Pretty incredible story really when you think about is that Yannick Noah’s kid, Joakim, is playing today – in just an hour – in the NCAA Basketball Final Four. Noah and his Florida Gators are favored to win the title outright and in just under an hour will be playing the underdog George Mason Patriots.

What’s so remarkable about Noah is that a year ago as a freshman at Florida he was basically sitting on the bench. Now he’s being touted among the game’s best players and a would-be Top 5 NBA draft according to some “experts.”

Watching Noah last weekend it was easy to see why. The kid, at 6-foot-11 or so, is one of the fastest players on the court, and among those kids left in the Final Four perhaps second only to the freakish Tyrice Thomas of LSU in terms of overall athletic ability.

Noah though doesn’t have much of a jump shot but plays smart basketball and can absolutely finish with the best of them – that means dunk for those of you who don’t watch hoops in the U.S.

Rumor was that if Joakim reached the Final Four, dad Yannick, who had been watching on satellite back in France, would make the trip out to Indianapolis to watch his son play. Win or lose tonight, pops is surely proud…

Filed under: Joakim Noah