GATORS COLUMN

Noah's Background, Game Turn Heads

By JOEY JOHNSTON

Published: Mar 5, 2007

MINNEAPOLIS - He pounded his chest and blew kisses to the crowd. He did the Gator Chomp. He played a little air guitar as fans clapped their approval. He led the pep band.

He looked toward the Metrodome roof and squealed.

"Final Four, baby! Final Four!"

Before that, Florida sophomore Joakim Noah played some basketball, too.

"Just look at him," said Cecilia Rodhe, his mother, smiling through moistening eyes as she surveyed the postgame scene. "Joakim looks like a fish in water. He's so happy. He makes me so proud."

If Gator Nation had suddenly formed a giant conga line to celebrate the 75-62 victory against the top-seeded Villanova Wildcats, Joakim Noah would be at the front - dancing, singing, moving to Sunday night's pulsating rhythm.

"We're the Gator boys," Noah said. "The Gator boys are hot right now."

And nobody is hotter than Noah.

He continued to march through March, getting 21 points, 15 rebounds and five blocked shots against the Wildcats, who never had a prayer of matching up with UF's supernova.

"I know how many shots Noah blocked," Villanova coach Jay Wright said. "I'm not sure how many shots he altered. He is outstanding."

Villanova had the Final Four in its sights all season. Now the Wildcats are out - along with everyone else in the Big East.

George Mason, Cinderella with brass knuckles, awaits the Gators on Saturday night at Indianapolis. The Final Four field also includes youthful UCLA, not John Wooden's Bruins by any means, and the LSU Tigers and quote machine Glen "Big Baby" Davis.

There are stories everywhere.

None bigger than Joakim Noah and the Gators.

An Emotional Outcome
First, some history.

Florida, alleged non-basketball school to people who haven't paid attention, just reached its third Final Four in 12 seasons (and its second in seven seasons under Coach Billy Donovan).

Since the NCAA Tournament expanded to a 64-team format in 1985, only six schools (Duke, North Carolina, Kansas, Arizona, Michigan State and Kentucky) have been to the Final Four more often than the Gators.

In that span, the Gators have made more Final Four appearances than Cincinnati, Connecticut, Georgetown, Illinois, Louisville, Maryland, Stanford and UCLA.

"Getting to a place like this is awfully hard to do," Gators athletic director Jeremy Foley said.

As UF's players and coaches moved to midcourt for the awards celebration, Foley stood by himself near the basket, weeping openly. The years flashed through his eyes. The doubts about hiring a young, largely unproven Donovan. The doubts about this season with a sophomore-dominated lineup. The tears felt great.

"Nothing wrong with showing your emotions," Foley said.

Noah subscribes to that theory.

"When you're winning, it's hard to describe the feeling," said Noah, leaning his 6-foot-11 frame back in his locker, enjoying a rare quiet moment. "It smells good. It tastes good.

"And for this team, it just feels right."

Long-Distance Call
After the game, Noah looked to the stands, to his mother. He patted his heart, then headed up a few rows to embrace his mother, the former Miss Sweden and one-time contender for Miss Universe.

Somebody handed a cell phone to Noah, on top of the world. It was his father, former tennis champion Yannick Noah, calling from France.

"I can't tell you everything we talked about," the younger Noah said.

The potential short version:

C'est magnifique!

Noah carried the cell phone around the court and even had it in hand as he climbed the ladder to cut his snip of the net. His father got the complete play-by-play of Gator hysteria.

Was it the most crisp performance of this season? Not by a long shot. But the Gators can win ugly, too. They can run. They can play in the half-court. And boy, can they get after some rebounds.

Noah and Al Horford each had 15 rebounds, part of a 53-40 domination on the glass. Villanova, with an undersized four-guard lineup, didn't help its cause by shooting just 24.7 percent from the field. So many times, at the game's pivotal moments, a Wildcat shot caromed away, right into the Velcro hands of Noah, always in perfect position.

"Noah is an animal," Villanova guard Allan Ray said. "That dude has some energy."

He might need more as he journeys to Indianapolis, to an even bigger stage, where he's bound to be the Final Four's No. 1 curiosity.

"There's going to be plenty of people around the country who are about to become Joakim Noah fans," Gators junior Chris Richard said. "He has done so much. I don't know what he can do next."

Noah has an idea.

"We're happy to be in the Final Four," Noah said. "We're still going game by game, possession by possession.

"Hopefully, we get a nice little ring in Indianapolis."