One of my favorite things about the tournament thus far has been watching Florida’s weird-looking Joakim Noah. He’s got a Chris Bosh body and a Troy Polamalu haircut… and seems like a smart guy with a likable personality.
I had barely watched Florida this year, mainly because I felt the entire SEC sucked balls, and that there was no way that Florida was as good as their record. Maybe I was wrong about that (see what that looks like, Billy Packer?). They’re certainly hitting on all cylinders right now.
Anyway, I love how Noah sees the court. He doesn’t have the post-up skills of an NBA player at the moment (though he does have a nice spin move), of course, and he needs to get bigger if he wants to bang inside at the next level… but he sees the court extremely well, he’s got a nice touch around the basket, he plays aggressively, blocks shots, and he’s got a good feel for the game. I think he’d make the ideal Phoenix Sun.
And he wears a big blue dress sometimes. Any man with the courage to leave the house like that… deserves some respect. He also blew a kiss at the UW-Milwaukee band at the end of the last game… they had been shit-talking him all game long, and he responded by torching the Panthers and blowing a kiss at the band. Hard not to like that.
Florida/Georgetown is the late game on Friday.
Mac Thomason
It’s probably genetic. I did an image search (as part of my lifelong goal to annoy my friends) for Yannick Noah and he has his own sense of style. Though I don’t think I saw any of him in a dress.
I do follow the SEC, by the way, and at the beginning of the year it did suck. By the end of the year it didn’t. The conference was ravaged by early defections (by players who then went on to not get drafted) last year and most of the teams didn’t gel until conference play. My team, Alabama, was godawful until mid-January and played UCLA toe to toe in what was basically a Bruin home game in mid-March, an extreme example of the trend.
March 21, 2006 at 7:31 pm
The Big Picture
Noah is beyond weird. in that picture, he looks as if he’s about to drink some kool-aid with about 50 of his closest “friends.”
but he can play pretty well. guess that goes for something these days.
March 21, 2006 at 9:08 pm
reliving the past
I used to play against Noah back in high school when he played at Poly Prep and at the 92nd St. Y. Back when he was a freshman and sophomore, he used to play around the three point line on offense. He can shoot pretty well despite godawful form, but I don’t think he’s taken a three his entire college career. His mom is an absolute babe, and she was always really rowdy at the games. His sister’s not bad either, and really fucking tall, too. Like >6′ and skinny as a twig.
Anyway, so back in his hs days, he used to block everything that came near him. I always chalked it up to the fact that he was playing against short Manhattan Jews, but I guess he’s actually pretty ok at shot blocking. He would talk lots of shit, too, and he was a complete fucking nutcase on the court. The first time he played us at home when he was a freshman, he did the little baseball safe sign and screamed to the fans “It’s over!” midway through the first quarter. He was also a fan of the screaming chest pound.
I’m pretty sure he was kicked out of the UN International School for carrying a bong in his backpack in like 8th or 9th grade.
March 21, 2006 at 9:25 pm
the mighty mjd
Now that is a textbook example of a great comment… muchas gracias.
March 22, 2006 at 2:51 am
ben
i actually went to poly w/ noah and was 1 of those “short manhattan jews” that you describe, and that is why i never played at poly, but many of my friends played for other ivy league schools. i could have never forseen this in high school, although he dropped 41 on buffalo nichols in his last year at poly in the state quarter finals.
March 27, 2006 at 12:14 am
anonymous
reliving is right, he got kicked out of the UN school for carrying a bong in his backpack. i used to start over him on the team back when he still went to the UN school. his D wasn’t that great back then (mostly, cuz he was slow footed), but he had that crazy wingspan to block shots. he could also shoot the outside J (his form was just slow/ugly). he used to play the 2 and 3 positions. i saw him a couple years back for his sister’s graduation (she looks identical to him). he seems like he’s matured and become a nice kid. the two other guards i played with play at UNC (tar heels) and Idaho State. They’re all black and I’m asian though, so my ball career ended pretty much after high school. i’m a filmmaker now haha.
March 27, 2006 at 3:12 pm
Siafa
The “blue dress” on Noah is actually an African gown. This is an outfit worn by men in Noah’s father’s native Cameroon, which is in Africa. His way of showing his African heritage.
March 27, 2006 at 9:58 pm
Counthomer
‘reliving’ – you are a fucking brilliant writer
April 2, 2006 at 12:25 am
star
Joakim Noah looks good as hell
April 5, 2006 at 4:47 pm
darrell
i think the blue gown is called a caftan…which is worn by men in Africa…its good that he recognizes his African heritage.
April 5, 2006 at 9:01 pm
Jack
National Champion.
All time record for blocked shots in a championship game (7). All time record for blocked shots in the NCAA tournament (29).
Joakim Noah is a higher being.
April 6, 2006 at 11:43 pm
Reggie
I want to know how Noah’s mom who is supposedly an ex-model and tennis star dad have such ugly children. Have you guys seen Joakim and his sister? They look like dogs compare to thier mother.
March 28, 2007 at 1:41 pm
Robert
Noah is the biggest drama queen in the world. Florida is favored to win the National Championship this weekend. Who is hating on the Gator? Drama Queen Noah needs to calm down.
Joakim and his sister are soo ugly. I wonder if they’re adopted b/c their mom is fine!
March 29, 2007 at 8:18 pm