To celebrate SLAM’s 30th anniversary, we’re spotlighting the 30 most influential men’s college teams from our past 30 years. Stats, records and chips aren’t the main factor here, it’s all about their contribution to the game’s cultural fabric.
For the next 30 days—Monday through Friday— we’ll be unveiling the full list here. We’ve also got an exclusive retro collegiate collection, out now, that pays homage to each squad’s threads. Shop here.
Dynasties rarely surface in college basketball and for all the right reasons.
The uncertainty of March Madness puts any talented team at risk of an early exit, no matter how well they played for the entirety of the season. Even the greatest individual collegiate careers are capped at five years, and, more often than not, the lure of the NBA—the checks, the followers and the chance of playing for a childhood favorite team—pulls players out of college.
But if any team resembled the makings of a dynasty, it was the ‘06-07 Florida Gators.
After crusading to a national title in ‘06, beating UCLA and Villanova, the Gators immediately had their eyes set on a second-straight championship. Head coach Billy Donovan sat down each of his five starters after their championship season and convinced them to return for another year, painting the picture of a blue and orange dynasty.
NBA-bound college superstars like Joakim Noah, Al Horford, Corey Brewer and Taurean Green resisted the allure of the league and stuck with Donovan. Donovan’s speech and the promise of two national trophies weren’t the only things that led to the return of the starters.
The decision was also a testament to the camaraderie of the star players. The ‘06-’07 season would be the final time for the tight group of bucket-getters to play alongside one another. Back-to-back NCAA titles were on the horizon, and they thought it could be the perfect fairytale farewell for a team that had already accomplished so much.
The trio of eventual NBA lottery picks led the Gators’ season. Headlined by Horford, Brewer, Noah, Florida boasted the most efficient offense in America, knocking down 41% of their looks from behind the arc. Their dominance continued on the defensive end, holding opponents to a low 62.6 points per game.
Noah, a pony-tailed, skyscraping big who called both NYC and Paris home, was the heart and soul of the team. The 6-11 junior dominated with a unique blend of size and skill, but his boundless energy and igniting passion gave him an edge on any hardwood he found himself on. In his third season in Gainesville, the big man stuffed the stat sheet, averaging 12 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game.
Alongside Noah were Horford and Brewer, who could carry the load whenever necessary. Horford was a crafty big man down low and a full-time double-double machine. The Dominican Republic’s big man would shoot, post up and rebound his way to 13.2 points and 9.5 boards per game.
Brewer was a silky-smooth sorcerer with the rock, masterfully crafting his way around defenders to big shots and acrobatic finishes around the rim.
The brilliance of this squad, however, resided in how each complemented one another on the hardwood. And that they did.
The Gators quickly gave up good shots for better ones, thriving on selfless ball movement that found players in the right position to score. The starting five, all of whom are 1000-point scorers, gelled together seamlessly and, at their best, looked unstoppable.
From the moment the players were recruited to the picture-perfect moment of big smiles, confetti and championship caps, there was never much to doubt about this team. They were dominant like no other, winning 12 straight in the ‘06 and ‘07 NCAA tournaments, outscoring their opponents by an average of 15 points per game. Over 15 years since the Gators’ back-to-back championships, no team has yet to emulate the kind of basketball Florida played. We’ll rarely find that same level of dominance and camaraderie in the new age of college hoops, making the imprint left by the Gators that much more impactful.
Photos via Getty Images.
