i was there for the back-to-back.. and the SEC championship game win over Ky both were GLORIOUS
On Wed, Nov 22, 2017 at 7:53 PM, Shane Ford <[email protected]> wrote: > Georgia Dome site of great UF hoop memories > By > Kevin Brockway <http://www.gatorsports.com/author/kevin-brockway/> > (GAINESVILLE > SUN) > - > November 22, 2017 > 0 > <http://www.gatorsports.com/2017/11/georgia-dome-site-great-uf-hoop-memories/#respond> > 30 > > <https://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gatorsports.com%2F2017%2F11%2Fgeorgia-dome-site-great-uf-hoop-memories%2F> > > Farewell to the Georgia Dome, which was reduced to rubble in the name of > progress on Monday in Atlanta. > > Yes the new Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta might be the ninth or 10th > wonder of the world. But for 25 years, the Georgia Dome hosted its share of > memorable college basketball moments. And even more memorable Gator > basketball moments. > > The Gators won their second of back-to-back national titles at Georgia > Dome in 2007, hoisting the trophy under confetti after dispatching Greg > Oden and Michael Conley-led Ohio State 84-75. Corey Brewer was most > outstanding player of the Final Four, going 7 of 13 from 3-point range in > wins over Ohio State and UCLA. > > The Georgia Dome also was the site of UF’s first 2005 SEC Tournament title > win in 2005, with Matt Walsh winning tournament MVP honors by scoring 26 > points in the title game against Kentucky. Florida won two more SEC > Tournament titles at the Georgia Dome in 2007 and 2014. In 2007, the Gators > were dominant, never trailing in three games. In 2014, Florida escaped with > a one-point win in the tournament title game against Kentucky to cap a > perfect 21-0 mark in conference play. > > When the SEC Tournament was played at the Georgia Dome regularly from > 1995-2009, it would often take players a game or two to get accustomed to > shooting there due the cavernous background. My first experience covering > an SEC Tournament game there was memorable. In a quarterfinal game in 2004, > Florida edged Alabama 75-73 in overtime in a game that ended at one in the > morning when Lee Humphrey hit a short putback baseline jumper at the > buzzer. The Gators made a run to the SEC Tournament finals that year before > falling to Kentucky. > > “It was a great stadium, a football stadium,” said former Florida center > Chris Richard, a member of UF’s back-to-back 2006 and 2007 title teams. “We > were very successful there because we had great teams. Because it was > closer to Gainesville, a lot of our fans could drive up to watch us play > there, which was great for us too.” > > Richard had one of his best career games at the Georgia Dome in the Final > Four game against UCLA, when he scored 16 points off the bench going 7 of 7 > from the floor. But Richard recalled the tension before the game being as > memorable. > > “We were coming out of the same tunnel and there was some trash talking > going on,” Richard said. “We had beaten them in the finals game the year > before. We could be a bit of a trash talking group. That got us fired up a > bit.” > > Future NBA MVP and Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook was > merely a reserve on UCLA at the time, finishing with just 2 points, 1 > rebound and no assists in 8 minutes on the floor. Who would suspect at the > time that former Florida coach Billy Donovan, closing in on his second > national title, would end up coaching Westbrook with the Thunder eight > years later. > > A year later, a tornado rocked Atlanta and damaged the Georgia Dome roof > on a Friday night during the 2008 SEC Tournament, forcing the rest of the > tournament to be moved to Georgia Tech’s campus. Florida was eliminated the > night before during its hangover season following the back to back national > titles. Donovan, frustrated with his team’s lack of work ethic during the > 2007-08 campaign, locked players out of UF’s basketball facility after the > SEC Tournament loss to Alabama. With players doing their own laundry at > home and practicing at the O’Connell Center, Florida still went on an > inspired NIT run before falling to UMass in the tournament semifinals in > New York City. > > By 2010, the SEC chose to regularly play its basketball tournament in > Nashville, Tenn. The last SEC Tournament at the dome was in 2014, which > Florida won on the way to its fifth Final Four run in school history. > > Change, of course, is inevitable. But I’ll take the memories. So long, > Georgia Dome. It was fun while it lasted. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Sent From Shane's iPhone > Go Gators! & Skål Vikes! > > -- > -- > GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! > 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions 2006 > National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions 2008 > National Football Champions | > Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel > (1996), Tim Tebow (2007) > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "GatorNews" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- -- GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions 2008 National Football Champions | Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), Tim Tebow (2007) --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "GatorTalk" group. 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