Gator Country

Florida Gators defender Jaylen Watkins, left, and Matt Elam pursue Kentucky quarterback Curtiss Bryant during Saturday's 38-0 Florida win in The Swamp. / Gator Country photo by Curtiss Bryant

Joakim Noah lined up as a forward/center for a Florida Gators basketball team that became the first program to win back-to-back national championships in 15 seasons when he and his teammates won in both 2006 and 2007. Not only did Noah lead the Gators in points scored in 2006 with an average of 14.2 per contest and in blocks with an average of 2.4, but he was named the Most Outstanding Player of the 2006 Final Four and a consensus second-team All-American in 2007.

Despite the hustle and determination that endeared him to a large fan base and earned his team two national championships, Noah's selection at No. 9-overall by the Chicago Bulls in the 2007 NBA Draft was met with heavy criticism. In fact, so appalled was one, more extreme portion of the Bulls’ fan base that some echoed the sentiments of Rick Morrissey, a columnist for the Chicago Tribune. Promptly after watching Noah walk up onto the stage during the televised draft, popping a Bulls cap onto a mop of curly hair flying in every direction and sporting an outlandish seersucker suit, Morrissey published an op-ed with the headline reading: ‘You must be Joakim.’

Ouch. Unfortunately for Kentucky coach Joker Phillips, it has recently been his turn through the media ringer.

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