Headline on ESPN front page...

[ArtVandelay]

"Kentucky's Noel hurts knee, helped off court"

Should be Gators throttle Cats...Noel injured.

It was a great win last night in dominating fashion (even before Noel's injury)

Granted this isn't a great Kentucky team, but we have something special going on.

I'm not saying that the press doesn't like us, but it would be nice to have a headline after a win like last night.

Go Gators!

[gatorcwboyfan]

Gators beating UK was no suprise. Noel was the potential number 1 pick in next years draft. If the injury is a serious as some are saying that's going to trump any victory by the gators. Also his injury pretty much put a dagger in UK's season.

[rtgator]

ESPN is very "pro" centered. Have you ever watched the ESPY's? It's all about pro sports. The team of the year is almost always a pro team. Our two-time, once in a generation NCAA basketball champs lost out to the SuperBowl winner as team of the year.

It's not surprising that an injury to the probable #1 NBA draft pick would be more prominently featured than the outcome of a college basketball game, even if it was one of their featured, Rivalry Week match-ups.

[tilly]

A regular season win by a top 10 team over a mediocre team is not a huge national story. The potential loss of the potential #1 overall pick in the NBA draft is a big national story.

...and might I add, for the Orlando fans on this board, it could play a roll as well. Noel, might be a potential Magic pick should they strike gold in the lottery again.

[InstiGATOR1]

"Kentucky's Noel hurts knee, helped off court"

Should be Gators throttle Cats...Noel injured.

It was a great win last night in dominating fashion (even before Noel's injury)

Granted this isn't a great Kentucky team, but we have something special going on.

I'm not saying that the press doesn't like us, but it would be nice to have a headline after a win like last night.

ESPN is partly to blame, but so are you fellow sports fans. The passing sports fan cares little about anything else but who is number 1 and Noel might be number 1 in the NBA draft. So ESPN and others tailor their coverage that way.

[akaGatorhoops]

With all due respect, Noel being injured (possibily severely) is the bigger sports story than Florida beating UK at home. The headline was entirely appropriate.

[tilly]

With all due respect, Noel being injured (possibily severely) is the bigger sports story than Florida beating UK at home. The headline was entirely appropriate.

Exactly. Does anyone remember what the big headline was in Lexington when a certain QB got a concussion?

It wasn't the score of the game.

[TampaGatorFan]

With all due respect, Noel being injured (possibily severely) is the bigger sports story than Florida beating UK at home. The headline was entirely appropriate.

Yup...UF was expected to beat UK. The Gators were favored by 11.

This injury not only affects Kentucky's season, it also shakes up the NBA Draft. It's definitely a major story.

[rtgator]

I understand why Noel's injury is so prominent in the headlines. (And, I'm truly sorry it happened.)

But, it's still a little annoying to see that Michigan State had a "statement game", while Florida was the team that Kentucky was playing when Noel got injured.

:bored:

[fredsanford]

I understand why Noel's injury is so prominent in the headlines. (And, I'm truly sorry it happened.)

But, it's still a little annoying to see that Michigan State had a "statement game", while Florida was the team that Kentucky was playing when Noel got injured.

:bored:

+1

They could have adequately covered the game and the injury separately.

It's like when NFL announcers do college football games and spend the entire broadcast focused on draft stock. Make college analysis about college sports, not pro.

[InstiGATOR1]

Yep, it is not like the Yeguete injury dominated the coverage of UF's loss to UAR. And while the Noel injury might change the NBA draft, the Yeguete injury might have changed the final four and who wins this years national championship. UK was not a national title contender with or without Noel.

[rtgator]

Yep, it is not like the Yeguete injury dominated the coverage of UF's loss to UAR. And while the Noel injury might change the NBA draft, the Yeguete injury might have changed the final four and who wins this years national championship. UK was not a national title contender with or without Noel.

So true.

[tommyuf21]

I understand why Noel's injury is so prominent in the headlines. (And, I'm truly sorry it happened.)

But, it's still a little annoying to see that Michigan State had a "statement game", while Florida was the team that Kentucky was playing when Noel got injured.

:bored:

We don't have any lottery picks playing for us. In ESPN's world, that's all that matters.

[REM08]

For the most part, the nation doesn't care about Florida or UK basketball - or the outcome of what could be the first of 3 meetings this year alone before the NCAA tournament.

But people care about drafts - and number 1 picks. This also heats up the debate over 1 and dones. Its a much bigger story for the average person watching ESPN or clicking on their webpage.

