It’s been 17 years since Al Horford’s Florida Gators became the last repeat national champion in college basketball when they won back-to-back titles in 2006 and 2007. A connection from those teams could help extend their reign.

UConn, the No. 1 overall seed in this season’s NCAA Tournament, is the biggest threat to become the first back-to-back champion since Horford and Florida pulled off the rare feat. When the Huskies begin their quest on Friday afternoon against No. 16 seed Stetson, a familiar face for Horford will be standing in their way. Stetson head coach Donnie Jones was an assistant coach on Billy Donovan’s Florida staff for those championships.

Horford, a Celtics veteran in his 17th season in the NBA, still keeps tabs on Jones and his teams. When he saw Stetson win the Atlantic Sun tournament to make the program’s first ever NCAA Tournament, he was thrilled for him. But then the bracket was unveiled.

“I was excited when Stetson got in,” Horford said at his Celtics locker this week. “I texted Donnie right away, but then when I saw they were playing UConn, it’s tough. I hope that they have a good outing, but that UConn team is as good of a team as I’ve seen in college in a lot of years.”

Horford has great pride in being on a back-to-back championship team, which has only been done twice in the last 50 years – 1991-92 Duke and 2006-07 Florida. He and then-teammates Joakim Noah and Corey Brewer could have left after the first championship and become NBA lottery picks, but they decided to return and run it back to accomplish history.

And while Horford certainly cherishes those titles, he’s not exactly out to root against UConn’s bid. He’s not gatekeeping when it comes to other programs joining his place in history.

“You do think about it,” Horford said. “It’s a hard thing to do, but the reality is, I feel like it’s been long enough, you know what I mean? I’ve paid attention to it in the past, but looking at UConn, they have as good of a shot as anybody that I’ve seen through this trajectory.”

UConn’s attempt looks a little different than Florida’s. While the Gators returned the same starting five from their first title, the Huskies brought back three core players – All-American Tristen Newton, Alex Karaban and Donovan Clingan – and had to work some new pieces in. After losing leading scorer Adama Sanogo, Jordan Hawkins and Andre Jackson – the latter two to the NBA – last season, coach Dan Hurley added Cam Spencer and projected lottery pick Stephon Castle to the fold.

The Huskies didn’t miss a beat, and are actually unquestionably better. They rolled to a Big East regular-season title after winning a conference record 18 games, then won the league tournament. They enter the NCAA Tournament with a 31-3 record, and have won 21 of their last 22 games. They have the nation’s best offense, no obvious weaknesses and are easily the best candidate to repeat since Florida.

UConn is a 26.5-point favorite over Stetson on Friday and Horford understands the enormous task his former coach faces.

“That UConn team is tough,” Horford said. “I just hope that Stetson’s able to put on a good showing and good fight. It’s a very tough draw, but I just think for Stetson it’s more than that, they have to celebrate the fact that they’re in the NCAA Tournament, it’s a good story.”

Horford has continued to follow Jones’ journey over the years. After their 2007 championship, Jones became the head coach at Marshall. He made stops at Central Florida (head coach), Wichita State (assistant) and Dayton (assistant) before landing the head-coaching job at Stetson in 2019.

Stetson head coach Donnie Jones signals to his team during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Ohio State, Monday, Nov. 18, 2019, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)

“We have a good relationship,” Horford said. “It’s just been pretty impressive what he’s done with Stetson, how they turned it and how they’re at this point right now, it’s a very big deal. Donnie’s a great guy, he helped me a lot when I was at Florida, but yeah, we do keep in touch. It’s just good to see him have success.”

Horford said he plans to tune in – tip for UConn-Stetson is scheduled for 2:45 p.m., a few hours before the Celtics face the Pistons in Detroit – and he was also keeping his eyes on other friends he has in the NCAA Tournament. Anthony Grant, another former Florida assistant, is the head coach at Dayton, who pulled off an incredible second-half comeback to knock out Nevada in Thursday’s first round. Taurean Green, Horford’s point guard at Florida, is now an assistant with the Gators, who face Colorado in the first round on Friday.

“It’s one of my favorite times of the year, just to get to watch all the games and watch these teams come out of nowhere, make noise in the tournament and things like that,” Horford said. “That really excites me. I really look forward to that.”