April 11, 2007

Two titles in two years helped the basketball Gators rewrite the Florida record book

Winning three national championships in 12 months has put Gator Nation on the map

With every opponent gunning to knock off the defending national champions, the determined Gators battled through the regular season and peaked just in time for the tournaments

[This article consists of a complex diagram. Please see hardcopy of magazine or PDF.]

After a lethargic regular-season finish, the Gators started sleepily against both Jackson State and Purdue, then smelled the coffee

TAUREAN GREEN, G10 ppg, 7 apg in first two rounds

NCAA BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP '07

In rugged contests against the latest upset hopefuls, Florida took Butler's and Oregon's best shots and advanced to the Final Four

LEE HUMPHREY, GNine three-pointers in regionals

Having put the NBA on hold a year before, Florida's band of brothers returned to the Final Four to claim its second straight national title—and a unique place in the annals of college basketball

COREY BREWER, F16.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg in Final Four

Coach Billy Donovan and his Gators won a second title with just the right mix of talent, selflessness and desire

In Indianapolis, Billy Donovan's fiery five walked off with Florida's first NCAA men's hoops title and launched a tradition: winning championships

Led by the Oh-Fours—four sensational sophomores from the recruiting class of 2004—the Gators romped over UCLA in the 2006 NCAA tournament final and joined the ranks of basketball's elite

Friends, neighbors, confidantes. Billy D and Urban Meyer have more in common than just national championships

Two seasons into the Urban Meyer era—and nine months after its first hoops title—Florida won its second football championship

One of the toughest schedules in the nation helped transform coach Urban Meyer's promising collection of rising stars and revitalized veterans into the nation's No. 1 football team

Written off by pigskin prophets as just another tackling dummy for Ohio State, Florida shocked the Buckeyes—and the nation—and displayed the talent to dominate for seasons to come

Is another crystal ball in Florida's future? Chances are good now that the Gators have beaten out USC, LSU, Tennessee and Texas to claim the No. 1 recruiting class of 2007