FIBA Basketball
Noah leading Gators
NEW YORK — Long before Joakim Noah hit the national spotlight with his exemplary play in the NCAA Tournament, Bill McNally knew that one day his former player at Poly Prep HS in Brooklyn would be the next big
From: www.timesargus.com
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By Sean Brennan
NEW YORK — Long before Joakim Noah hit the national spotlight with his exemplary play in the NCAA Tournament, Bill McNally knew that one day his former player at Poly Prep HS in Brooklyn would be the next big thing to hit the college game.
"When he came (to Poly Prep) he was like 6-6 or 6-7 and very raw," said McNally, the Blue Devils' longtime coach. "But you could tell he had a lot of upside. And he was so enthusiastic about learning the game. He would always be at my door saying, 'Come work me out, coach.' I thought he was going to be terrific. Someone then asked me one time if I thought he could play Division I basketball and I said, 'Division I? He'll be a pro."'
While the NBA looms down the line, Noah, a sophomore, has much more pressing business to attend to after he and his Florida Gators rolled over Villanova and into the Final Four.
"The Gator Boys are hot right now," Noah said after Florida knocked off the No. 1-seeded Wildcats on Sunday and vaulted Florida into the Final Four for the first time since 2000.
And no one on Florida is hotter than Noah.
Unlike most players who leave high school and move onto the bigger and brighter lights of college basketball, Noah has always remembered where he came from. Even Sunday, before the biggest game of his young career, Noah was thinking of his old coach in Brooklyn.
"He left me a message before the game," McNally said. "He said, 'This is your boy calling. Wish me luck today.' "
Noah hardly needed any luck, pasting the Wildcats for 21 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks to earn Most Outstanding Player accolades in the Minneapolis Regional. The performance moved Villanova coach Jay Wright to say, "I don't remember anybody like him that good defensively and offensively on the perimeter and in the post. He's a unique player."
When Noah arrived for his sophomore year of high school, he already was somewhat of celebrity in Europe, being the son of former French tennis star Yannick Noah and Cecilia Rodhe, the 1978 Miss Sweden.
"We had French journalists calling the school all the time to speak to him," McNally said. "And the Swedish national team even wanted him to play for them."
But the celebrity, McNally says, never went to Noah's head.
"He's was a great teammate," McNally said. "Some kids get caught up in how many points they score or how many rebounds they get. But he was happy if he scored eight points and someone else scored 30 and we won. Joakim is a real team-first guy. He's a coach's dream. He's the best. I love him."
And forget the notion that because Noah's been living in the States for the last eight years that he's no longer big news in Europe. A recent trip by Josh Cooper, a former team manager at Poly Prep, confirms that.
"Josh called me and said, 'Coach, everyone in Paris is walking around in Florida Gators gear,' " McNally said. "Joakim has that kind of appeal."
McNally hears from Noah often, said he was even expecting to talk to him again on Monday. Noah also comes up every summer to work at McNally's basketball camp at Poly and McNally returned the favor by bringing a Poly Prep rooting section to the Garden last November when Noah and the Gators knocked off Syracuse and Wake Forest in the preseason NIT.He hasn't seen Noah since those November nights, but plans on rectifying that this weekend.
"I'm going to the Final Four and hopefully we'll meet up in Indianapolis this weekend," McNally said. "But it's just nice to see him doing so well."
View source article here.
By Sean Brennan
NEW YORK — Long before Joakim Noah hit the national spotlight with his exemplary play in the NCAA Tournament, Bill McNally knew that one day his former player at Poly Prep HS in Brooklyn would be the next big thing to hit the college game.
"When he came (to Poly Prep) he was like 6-6 or 6-7 and very raw," said McNally, the Blue Devils' longtime coach. "But you could tell he had a lot of upside. And he was so enthusiastic about learning the game. He would always be at my door saying, 'Come work me out, coach.' I thought he was going to be terrific. Someone then asked me one time if I thought he could play Division I basketball and I said, 'Division I? He'll be a pro."'
While the NBA looms down the line, Noah, a sophomore, has much more pressing business to attend to after he and his Florida Gators rolled over Villanova and into the Final Four.
"The Gator Boys are hot right now," Noah said after Florida knocked off the No. 1-seeded Wildcats on Sunday and vaulted Florida into the Final Four for the first time since 2000.
And no one on Florida is hotter than Noah.
Unlike most players who leave high school and move onto the bigger and brighter lights of college basketball, Noah has always remembered where he came from. Even Sunday, before the biggest game of his young career, Noah was thinking of his old coach in Brooklyn.
"He left me a message before the game," McNally said. "He said, 'This is your boy calling. Wish me luck today.' "
Noah hardly needed any luck, pasting the Wildcats for 21 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks to earn Most Outstanding Player accolades in the Minneapolis Regional. The performance moved Villanova coach Jay Wright to say, "I don't remember anybody like him that good defensively and offensively on the perimeter and in the post. He's a unique player."
When Noah arrived for his sophomore year of high school, he already was somewhat of celebrity in Europe, being the son of former French tennis star Yannick Noah and Cecilia Rodhe, the 1978 Miss Sweden.
"We had French journalists calling the school all the time to speak to him," McNally said. "And the Swedish national team even wanted him to play for them."
But the celebrity, McNally says, never went to Noah's head.
"He's was a great teammate," McNally said. "Some kids get caught up in how many points they score or how many rebounds they get. But he was happy if he scored eight points and someone else scored 30 and we won. Joakim is a real team-first guy. He's a coach's dream. He's the best. I love him."
And forget the notion that because Noah's been living in the States for the last eight years that he's no longer big news in Europe. A recent trip by Josh Cooper, a former team manager at Poly Prep, confirms that.
"Josh called me and said, 'Coach, everyone in Paris is walking around in Florida Gators gear,' " McNally said. "Joakim has that kind of appeal."
McNally hears from Noah often, said he was even expecting to talk to him again on Monday. Noah also comes up every summer to work at McNally's basketball camp at Poly and McNally returned the favor by bringing a Poly Prep rooting section to the Garden last November when Noah and the Gators knocked off Syracuse and Wake Forest in the preseason NIT.He hasn't seen Noah since those November nights, but plans on rectifying that this weekend.
"I'm going to the Final Four and hopefully we'll meet up in Indianapolis this weekend," McNally said. "But it's just nice to see him doing so well."