Brackets: Part 8

So Florida wins in the end, and sophomore forward Joakim Noah has suddenly become hot property. If he decides to declare for the NBA draft this year, he is a possible lottery pick.
If you predicted all that, you earn a gold star.
Myself, I finished sixth in The Gazette's NCAA pool out of 27 entrants. Not bad, considering only one of my Final Four made it. If I had picked UCLA to bow out in the championship game instead of the semifinals, maybe I could have cracked the top three.
That's life in the big-city bracket pool.

Here are some of my tournament awards:

Most surprising team: George Mason
As if you had to ask. They were the first small school to broach the Final Four since 1979. Too bad their exit was so unceremonious.

Most disappointing team: Duke
They were a Final Four-caliber team, but they simply died against LSU.

Most on-par team: UCLA
They made the Final Four as a second seed, advanced to the championship game and were oustered by a more athletic team.

Coach of the tournament: Jim Larranaga, George Mason
For three weeks, he got his too short/too slow/too small Patriots to play over their heads. Emphasis on "for three weeks." Unfortunately, some desperate school with deep pockets will brand him a savior and hire him away, and he'll flop badly. Northwestern, anyone?

Player of the tournament: Joakim Noah, Florida
Much like with Larranaga, some desperate NBA team is about to select Noah way too high should he declare for the draft. My unsolicited advice is that Noah stay in college for at least one more season and add some muscle. He has the athleticism to play in an NBA frontcourt. But with his skinny frame, he wouldn't be much more than a slightly-more-coordinated version of Anderson Varejao at the moment.

Overhyped player of the tournament: J.J. Redick, Duke
He's the shizznit at the moment, especially after winning the AP Player of the Year award. But I have a nasty feeling he is going to be another Dukie who can't live up to the hype at the NBA level. He isn't amazingly athletic, which calls into question his ability to penetrate and defend in the NBA. If he can't get his celebrated outside shot off quickly enough for the NBA, he is going to be buried on the bench somewhere.

Teams to watch out for next year: UCLA and Ohio State
Both teams had great formative years, though UCLA is more advanced at the moment. The Bruins should be a national championship favorite next year, and the Buckeyes should be a Final Four contender with a fantastic freshman class coming in.