Two Gators named NBA All-Stars
Two out of three isn’t …
Two former Gators were named NBA All-Stars on Thursday. Golden State forward David Lee was selected to the NBA West reserve squad, while Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah was picked for NBA East reserves for his first-ever All-Star appearance.
Former Gator forward Al Horford was in the running, but the Atlanta Hawks center and two-time All-Star was edged out in a deep NBA East frontcourt by Noah, New York Knicks center Tyson Chandler and Miami Heat center Chris Bosh. NBA coaches from throughout the league voted on the reserve selections.
Asked about the potential of having three former Gators on the All-Star team, Florida coach Billy Donovan said on Thursday afternoon: “I think it’s pretty impressive, you are going to have a chance to have two guys in the sophomore-rookie game with (Brad) Beal and (Chandler) Parsons, which is great. I think those three guys you’re mentioning, the chance to play in the All-Star game is pretty impressive. And I’m proud of those guys.
“The one thing about it is David Lee has had an incredible year. You don’t get a chance to maybe follow him a lot because he’s out west with the time change but he’s had more 20-point, 10-rebound games than anybody in the NBA and he’s really, really playing well and his team is playing well. So I’m happy for him.”
In a tweet, Noah thanked Donovan and “his Gator family.” He also used the phrase “live in the moment” which Donovan has preached to his players during his 17-year coaching tenure at UF.
Kevin Brockway gave up on his dream of becoming a lefty starting pitcher for the New York Mets when he walked four straight batters, then hit one in a middle school game in Suffern, N.Y. Since graduating college in 1993, he’s worked as a sports writer at daily newspapers throughout the state of Florida, beginning with the Key West Citizen. He then moved on to the Northwest Florida Daily News and Naples Daily News before becoming the men’s basketball writer for The Gainesville Sun in 2003. Brockway has won multiple state and national writing awards during his 16-year career. Favorite pastimes include karaoke and watching baseball. Favorite college hoops team growing up was St. John’s.
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