Top Ten Moments for Florida Basketball with Billy D

[ATXGator]

With the news that Billy is officially gone... what are your top 10 moments with him as coach? Here are mine... let me know what you think.

10. Friday Nov 22 - Gators defeat UCF for Billy's 1st win as UF HC

9. Gators defeat Penn in first round of NCAA Billy's 1st tourney win while at UF

8. Feb 4, 1999 - Gators beat UK at home.

7. Feb 1, 1998 - Gators be UK on the road. - Jason Williams goes off

6. 1st SEC Championship - 2000

5. 1st SEC tourney championship 2005

4. 2014 - Gators go 18-0 in SEC and win tourney

3. Mike Miller hits the game winner against Butler

2. Gators win 1st NC

1. Gators complete back to back NC

 

[GatorBart]

With the news that Billy is officially gone... what are your top 10 moments with him as coach? Here are mine... let me know what you think.

10. Friday Nov 22 - Gators defeat UCF for Billy's 1st win as UF HC

9. Gators defeat Penn in first round of NCAA Billy's 1st tourney win while at UF

8. Feb 4, 1999 - Gators beat UK at home.

7. Feb 1, 1998 - Gators be UK on the road. - Jason Williams goes off

6. 1st SEC Championship - 2000

5. 1st SEC tourney championship 2005

4. 2014 - Gators go 18-0 in SEC and win tourney

3. Mike Miller hits the game winner against Butler

2. Gators win 1st NC

1. Gators complete back to back NC

#5 - I would move that game up to #3, as it was against KY
I would also include the 2005 regular season ending game vs. KY in my top 10 (I remember jumping up and hitting my head on the basement ceiling when we won that one). Lee, Walsh and Roberson's last game).
Others that stick in my mind and would have to be in my top 10:
The Sweet 16 game vs. Gtown in 2006 was also great, with Brewer providing the heroics.
And the Round of 32 game in 2007 vs. Purdue was a really good one - Horford was a beast in that game.
Beating KY three times in 2014 was also a nice feat.

 

[ATXGator]

There are obviously more than 10 moments. It is hard to judge, but your list is full of good ones.

 

[78]

For me it's mainly about the NCAA Tournament:

1) Beating UCLA for the first national crown. Magical evening for Noah and Horford.
2) Beating Ohio State for the repeat. Noah's rotator cuff had been bothering him for weeks. Horford picked up the slack in the post and Green called a flawless game from the point. Three months after beating Ohio State in the desert for our second football title.
3) Defeating Oklahoma State to earn a berth in the 2000 Final Four. Miller's prayer began the tournament run and the trapping defense got better as each game went by. Harvey, a freshman with a build like Patrick Young, had a monster tournament in terms of rebounding and defense.
4) The entire second half of last season. There were more talented teams, but none that played with the focus and selflessness that this group did. I really think Prather's legs bothered him in the Tourney, so much so that had he been healthy we might have taken UConn in the semis. Billy's swan song.

 

[t-gator]

My favorite was the 2000 run. That scored a ton of points , got up and down the court and shot alot of 3's . That was Billy ball! That was a fun tourney . we beat duke and north Carolina . That was possibly the funnest team to watch we've ever had.

 

[78]

My favorite was the 2000 run. That scored a ton of points , got up and down the court and shot alot of 3's . That was Billy ball! That was a fun tourney . we beat duke and north Carolina . That was possibly the funnest team to watch we've ever had.

Totally agree. Donovan wouldn't hesitate to send out the dobermans to harass the opponent into a rash of turnovers and transition points. It was a tremendous weapon at his disposal as was the dead-eye perimeter shooting of Miller, Nelson and Dupay. We had the depth, too, to consistently pull off the press that year.

 

[stephenPE]

[QUOTE='78;n217446]

Totally agree. Donovan wouldn't hesitate to send out the dobermans to harass the opponent into a rash of turnovers and transition points. It was a tremendous weapon at his disposal as was the dead-eye perimeter shooting of Miller, Nelson and Dupay. We had the depth, too, to consistently pull off the press that year.[/QUOTE]
That was an amazing run. After Fla beat UNC and Duke in that run I will never forget an announcer saying that Duke did not have the bench to hang with Fla. Then and there I knew there was a God. The weird thing was Nelson never shot the ball as well after that year.

 

[ATXGator]

The 2000 run was fun, but when I go back and watch the 2006 and 07 teams I am always impressed by how unselfish they are and the high level of defense they play.

 

[ATXGator]

[QUOTE='78;n217416]For me it's mainly about the NCAA Tournament:

4) The entire second half of last season. There were more talented teams, but none that played with the focus and selflessness that this group did. I really think Prather's legs bothered him in the Tourney, so much so that had he been healthy we might have taken UConn in the semis. Billy's swan song.[/QUOTE]

The 2013/14 team and season was amazing. I actually think Scottie was hurt during that game. He was alright for the start then his knee started hurting and UCONN came back and then dominated.