Six Former Gators In NBA Playoffs Tied For Third Most Of Any School
Friday, April 24, 2009 | Men's Basketball
Six former Florida men's basketball players are currently involved in the 2009 NBA Playoffs, tied for the third-most from any one school. Only Duke (8) and Kansas (7) have more active players in the postseason.
Former All-Americans Al Horford (2005-07) of the Atlanta Hawks and Udonis Haslem (1999-02) of the Miami Heat are currently deadlocked at one win apiece in their Eastern Conference first round series. Former two-time All-Americans Joakim Noah (2005-07) and Anthony Roberson (2003-05) of the Chicago Bulls are engaged in a battle with the defending NBA Champion Boston Celtics, while rookie Marreese Speights (2007-08) of the Philadelphia 76ers rounds out the list of former Gators in the Eastern Conference. Matt Bonner (2000-03) of the San Antonio Spurs is the lone Florida representative in the Western Conference.
In 2006, Haslem captured the NBA Championship as a starting forward for the Heat. The following season, Bonner added to the exclusive list of former Gators to win an NBA championship ring as a member of the Spurs. So far, in the 2009 NBA Playoffs, Noah (10.7 ppg/11.7 rpg) is second in the league in blocks, averaging 3.0 per game. The Bulls center joins Horford (12.5 ppg/10.0 rpg) as two of just 10 players to average a double-double this postseason.
The six active players in the postseason ties with Arizona for third-most in the country, beating out other national powerhouse programs such as Memphis (5), North Carolina (4), Connecticut (4), Texas (4) and UCLA (4). The Gators lead the SEC as well, with Kentucky coming in second with five and no other conference school having more than three.
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