Joakim Noah comes up with another monster stat-line leading his team to the Final Four. Marcus Williams loses, but continues to make a case to be the first point guard off the board. Al Horford shows that hes not the only Florida big man with a wide array of skills. Hilton Armstrong teases once again but comes up short in the end. Allan Ray appears to be intent on shooting himself out of the draft. Those and much more in our eighth installment of the NCAA Tournament stock watch.
Elite Eight, Saturday Games, Stock Up, Down and Neutral prospects
Sweet 16, Friday Games, Stock Up, Down and Neutral prospects
Sweet 16, Thursday Games, Stock Up, Down and Neutral prospects
Round of 32, Sunday Games, Stock Up, Down and Neutral prospects
Round of 32, Saturday Games, Stock Up prospects
Round of 32, Saturday Games, Stock Down and Neutral prospects
Round of 64, Thursday Games, Stock Up, Down and Neutral prospects
Round of 64, Friday Games, Stock Up, Down and Neutral prospects
Stock Up
Joakim Noah, 6-11, Sophomore, PF/C, Florida
21 points, 15 rebounds, 6 blocks, 1 steal, 1 assist, 4 turnovers, 4-9 FG, 13-15 FT
Jonathan Givony
The MVP of the Minneapolis region didnt have the prettiest game of the NCAA tournament here in the Elite Eight, but his infectious attitude and all-around hustle sparked the Florida Gators into a dominating win over Villanova and likely solidified Noahs spot in the top 5 of the 2006 draft should he decide to come out.
Noah established himself early on in the game by attacking the rim in his typical fashion, coming up with a great dunk in transition as the trailer and then with an impressive and 1 off the glass while avoiding a charge. A couple of big blocks on the defensive end let Villanovas guards know exactly what they will be dealing with all night long, and on the other end Noah was relentless taking the ball to the hoop and drawing fouls on anyone that attempted to guard him. He helped his point guard Taurean Green handle the full-court press all game long very effectively, not making even one mistake bringing the ball up the floor and calmly finding the open man.
His work on the glass might have been the best part of his game overall here, coming up with 15 monster rebounds, many of which were well out of his area and always accompanied by a primal scream that could be heard around the arena.
With 10 minutes to go in the first half Noah showed off his versatility by moving to the small forward position once again in Billy Donovans 3 big man lineup, looking comfortable out on the perimeter handling the ball and always making good decisions and playing under control.
Jason Fraser came off Villanovas bench and gave Noah some problems at times on either end of the floor, challenging him with his strength and forcing him into some tough finishes around the hoop that rimmed out. Noah expended so much energy in this tournament so far with his relentless style of play that he appeared to have worn himself out in certain stretches of the 2nd half, but a quick trip to the bench rejuvenated him for the final 10 minutes in which he was as dominant as ever.
After coming up with 2 field goals in the first 2 and a half minutes of the game, Noah went nearly 34 minutes without a field goal until 3 minutes and 30 seconds left in the game, but still found a way to help his team out by getting to the free throw line a half a dozen times or more during this stretch. On the night he converted an extremely impressive 13 of his 15 free throws.
Noah once again showed off his outstanding ball-handling skills and body control by coming up with a great steal from just outside the paint on the defensive end and taking the ball the length of the floor before being fouled right before he was about to lay it in off the glass. A beautiful finish off the glass with his left hand after working his way towards the rim with a spin move late in the game might have been his most impressive basket of the night.
Villanovas guards got absolutely nothing easy inside the paint as their 18-73 shooting from the field will attest, and Noah played a huge part in that along with his frontcourt mate Al Horford, coming up with 6 very intimidating blocks and changing many more.
All in all this was just another outstanding game from Floridas big man, showing that he can find a way to contribute to his team on almost every possession even when he lacked the strength or touch to finish around the rim. He only converted 4 field goals on the night, but still ended up with 21 points, 15 rebounds and 6 blocks.
Noah established himself early on in the game by attacking the rim in his typical fashion, coming up with a great dunk in transition as the trailer and then with an impressive and 1 off the glass while avoiding a charge. A couple of big blocks on the defensive end let Villanovas guards know exactly what they will be dealing with all night long, and on the other end Noah was relentless taking the ball to the hoop and drawing fouls on anyone that attempted to guard him. He helped his point guard Taurean Green handle the full-court press all game long very effectively, not making even one mistake bringing the ball up the floor and calmly finding the open man.
His work on the glass might have been the best part of his game overall here, coming up with 15 monster rebounds, many of which were well out of his area and always accompanied by a primal scream that could be heard around the arena.
With 10 minutes to go in the first half Noah showed off his versatility by moving to the small forward position once again in Billy Donovans 3 big man lineup, looking comfortable out on the perimeter handling the ball and always making good decisions and playing under control.
Jason Fraser came off Villanovas bench and gave Noah some problems at times on either end of the floor, challenging him with his strength and forcing him into some tough finishes around the hoop that rimmed out. Noah expended so much energy in this tournament so far with his relentless style of play that he appeared to have worn himself out in certain stretches of the 2nd half, but a quick trip to the bench rejuvenated him for the final 10 minutes in which he was as dominant as ever.
After coming up with 2 field goals in the first 2 and a half minutes of the game, Noah went nearly 34 minutes without a field goal until 3 minutes and 30 seconds left in the game, but still found a way to help his team out by getting to the free throw line a half a dozen times or more during this stretch. On the night he converted an extremely impressive 13 of his 15 free throws.
Noah once again showed off his outstanding ball-handling skills and body control by coming up with a great steal from just outside the paint on the defensive end and taking the ball the length of the floor before being fouled right before he was about to lay it in off the glass. A beautiful finish off the glass with his left hand after working his way towards the rim with a spin move late in the game might have been his most impressive basket of the night.
Villanovas guards got absolutely nothing easy inside the paint as their 18-73 shooting from the field will attest, and Noah played a huge part in that along with his frontcourt mate Al Horford, coming up with 6 very intimidating blocks and changing many more.
All in all this was just another outstanding game from Floridas big man, showing that he can find a way to contribute to his team on almost every possession even when he lacked the strength or touch to finish around the rim. He only converted 4 field goals on the night, but still ended up with 21 points, 15 rebounds and 6 blocks.