Balance will Gator-done

So you want to know why the Florida Gators will win it all tonight. It comes down to one word… So you want to know why the Florida Gators will win it all tonight. It comes down to one word – balance.

The Gators have it. They can beat you any way they want and play any brand of basketball. They have done it throughout the tournament, and they will do it again tonight.

What makes them so good is how effective Billy Donovan’s five starters are. The balance of this group has been deadly to their first five opponents so far in the tournament.

For example, Saturday night against George Mason, the Gators’ most seemingly unlikely hero, Lee Humphrey, a 6-foot-2, 192-pound soaking-wet shooting guard, shot the Gators into the national championship game.

Humphrey averaged only 10.3 points a game all season for Florida, but Saturday night he led all scorers with 19 points, on 6-of-12 shooting from 3. His three straight 3-pointers to start Saturday’s second half extended the Gators’ lead to 12 and they never looked back.

Humphrey’s tying of a national semifinal record for 3-pointers in a game was enough to spring Cinderella’s clock ahead to midnight and ruin the Patriots’ remarkable run.

This is just one example of how the Gators’ balanced attack works, when one player steps up the others fall into their roles and contribute.

Big man Al Horford, who has been solid all tournament, averaging a double-double for the tourney at 11.4 points and 10.6 rebounds, only managed six points against the Patriots. So what did Horford do? He just hauled in a game-high 13 boards and also dished out a remarkable game-high four assists.

Typical of the Gators’ style of play is that their 6-foot-8 power forward would lead the team in assists. Now that’s balance.

Not to undermine the roles of Horford and Humphrey, but the Gators definitely would not be playing tonight if it weren’t for the contributions of Corey Brewer.

Brewer got a quiet 19 on Saturday against the Patriots, but it should have come as no surprise. For the tournament, he has averaged 14.4 points a game, two more than his season average. The swingman can do it all and will create match up problems for Howland.

Next on Donovan’s list of key ingredients is his point guard, Taureen Green. Green does everything a point guard should.

His athleticism makes up for his lack of height, he’s listed at 6 feet (so that probably means he’s 5-foot-9). But his ability to see the floor is a major reason this team has been able to see all five of their starters average double figures for the season.

The last and most critical component of this balanced starting five is the long-haired, student-athlete-turned-celebrity, son of former tennis pro, 6-foot-11 streamline athlete, Joakim Noah.

At this point in the tourney, Noah needs no introduction. Out of all of Donovan’s players, he has seen the most media attention, and deservedly so.

Although the Patriots held him to 12 points and eight boards, Noah did what he does best: lead this team emotionally and by protecting the paint. The nation’s second-leading shot blocker on the season, Noah swatted four Patriot shots on Saturday and altered probably a dozen more.

He is the heart and soul of the Gators and led them through the tourney. He is averaging 16.2 points per game in the tourney, while hauling in 9.6 rebounds, and swatting an impressive 4.6 shots a game.

All five of these players have improved their scoring average in the tournament. They have stepped up individually, but more important for Donovan, they have stepped up as a collective whole.

By no means, are they the “Fab Five” or even the ridiculous seven from last year’s championship Tar Heels, but they are all solid players. Without a true superstar, or too much experience, I don’t know if I mentioned that Humphrey is the only junior and the rest are sophomores (yeah, I know, take a minute and let that all sink in) – they have all done what’s necessary to be national champions.

In their five tournament games they have won by an average of 16 points, I think tonight’s game will be a lot closer, but I just don’t see how even a defensive-minded coach like Howland can match up with these five players.

If he does, UCLA deserves to win, but I just don’t think any team in the nation can answer Donovan’s young group’s balance.

Florida, 73, UCLA 66