Joakim Noah
From Hoopedia
Joakim Simon Noah (pronunciation: JO-a-kim; born February 25, 1985 in New York City) is a 6 ft. 11 in. American basketball player who played for the University of Florida from 2004-07. Noah was a member of the Gators' teams that won the 2006 and 2007 NCAA Division I Men's Tournaments. Joakim was selected 9th overall in Draft 2007 by the Chicago Bulls.
Early Life
Noah is of Cameroonian descent (his grand-father, Zacharie Noah was a Cameroonian soccer player who had a professional career in France), and of French and Swedish descent and nationality, born to Yannick Noah, a former French professional tennis player and 1983 French Open Champion, and Cécilia Rodhe, Miss Sweden 1978. He competed on basketball teams for several high schools, first at the United Nations International School (UNIS) in New York City, later transferring to Poly Prep in Brooklyn, where he was coached by Bill McNally, and finally to The Lawrenceville School, near Princeton, New Jersey. At UNIS he was coached by Alsonso Shockley and Harry Muniz. He reached the championships as the only sophomore on the team. After that he left to Lawrenceville to further his basketball career. At Lawrenceville, Noah averaged 24.0 points and 12.0 rebounds per game, leading his team to a New Jersey Prep 'A' state title.
College Career
During his freshman year at Florida (2004-2005), he was played sparingly, clocking in just 10.3 minutes per game, and averaged only 3.9 points and 2.7 rebounds per contest. During his team's two NCAA Tournament games, he played a total of 3 minutes.
During the summer of 2005, he was a key member of the runner-up H3 team at the Entertainer's Basketball Classic at Rucker Park.
Noah made significant improvement in his sophomore year (2005-2006), leading his team in points (14.2 ppg) and blocks (2.4 bpg), while ranking second in rebounds (7.1 rpg) behind teammate Al Horford (7.6 rpg).
Noah was named the Most Outstanding Player of the 2006 NCAA Tournament's Minneapolis Regional after leading the Gators over top-seeded Villanova in the final game with 21 points, 15 rebounds, and 5 blocks. On April 3, 2006, Noah led the Gators to a 73-57 win over UCLA for the school's first NCAA Basketball Championship, and was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four. In the finale, he posted 16 points, 9 rebounds, and a championship game record 6 blocks.
Almost unknown at the beginning of the season, Noah's draft stock improved continually. By the end of the NCAA tournament he was considered by many to be the top college prospect in the country, and had he declared for the 2006 NBA Draft he very likely would have been taken first or second. However, Noah, along with teammates Al Horford and Corey Brewer announced at their national championship celebration that they would return for their junior seasons. Noah and the Gators would go on to repeat as champions.
