had won 12 straight games in postseason play.
After a sluggish start against the outmanned but highly spirited Jackson State University, Florida slammed the foot down on the proverbial peddle and raced to the 112-69 thrashing. Brewer put in 21 points, while Horford and Noah enjoyed double-doubles. In the second round, Florida had to deal with a bruising and battering Purdue Boilermaker team determined to make the game physical and ugly. They succeeded in that quest. The more talented and experienced Gator squad won on the backs of Green’s clutch 3’s, Brewer’s late free throws and Horford making some critical late baskets. It was onto St. Louis with a 14 game win streak in the postseason. The 04’s combined for 57 of Florida’s 65 points in a tough fought victory against a scrappy Butler Bulldogs team that refused to go away. The highlight of the regional final was when senior Lee Humphrey ripped the net on one basket with a 3 pointer. That seemed to encapsulate the hot shooting of Humphrey and Green, who totaled 44 points for the game. A desperate comeback attempt and some miracle 3’s fell short for Oregon and the Gators were on to Atlanta again for the Final 4, 16 wins and counting.
UCLA again awaited Florida, this time in the Final 4. Here again, the pundits raved about the vaunted UCLA defense. UCLA players talked about wanting to atone for the previous year’s blowout loss to Florida. They had unfinished business and wanted revenge. They wanted Florida. As Joakim Noah said in the CBS pre-game, “be careful what you wish for.” They got a hungry and motivated Florida team, looking to etch its name in history. Amidst the many distractions, they remained united and wholly focused on the end goal UCLA dodged some early bullets when Humphrey and Green failed to find their range on open 3 point looks. Corey Brewer put the team on his back, scoring 15 of Florida’s 29 first half points, while making UCLA star Arron Afflalo a non-factor with his defense. It was Florida’s senior class that took over the second half with Humphrey and star reserve big man Chris Richard scoring 25 points collectively. Richard punished the rim with one monster dunk after another. Humphrey drained his dagger 3’s. Horford and Noah did yeomen’s work, collecting 28 rebounds between them. Additionally Noah added 4 blocked shots, giving him 10 in his two games versus the Bruins.
It was 17 wins and counting when Florida took the floor against Ohio State, a team Florida had drilled by 26 a few months earlier in Gainesville. The officiating from the start was decidedly in favor of the Buckeyes, but the Gators proved their fortitude overcoming adversity and another talented foe. Led by Final 4 Most Outstanding Player Corey Brewer, the Gator defense stifled the Buckeyes perimeter game and made star center Greg Oden try to win the game on his own. Horford led the team with 18 points and 12 rebounds, while Brewer, Green and Humphrey all scored in double figures. It was Humphrey and Green hitting timely second half 3 pointers that broke the back of the Buckeyes.
18. Mission complete. The second straight basketball championship set several historic marks for the basketball team and the athletic program. Florida was the first team to go back-to-back since 1992 and only the second in over 30 years. Florida’s starting 5 became the only starting 5 in the history of college basketball to win consecutive National Titles completely intact. Florida also became the first school to hold both the basketball and football crowns in Division 1 in the same school year and the first to go back-to-back-to-back in basketball, football and basketball. Florida now also stands one NCAA win shy of the modern era record of 13 straight NCAA Tournament wins set by Duke in the early 1990’s.
The 04’s led the way and were complimented by a couple of special seniors. They were a team that bonded together and whose bond could not be broken. They were everything right about college sports, putting team before NBA money and personal stats. They truly thrived on the name on the front meaning more than the name on the back. The memories they allowed us to share will be forever cherished. Thank you.