Florida Gators
South Florida Inv. "B"
March Madness Flashback: Gators thump Purdue; Sloan rages in post-game
Thursday, March 15, 2012 | Men's Basketball, Cross Country, Chris Harry
GATORZONE MARCH MADNESS FLASHBACK
On this day in Florida NCAA history: March 15, 1987
Big Ten. Big Deal.
The Florida Gators, playing in just the second NCAA Tournament game in school history, made March mince mint of third-seeded Purdue, the Big Ten Conference champions from the nation's most traditional basketball state, blasting the Boilermakers 85-66 to gain entry into the Sweet 16 with a milestone victory at Syracuse, N.Y.
That was 25 years ago today.
Junior guard Vernon Maxwell scored 24 points and freshman center Dwayne Schintzius rang up 21 points, four rebounds and six assists, as the sixth-seeded Gators overwhelmed Coach Gene Keady's squad, the region's No. 3 seed, with a 54-point second half.
UF led by just two points, 31-29, at intermission, but shot 66 percent (18 for 27) after the break to eliminate one of the nation's basketball elites just two days after ousting North Carolina State in Round 1.
The win moved the Gators into the regional semifinal to face No. 1 seed Syracuse the following week at East Rutherford, N.J.
It was a milestone moment for Florida basketball, but Coach Norm Sloan used it to seize the bully pulpit in one of his most memorable “Stormin' Norman” tirades.
Sloan, apparently, had grown weary of the media's gushing love affair -- ESPN's Dick Vitale clearly in the crosshairs -- with coaches like NC State's Jim Valvano, Villanova's Rollie Massimino and up-and-comer Rick Pitino at Providence, all of whom had something in common.
So somewhere along the way of breaking down the game and an historic victory, Sloan took a detour.
“I'm getting tired of these Italian analysts promoting Italian coaches,” Sloan began. “And I'm not anti-Italian. I love Italian food. I have garlic coming out of my pores, I eat so much of it.”
Media mouths dropped, but Sloan was just getting warmed up.
“But I'm not going to start grabbing sweaty bodies and kiss like you guys want,” Sloan raged. “You don't have to be a Michelangelo to have a good basketball program or do silly little things like having a three-minute stage show on the sidelines.”
Oh, yes he did.
The rant proved regrettable -- for the team, not Sloan -- because it made the coach and his post-game remarks the story on a day that clearly should have belonged to the players.
But that was Sloan. He didn't care.