[keefer]

What if Kentucky was playing Louisville when Noel got hurt? What would you as a Gator fan be more interested in knowing, how bad Noel's injury was or who won the stupid ass game? C'mon people. The rest of the country feels the same way.

[InstiGATOR1]

For the most part, the nation doesn't care about Florida or UK basketball - or the outcome of what could be the first of 3 meetings this year alone before the NCAA tournament.

But people care about drafts - and number 1 picks. This also heats up the debate over 1 and dones. Its a much bigger story for the average person watching ESPN or clicking on their webpage.

The nation cares about who's number 1 in college basketball. The Yeguete injury is far far far more important for that than the Noel injury. Do you think the average person watching ESPN or reading their website cares more about the NBA draft than the final four? I just checked and last years national semifinal had a 9.0 rating and last summer's NBA draft had a 1.9 rating. Despite this do you think more people care about the NBA draft right now and thus are more likely to read a story about an injury to a potential top pick than an injury that make keep a team out of the final four?

Yeguete will likely make it back this year and Noel wont. Noel was on the floor screaming and was carried off by teammates and those are more dramatic images than Yeguete hobbling to the bench.

[tommyuf21]

For the most part, the nation doesn't care about Florida or UK basketball - or the outcome of what could be the first of 3 meetings this year alone before the NCAA tournament.

But people care about drafts - and number 1 picks. This also heats up the debate over 1 and dones. Its a much bigger story for the average person watching ESPN or clicking on their webpage.

The hype over one and dones has exceeded the interest in the college game. Noone talks about teams anymore, they talk about individuals.

It's sad that so much is said about an individuals NBA potential, however when they go to the professional game, noone cares anymore as the NBA is a joke.

[orangeblueorangeblue]

The Gator Nation can never be coddled enough.

[REM08]

The nation cares about who's number 1 in college basketball. The Yeguete injury is far far far more important for that than the Noel injury. Do you think the average person watching ESPN or reading their website cares more about the NBA draft than the final four? I just checked and last years national semifinal had a 9.0 rating and last summer's NBA draft had a 1.9 rating. Despite this do you think more people care about the NBA draft right now and thus are more likely to read a story about an injury to a potential top pick than an injury that make keep a team out of the final four?

Yeguete will likely make it back this year and Noel wont. Noel was on the floor screaming and was carried off by teammates and those are more dramatic images than Yeguete hobbling to the bench.

You've got the perspective down of the average hardcore college basketball fan. I'm talking about the average espn consumer. The Yeguete injury isn't NEARLY as important as Noel's to the average person. Yes, many more people care about the NBA draft than they do projected final four teams in mid february. Most people don't worry about the "meaningless" college basketball season until March when the conference and NCAA (mainly the latter) tournaments take place. I'm not one of these people and neither are you.

The ratings for last years NBA draft were much higher than they were for yesterdays UK/UF game. Yesterday's game wasn't the final four.

[keefer]

The nation cares about who's number 1 in college basketball. The Yeguete injury is far far far more important for that than the Noel injury. Do you think the average person watching ESPN or reading their website cares more about the NBA draft than the final four? I just checked and last years national semifinal had a 9.0 rating and last summer's NBA draft had a 1.9 rating. Despite this do you think more people care about the NBA draft right now and thus are more likely to read a story about an injury to a potential top pick than an injury that make keep a team out of the final four?

Yeguete will likely make it back this year and Noel wont. Noel was on the floor screaming and was carried off by teammates and those are more dramatic images than Yeguete hobbling to the bench.

Dude, you gotta take off the orange and blue glasses every once in a while. You are WAY off base on your assumptions. There are 30 teams out there with final four possibilities and talent. Do you know who is injured right now on everyone of those teams?

The fact is there is only ONE possible No.1 pick in the upcoming draft and he may have just suffered a possible career ending injury. Can you not notice the difference?

[tommyuf21]

Do you think the average person watching ESPN or reading their website cares more about the NBA draft than the final four? I just checked and last years national semifinal had a 9.0 rating and last summer's NBA draft had a 1.9 rating. Despite this do you think more people care about the NBA draft right now and thus are more likely to read a story about an injury to a potential top pick than an injury that make keep a team out of the final four?

ESPN cares, since they televise a lot of NBA games.

They're trying to protect their investment in pro hoops, which can't be doing all that well, by using their product that performs well and has the most viewer loyalty of the two.

[InstiGATOR1]

Dude, you gotta take off the orange and blue glasses every once in a while. You are WAY off base on your assumptions. There are 30 teams out there with final four possibilities and talent. Do you know who is injured right now on everyone of those teams?

