NCAA Basketball: Best player on eastern semifinal 2019 NBA playoff teams
By Alex Weber
Boston Celtics – Al Horford
Horford is a living embodiment of team basketball. As a college kid, he carried himself with the on-court maturity of a 12-year NBA veteran–like he is now. Horford was a key cog on the only team to win consecutive championships in the past quarter decade. His 2007-2008 repeat champion Florida Gators would know no glory without their indispensable forward.
Those Gator teams, led by the currently-maligned Billy Donovan, won due to their defensive diligence and team connectedness. Horford fostered a team atmosphere better than any coach could ever dream. Leadership begins with the names on the back of the jerseys, not the suit-wearers being paid millions per year. Horford embodied everything it meant to be a leader in college on and off the court.
He was NCAA Basketball’s rendition of Tim Duncan: a player who operated with 100% effort 100% of the time, grabbed every loose ball, fought with an unmatchable toughness, and sacrificed individual stats for the hope of team success. Like Duncan, Horford played with a silence, a hardworking selfless silence. His game required no vibrancy, no flashiness, and no stats. He outhustled and out-aggressed his opposition, and his intensity never wavered.
In many ways, he is almost identical to the player he was in Gainesville. Horford has the moniker of being a 5-time participant of the NBA All-Star Game, though I doubt he cares; yet, the forward from the Dominican Republic has never averaged 20 points a game. His calling cards are his toughness, defense, and reliability. There is almost never a scenario where I wouldn’t want Horford on the floor.
For Atlanta, Big Al was a two-way star who scorer efficiently in the post and obviously was an excellent defender. And with Boston, he fills the same role but has expanded his range to the three-point line and serves as the safety pin of the Celtic defense–and threaded 2018’s young club into a formidable unit on that side during their postseason run without Kyrie Irving or Gordon Hayward.
There are Celtics players who scored more in college or may be remembered more fondly. Jayson Tatum was remarkable in his season with Duke and was certainly the more talented guy overall in college. However, he’s the Karl Malone to Horford’s Duncan in this particular scenario: decidedly below.