Pax help us all.

I can't imagine liking this pick as recently as a few weeks ago, but lets focus on the good things that Noah does. He's 7 feet.  He can man-defend the center position, good help defender and shotblocker, and on offense he can run, pass, catch and finish.

That's a pretty good player, and that's not going into the intangibles like his 'proven winner' status.

There's also those negative intangibles, such as: he's annoying as hell.

But hey, they're equally unimportant in my eyes.

(1) When Noah was a freshman, not playing at all and mostly sulking, I disliked him entirely.

(2) At the start of his sophomore year (two seasons ago), I sat in MSG with my wife watching the Gators foreshadow their title by beating Wake and Syracuse. I couldn't stand Noah. My wife said he's going to be a star. Shows what I know.

(3) By the 2006 NCAA Tournament, I had come to appreciate his energy and selflessness, his team orientation. He's obnoxious, yes, but his life is an error of enthusiasm, which is entirely forgivable.

(4) End of 2006 Tournament: I believe.

(5) 2007 season and tournament: I find him a little too over-the-top (a game-killing technical waiting to happen), but he always rode the fine line. He maintained that team-first orientation and, despite (a) more scrutiny and loathing than any other player this year and (b) a decreased role within the team as his teammates got a lot better, he was a star on a double-title team.

Here's the upshot: When he's theirs, you hate him. When he's yours, you love him. I'm thoroughly enjoying watching Bulls fans who previously hated him beyond belief rationalizing how to like him.

And people call ME a Bandwagon Gator fan!!!