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Joakim Noah

File:Noah-447881998 4fae3847b9.jpgJoakim Noah
Chicago Bulls
Position	Power forward
League	NBA
Personal information
Born	(1985-02-25) February 25, 1985 (age 39) New York, New York, U.S.
Nationality	American / French
Listed height	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
Listed weight	232 lb (105 kg)
Career information
High school	The Lawrenceville School, Lawrenceville, New Jersey
College	Florida
NBA draft	2007: 1 round, 9 overall
Selected by the Chicago Bulls
Playing career	2007–present
Career highlights and awards
2006 Tournament MOP 2006 AP All-SEC 2007 AP All-American 2 Team
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball Reference

Joakim Noah (pronunciation: /ˡdʒoʌkim/; born February 25, 1985 in New York, New York) is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Bulls. He played collegiate basketball for the University of Florida in the SEC of the NCAA from 2004-2007. Noah was a member of the Gators' teams that won the 2006 and 2007 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournaments. On June 28, 2007, Noah was taken 9th overall in the 2007 NBA Draft by the Chicago Bulls.

Background

Noah is of Swedish, French and Cameroonian descent. He was born February 25, 1985 to Yannick Noah, a former French professional tennis player and 1983 French Open Champion, and Cécilia Rhode, Miss Sweden 1978. In addition, his paternal grandfather Zacharie Noah was a Cameroonian football (soccer) player who had a professional career in France.

He competed on basketball teams for several high schools, first at the United Nations International School (UNIS) in New York City. He played streetball tournaments and his nickname was "The Noble One" because someone heard that his dad was a pro tennis player. He later transferred to Poly Prep in Brooklyn, New York, where he was coached by Bill McNally, and then to The Lawrenceville School, outside of Princeton, New Jersey. At UNIS he was coached by Alsonso Shockley, Harry Muniz and David Gartrelle. He reached the championships as the only sophomore on the team. After that he left to Lawrenceville to further his basketball career.

College career

During his freshman year at Florida (2004-2005), he played sparingly, clocking in just 10.3 minutes per game, and averaged only 3.9 points and 2.7 rebounds per contest.

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). 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.

2006 NCAA Tournament

Noah was named the Most Outstanding Player (MOP) of the 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.

Professional career

The Chicago Bulls selected Noah as the ninth overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft. Noah and his teammates at Florida, Corey Brewer and Al Horford, became the highest picked trio from the same college in the history of the NBA. Horford was chosen third overall by the Atlanta Hawks, and Brewer was chosen seventh overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves. On November 6, 2007, he made his regular season debut off the bench after missing the first three games with a sprained ankle. He posted 2 points and 4 rebounds.

Personal life

Though Noah could be eligible for international competitions such as the Olympics or World Basketball Championships by playing with either the American, Cameroonian, French or Swedish teams, he seems to be leaning towards playing for France. "The French National team is definitely something that has been in my dreams for a while." Noah also said his decision to be in the competition was mainly because of his good friend Dwayne Sherman who he grew up with. He was officially made a French citizen on April 11, 2007. Noah is also fluent in French.

Awards

• 2006 Associated Press (AP) All-SEC First Team
• Named an Honorable Mention All-American by AP.

Notes

1. ^ "Florida... brings home NCAA title". NCAASports.com. Retrieved 2007-02-13.
2. ^ Newberry, Paul (2006-03-15). "Tide's Steele selected to '06 All-SEC team". DecaturDaily.com. Retrieved 2007-03-08.
3. Brady, Erik (2004-03-22). "Star high school athlete becomes his own man". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2007-02-27.
4. Givony, Jonathanl (2007-05-21). "Joakim Noah: "I don't feel like there is another player like me"". DraftExpress.com. Retrieved 2007-06-29.
5. FIBA: Noah cleared to play for France

External links

• Template:NBA-profile
• Official Florida bio

• 1985 births
• Living people
• University of Florida alumni
• American basketball players
• French basketball players
• Chicago Bulls players
• Florida Gators men's basketball players
• African American sportspeople
• French Americans
• Swedish-Americans
• People from New York City
• Cameroonian Americans
• Power forwards (basketball)
• Cameroonian French people