The fact is there is only ONE possible No.1 pick in the upcoming draft and he may have just suffered a possible career ending injury. Can you not notice the difference?

Well I came back to this thread because I found this in Luke Winn's weekly power rating article where he has UF at 4:

Florida Gators (20-3)

Kentucky's loss of Nerlens Noel to that horrific knee-buckle on Tuesday night will be talked about far more than Florida's loss of 6-foot-7 forward Will Yeguete to a knee injury a week earlier. Noel had a reasonable claim to being the national defensive player of the year, but Yeguete stood to make a bigger impact on the national title race, and although he's expected to recover from arthroscopic surgery in time for the postseason, it's uncertain how much he'll be able to contribute. When he was healthy, he was making immense contributions to the Gators' defense -- as a long-armed trapper/interceptor in the press (with a team-high 3.3 steal percentage); a great backline defender in the 2-3 zone; and the team's best defensive rebounder (with a 22.9 percent DReb rate). As coach Billy Donovan told the Orlando Sentinel, "Any time you lose a guy like Will Yeguete your defense is going to be different. Will adds a different dimension down there in terms of covering up a lot of things."

The key will be how well 6-8 junior Casey Prather defends in Yeguete's absence. As colleague Andy Staples wrote from Gainesville, the early returns were solid, although Prather won't be the same kind of interior enforcer that Yeguete was.

Here is the link:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/college-basketball/news/20130213/college-basketball-power-rankings/index.html

He has Prather's height wrong, but he is making the same point I made.

Now perhaps REM08 has it right and I am wrong to try to measure interest in who makes the final four by number of people who watch it compared to interest in the NBA draft by the number of people who watch it.

I will say, I suspect more people watched UF v. UK than watched UF v. UAR. If I am right in that supposition, then more people needed to be informed of the Yeguete injury after the UF v. UAR game than needed to be informed of the Noel injury after the UF v. UK game.

Of course there were those very graphic images I have mentioned before in this thread. TV is a visual medium and Noel screaming on the ground and then being carried off by teammates attracts more interest in viewers I think than Yeguete simply limping of the court. Also Noel started and Yeguete does not so it take more serious fan to understand how important a player like Yeguete can be.

Finally, if you look at this mock draft data base:

http://walterfootball.com/nbadraftdata.php

only 5 of the 10 prior to the date of Noel injury listed him at the top pick. [Ignore the one 2014 mock that shows up in the database.] So in fact, unlike last year when everyone had it as Davis by now, there are several potential top picks in the draft this year.

[fox]

On national radio the headline was about Noel. One head literally said, "and as a footnote, Florida destroyed Kentucky."

[rtgator]

Well I came back to this thread because I found this in Luke Winn's weekly power rating article where he has UF at 4:



Here is the link:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/college-basketball/news/20130213/college-basketball-power-rankings/index.html

He has Prather's height wrong, but he is making the same point I made.

Now perhaps REM08 has it right and I am wrong to try to measure interest in who makes the final four by number of people who watch it compared to interest in the NBA draft by the number of people who watch it.

I will say, I suspect more people watched UF v. UK than watched UF v. UAR. If I am right in that supposition, then more people needed to be informed of the Yeguete injury after the UF v. UAR game than needed to be informed of the Noel injury after the UF v. UK game.

Of course there were those very graphic images I have mentioned before in this thread. TV is a visual medium and Noel screaming on the ground and then being carried off by teammates attracts more interest in viewers I think than Yeguete simply limping of the court. Also Noel started and Yeguete does not so it take more serious fan to understand how important a player like Yeguete can be.

Finally, if you look at this mock draft data base:

http://walterfootball.com/nbadraftdata.php

only 5 of the 10 prior to the date of Noel injury listed him at the top pick. [Ignore the one 2014 mock that shows up in the database.] So in fact, unlike last year when everyone had it as Davis by now, there are several potential top picks in the draft this year.

Good find. I think Winn is right that Yeguette's injury will have a bigger impact on the national title race.

I think it's understandable that the media has made this a big story:

* Noel is a much more heralded player.
* He's a potential #1 draft pick.
* He's Kentucky's top player.
* His injury was more catastrophic (and was caught on video).
* The national debate about a catastrophic injury to a player who could have a pro contract now.

I'm just disappointed that Noel's injury completely overshadowed our performance. Kentucky may not be great this year, but they are very talented and have been getting better. The fact that we beat them convincingly was, as one poster said, a "footnote" to Noel's injury.