All Gators: Florida achieves its only possible '07 goal

Green finished 3-for-3 from 3-point range and Humphrey was his usual killer self, going 4-for-7 and scoring 14 points. Florida's versatility showed most in the first half when those two and Brewer (13 points) hit back-to-back-to-back 3s to push Florida's lead to double digits.

Horford had a monster game, bodying up with the 7-foot Oden on defense and more than holding his own on the other end. Those runners Matta was talking about — a bunch came from Horford, who spotted up and made three 15-plus-foot jumpers and twisted and turned for a few more hoops.

Clearly, another year in college has helped this 6-10 junior, who no looks every bit like a lottery pick.

Noah, on the other hand, probably sacrificed the most. He might have been the top pick had he left last season, but the presence of Oden and Kevin Durant, to say nothing of Noah's dwindling stats, have pushed him down.

He finished with eight points and three rebounds in this one, but big individual numbers were never the point with the Gators this year.

They came back for the championship and anything less would have felt hollow.

But there will be no regrets. Instead, how about a nice little debate about the best programs of all time?

"It's in the book," Noah said. "It's not going anywhere."

Repeats will almost certainly go down as a rarity in this age of one-year-and-done college players, and nobody in the last 15 years — even before the NBA money started skyrocketing — could do it anyway.

"Kids don't stay long when they have a high level of success," Donovan said. "To keep a program together these days, it's very, very hard. Twenty years ago, all the kids would be coming back and the whole thing would start, 'now can you three-peat?'"

There were, indeed, a few fans yelling: "One more year. One more year. One more year," as the trophy presentation began.

Nothing wrong with dreaming, right?

In a way, though, the Gators have already lived out their dream.