ATLANTA “”mdash; As confetti dropped all over the place and Joakim Noah ran into the stands to celebrate with the pro-Florida crowd, Greg Oden walked slowly off the court, silent and stunned.
The freshman center had just played one of the best games of his life on college basketball’s biggest stage, but it was all to no avail. With Florida knocking down all of its outside shots and Ohio State’s guards ice-cold, it didn’t matter how many balls Oden swatted or rebounds he grabbed. The Gators were simply unstoppable.
“Right now, I’m just so disappointed that we lost,” Oden said. “I wish we could have that game back and we could do something different and play again. I’ll play right now.”
Oden finished the game with 25 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks, showing everybody why he is likely to be the first player selected in the NBA Draft if he decides to leave.
“He did everything he needed to do in his power and his will on the offensive and defensive end,” Buckeye senior guard Ron Lewis said. “I think it was one of his best performances, staying out of foul trouble and doing the things he needed to do to help this basketball team.”
In Florida’s 86-60 romp of Ohio State back in December, Oden was still recovering from a wrist injury on his right hand and was limited to just seven points and six rebounds. The wrist injury was something that limited Oden’s production all season long.
But against Florida this time around, the wrist was feeling much better and Oden’s results on the court bore that out.
But for Oden, there was no solace or glory at all from his performance; all that counted was the final score.
“It really doesn’t matter,” Oden said when asked if he would have been as dominant as he was against Florida all year had his wrist been healthy. “If that would have happened, then I could comment on it, but it didn’t happen that way. I was hurt at the beginning of the year and this is the game that I had right now and we lost, so that’s really all that matters.”
While the Gators weren’t able to stop Oden, they were able to counter his production with an onslaught of 3-pointers at key moments combined with a strong second half from junior center Al Horford.
Just as they did against UCLA in last year’s national title game and in this year’s semifinal game, Florida junior forward Corey Brewer and senior guard Lee Humphrey drilled their 3-pointers when it mattered the most, and Brewer was awarded as the Final Four’s most outstanding player.
“Coach always tells us, once you have a crack, let it go, shoot the ball with confidence,” said junior guard Taurean Green, who knocked down all three of his 3-point shots. “I think we did a good job of just coming back and knocking down 3s.”
And while Noah was in foul trouble and a nonfactor for most of the game, Horford was able to match Oden’s production in the second half, hitting mid-range jumpers and scoring deflating baskets on drives as the shot clock ran out.
“Al Horford’s a great player,” Oden said. “We had a lot of moments when it got to the end of the clock and he just got the ball and he was hitting jump shots. I thought that wasn’t his game, but I mean, this is what he wanted and he stepped up and made the big plays.”
As for Oden, his future is still in the air. He constantly deflected any questions about coming back next year, but with a boatload of money to be had, a return seems doubtful. If this was Oden’s last collegiate game, it was certainly a memorable one. But for now, at least for a little while, Oden is looking forward to taking a little bit of time away from the game.
“I’m definitely going to enjoy my two weeks off,” Oden said. “I’m not going to do anything but go to class and sleep.”