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Loyal Gators Basketball Players Stayed Until The End

By ANDY STAPLES The Tampa Tribune

Published: Jun 28, 2007

GAINESVILLE - They could have stepped off the podium in April, said their goodbyes and walked away without ever setting foot in a classroom again. Coach Billy Donovan knew the consequences, but he wouldn't have minded. The four members of the class of 2004 had elevated the University of Florida basketball program to a height no one dreamed possible when they arrived on campus. If their NBA draft preparation cost the Gators a couple of scholarships, Donovan thought, so be it.

Al Horford, Corey Brewer, Joakim Noah and Taurean Green didn't see it that way.

They understood that under the 2-year-old Academic Progress Rates system, they had to remain academically eligible before departing to avoid an NCAA penalty. They knew if they didn't finish their spring-semester classes, the program they lifted into the stratosphere might have plunged as their former coaches struggled with lost scholarships.

"We didn't want to do that to the program," Horford said by telephone Wednesday.

So "The '04s" - as they are known on Florida's campus - stayed in Gainesville and finished their classes. Then they scattered to prepare for tonight's draft.

Horford, Brewer and Noah could become the first trio of college teammates chosen in the top 10. They'll be in New York tonight, wearing suits - well, maybe not Noah - and waiting to shake hands with NBA commissioner David Stern. Green will wait for a phone call that should come in the late first or early second round.

Tonight, coaches and executives in far-flung cities will chart the foursome's future. Meanwhile, Gators assistant coach Larry Shyatt will continue to thank his lucky stars that he got to spend three years in the players' orbit.

Shyatt believes the group's final gift - finishing classes despite pressure to begin immediate draft prep - speaks volumes about each player's character. That character, Shyatt said, had as much to do with Florida's success as Horford's rebounding, Green's passing, Brewer's defense or Noah's zeal.

"They did the right thing. That's hard to do," Shyatt said. "That will be remembered for a long time around here."

Who Could've Guessed?

Shyatt arrived at Florida within days of the '04s. He sensed their bond almost immediately, but during their freshman season, the former Wyoming and Clemson head coach still had little inkling of the success to come. He only knew he loved the players' values, which seemed remarkably similar considering their varied backgrounds.

Brewer is the son of a trash hauler and a school secretary from tiny Portland, Tenn. Horford lived with his mother, a television sports reporter, in the Dominican Republic before moving to Michigan at 14 to live with his father, a former NBA player. Green grew up in the Florida suburbs and watched his father, Sidney, transition from NBA player to college coach. Noah grew up in Paris and New York with his model-turned-sculptor mom, but he spent plenty of time with his father, Yannick, a tennis champ-turned-pop star.

Each player's parents taught him right from wrong, Shyatt said. And to the '04s, right meant helping Florida's program even though millions rode on the players' predraft workouts.

"I look at what those kids did for me and our program," Donovan said last month. "How could I fault them if they said, 'Hey coach, I've got to get out of here?' … Those four kids are the greatest kids I've ever coached. They're unbelievable. But they have the right [to leave]."

Unfinished Business

But, Horford said, they had a duty to finish their classes. By all accounts, neither wealth nor the pressure of the predraft process has changed the '04s. Horford believes nothing will, because he, Brewer, Green and Noah will keep one another grounded.

"If we see one of us getting out of hand," Horford said, "we bring each other down to earth."

Shyatt also doubts anything will change the players. He looks forward to telling his future grandchildren about them - though he's sure he'll embellish their feats. He also wonders if he'll have the privilege to coach such a group again.

"Certainly, the excitement and the passion of sports is in seeking that answer," Shyatt said. "But [wife] Pam and I have decided to cherish the time we spent with them on the chance that we may never see a group like that again."

Reporter Andy Staples can be reached at (352) 262-3719 or astaples@tampatrib.com.

GATOR DRAFT PROJECTIONS

Six players from Florida could be selected in tonight's NBA draft: