And kasey hill is equal to Tsam . norlander publishes a piece claiming we will get destroyed inside and our backcourts "equal". you would have to be blind to think wilbekin is on napiers level . Just look at the numbers . Also claims Florida had a harder path lmao
Just to play Devil's Advocate here, Hill had 10 assists in a game in the tourny. There's only been 3 freshmen in the history of the NCAA tournament to do that (Magic Johnson, Jason Kidd, Keith Gatlin), and he could potentially be a first round pick this year or a lottery pick next. I've been impressed by Samuels in limited minutes, but there's a talent gap there.
Wilbekin won SEC Player of the Year, just like Napier won AAC Player of the Year. Wilbekin mostly for his defense, Napier mostly for his offense. But oh yeah, Wilbekin shoots the same percentage from 3 as Napier. Different players, but not inconceivable to put them on the same tier (without saying Wilbekin is better, because he's not).
You don't win 36 games (with the only 2 losses coming on the road against Final Four teams) without great players, you just don't. Remember, we've been excited about UConn's defense in this tournament, but Florida has been the best defensive team in the country all year.
Let's put it this way: If we were to have captains pick teams from the two rosters, how would it play out. Probably Napier first. Then? I'd say Wilbekin. Then probably Patric Young (monster on D and boards) or Casey Prather (guy lit us up last game). 3 out of the first 4 from Florida. Probably Daniels next (he could potentially go in front of 1 or both the previous guys depending on how confident in which Daniels will show). I'd pick Frazier ahead of Boatright due to size, better shooting, and defense (although Boatright has been great on D in the tournament). That's 3 Florida guards (if you call Prather a guard) picked before Boatright. Again, not inconceivable to say their backcourt is on the same level as ours. Let's say Brimah goes after Boatright. Then Finney-Smith, then next 3 are Giffey, KHill and Yeguette in some order.
Florida has an incredibly solid 7 man rotation. Hill would start for most teams and Yeguette would be most team's Giffey/glue guy (4th or 5th best player). We've got 1 great player, 2 pretty good players, plus Brimah's arms, Giffey's shooting and Kromah's defense. Nolan's been pretty solid this tournament, but let's see how he handles Patric Young... I'm not optimistic in his chances.
UConn (obviously) can beat Florida. But if I were betting a fortune on the game in Vegas, of course I'd pick Florida. The game isn't being played at Gampel (huge factor in the first game) or MSG.
To summarize:
