ARLINGTON, Texas -- No one saw this coming. Not the loss in the national semifinals against UConn, but this Florida Gators team reeling off 30 consecutive victories and entering the NCAA tournament as the odds-on favorite to cut down the nets in North Texas.
Sure, this was a group that had a fighter’s chance entering the season, but usually you need a bona fide star in order to rise to No. 1 and stay there for a significant portion of the season. Billy Donovan lacked one of those. Sure, Scottie Wilbekin had a tremendous season, but he will be fortunate to be drafted come June. The Gators most talented player is 6-foot-10 Chris Walker, who wasn’t even cleared to play until January -- and he logged just two minutes against the Huskies.
This was Donovan’s chance to enhance his legacy. He won back-to-back titles with Joakim Noah and Al Horford in 2006 and 2007, but to do it again with this team would put him in a different stratosphere in terms of elite coaches.
Now Donovan may have to wait awhile longer to get another opportunity like this one.
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