Can't believe he wrote such a glowing column. He has a history of denegrating Pitino and his disciples. Not in this column.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/03/AR2007040300015.html?hpid=topnews

One for the Books
By John Feinstein
Tuesday, April 3, 2007; E09

ATLANTA Here's what needs to be remembered about Monday night's national championship: Ohio State played well. Greg Oden was an absolute monster. Mike Conley dealt with all of Florida's traps and changing defenses with the maturity of a senior. The Buckeyes were resilient all night, and Joakim Noah was a virtual non-factor for the Gators.

And none of that mattered. That's because Florida is, in fact, a team for the ages. Not just because the Gators became the first team in 15 years to win back-to-back national titles with their victory at the Georgia Dome but because they took a very good team's best shot and still won going away, 84-75.

They won because they had four players on the court who could make three-point shots. They won because they have a center, Al Horford, who can guard in the post, hit jump shots from the foul line and put the ball on the floor and go to the basket. They won because they are relentless and superbly coached. They won because four very talented players decided to pass up the money last year and come back to defend the title they had won.

They withstood all the pressure, dealt with the giant target on their backs and beat a team that, in most years of this almost-no-seniors era, would have won the championship led by two remarkable freshmen, Oden and Conley.

Instead, Billy Donovan is now firmly established as college basketball's newest coaching star and the five kids who were the heart and soul of this team: Horford, Noah, Corey Brewer, Taurean Green and Lee Humphrey will go down in college basketball history as one of the great teams ever assembled.

That was what this championship was about: an excellent young team that just wasn't quite good enough to beat a team for the ages.

The argument could be made prior to the game that college basketball was in desperate need of a memorable Monday night. After all, two of the last three national championship games had been dreary, one-sided games that were decided by halftime. And everyone knew that Oden could not get into the kind of foul trouble he did Saturday if the Buckeyes were going to make the game competitive.

Oden seemed to understand that. He played very intelligently on the defensive end of the court throughout the night -- not reaching when either Noah or Horford tried to post him up, but using his strength and length to keep them away from the basket. In fact, it was Noah who picked up his second foul trying to keep Oden from getting to the basket with 2:06 left in the half. There was no doubt that Oden won the battle of big men, outscoring Noah 25-8, blocking shots and grabbing any rebound he came close to.

But what has made Florida so difficult to play again the last two years is its adaptability. With Oden making life difficult inside, the Gators took their offense to the outside.

Ivan Harris drilled a three for Ohio State to cut what had been an eight-point deficit to 24-22 with 5:33 left in the half.

At that moment it appeared the Buckeyes were in excellent position to stay within range of the Gators throughout the night.

So what happened next? Humphrey, Florida's fifth option most nights, made a well-guarded three. Then Brewer, who may have the most NBA upside of any of the Gators given that he is 6 feet 9 and has guard skills, hit a three. Not to be left out, Green hit one a few seconds later. In less than 90 seconds the lead had gone from two to 11 and Buckeyes Coach Thad Matta had to call a timeout.

The second half was all about the Buckeyes trying to rally and Florida not letting them. If one play summed the night up it came with 7:40 left and Florida up 61-52. Chris Richard, who played effectively with Noah in foul trouble, tried to back Oden in and shoot. Oden slammed the shot back at him. Without blinking, Horford picked up the loose ball, flicked it to Humphrey in the corner, and he coolly drained a three-pointer to stretch the lead to 64-52.

Ohio State kept trying and trying, but never got the lead to fewer than six the rest of the night. Regardless of what the Buckeyes did, the Gators had an answer -- many different answers.

Everyone knew coming in this game was going to be a coronation -- either of the two fabulous Ohio State freshmen or of Florida. With a victory, the Gators would put themselves into the category of a truly special team. No one will ever touch UCLA's seven straight national titles, but the Gators put themselves into an elite group that includes Duke ('91-92); Cincinnati ('61-62); San Francisco ('55-56) and Oklahoma A&M ('45-46). In a sense though, Florida's achievement might be considered more special because this is an era when great players simply don't stick around college basketball long enough to create dynasties.

What may be most remarkable about Florida's performance the last two years has been the fact that it was never in serious trouble in any tournament game. Oh sure, Georgetown played the Gators tough in the round of 16 last year, and Purdue and Butler made them sweat in early games this season. But not once had they been in a game where they really had to dig deep in the final moments to pull out a victory. Monday night was more of the same.

The second biggest question -- after who would win the game -- for many in the building was whether this would be the last game of Donovan's Florida career. The first sign seen in the stands -- 90 minutes before tip-off -- read, "Coach Billy . . . Stay." Few who know Donovan seemed to think he would be lured by Kentucky. In fact, what seemed more likely was that he might jump to the NBA (both Miami and Memphis have been mentioned) if he won a second national title.

All of that is for later. For the moment, Donovan and his players are entitle to savor a remarkable achievement. "I wanted to put everything I had into this season," Donovan said last month. "I wanted to walk away from this knowing that I had given everything I possibly could to try and win this again because I understand this is the kind of chance that may not come again any time soon."

Donovan and his players made the dream come true Monday night. They are now a team that will be remembered this year, next year and forever.