<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">1. Houston, 1983-84. How did these guys not win? Just check out the names, including two NBA Hall of Famers: Akeem Olajuwon, Clyde Drexler, Larry Micheaux, Benny Anders, Byron Franklin, etc. (Way to leave Drexler in the game, Guy Lewis.) 2. Kansas, 1997. Already went into length on the Paul Pierce/Raef LaFrentz buzzsaw that got buzzed by Arizona. 3. Michigan, 1992-93. How many people remember that the Fab Five never actually won a title? 4. Duke, 1999. These guys truly were a step above the rest of the country from the start of the season until the fateful last night when they fell in the Tropicana Dome against UConn. 5. Arizona, 2001. More names: Gilbert Arenas, Richard Jefferson, Jason Gardner, Michael Wright, Luke Walton, Loren Woods. What's interesting here is which guys have made it in the pros and which haven't. 6. North Carolina, 1998. Let's see: Vince Carter, Antawn Jamison, Ed Cota -- and not title. Utah??? 7. UConn, 2006. It still feels weird to write that this team lost to George Mason with a Final Four berth on the line. Alums: Rudy Gay, Josh Boone, Hilton Armstrong, Marcus Williams, Denham Brown. 8. Virginia, 1981. Kids today just don't know how dominant Ralph Sampson was at the collegiate level. 9. LSU, 1990. This set of luminaries started the season No. 2 with a roster that included Shaquille O'Neal, Chris Jackson, Stanley Roberts, VernelSingleton, Wayne Sims and Maurice Williamson. So of course, as reader Kenny Morgan, of New Orleans, points out, the Tigers fell to Georgia Tech in the second round of the NCAAs after leading by 25 at the half. 10. Cincinnati, 2000. Oh what might have been had Kenyon Martin not broken his leg in the C-USA tourney against Saint Louis. Perhaps the most frightening team of the 2000s -- Pete Mickeal was a heck of a player, too, and Steve Logan, DerMarr Johnson and Kenny Satterfield made for a sweet supporting cast. 11. Indiana, 1993. A lot of folks in the Midwest still think the Hoosiers would have won it all if Alan Henderson hadn't been hurt. 12. Illinois, 2005. One of the great teams of our time in the team sense. I would have had the Stylin' Illini higher if I didn't think they had already exceeded the sum of their parts so well. 13. St. John's, 1985. Chris Mullin, Walter Berry, Bill Wennington: not a bad team that Louie Carnesecca assembled. The Big East was loaded in '85 with three Final Four teams. 14. Syracuse, 1990. No title with three first-round draft picks (Derrick Coleman, Billy Owens, Leron Ellis) and a really good college player in Stevie Thompson, as reader Kevin Bartner of Atlanta notes. 15. Oklahoma, 1988. Another scary team that was destroying teams until being taken down by Kansas in the title game. Alums: Stacey King, Harvey Grant, Mookie Blaylock, Ricky Grace and former WATN subject Dave Sieger. 16. Illinois, 1989. The Flyin' Illini is part of the state mythology by now, and there's a good reason for that.</div> http://fourseam.blogspot.com/2007/01/top-1...itle-since.html
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">3. Michigan, 1992-93. How many people remember that the Fab Five never actually won a title?</div> Maybe anyone who knows anything about college basketball? Michigan won in 1989, pre-Fab Five and in the Glen Rice era - that's kinda common knowledge. Interesting article, even though I disagree with some of the picks. The Fab Five should definitely be #1. The Ohio State comparisons are really insulting to the type of talent that Michigan had. Yeah, Greg Oden is a great pro prospect, but he's not as dominant on the collegiate level at this point as any of the Fab Five's big three were. To try to make a more accurate analogy, it was like a team with three Kevin Durants and two Daequan Cooks. Yeah, they were that stacked.
<div class="quote_poster">fitch4delk00 Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">How is louisville not on that list? there last title was 1986</div> No Louisville teams stand out to me as particularly great in the other 15 years since 1980. Which year's team would you put on that list?
Yea, this article makes the mistake of equating NBA talent with college dominance. Almost all of the explanations result in him pointing out how good the players became in the pros. I think the 2006 Connecticut squad should be a bit lower. While everyone knew they had a lot of NBA-calibre talent, there were so many questions about their work ethic, chemistry, etc. before the tournament began. Ultimately, they were exposed, albeit by a team that came out of nowhere.
<div class="quote_poster">Voodoo Child Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">No Louisville teams stand out to me as particularly great in the other 15 years since 1980. Which year's team would you put on that list?</div> You could use the recent one when they went to the final four they had Garcia, palacios, and Dean together with the other talent they had.
^ I really wouldn't put that L'Ville team into this list, but they were an outstanding team. The fact that they were that good so recently really makes you wonder what's up with them - Palacios should be an all-conference stud by now (injuries), Padget should be the same type of player (injuries). I can't figure out their backcourt. It seems like no one on that team is taught to defend or avoid turnovers - maybe Pitino really was a better fit for the NBA I've got to say that this year's Louisville team is really a disappointment. I know they're young, but my God - give a guy like a Bo Ryan, a Phil Martelli, a Tom Izzo, that same talent, and they'd be a top 5 team without question.
^ Palacios is a stud when hes healthy and they dont really have a true point guard, T-Will is a freak athlete but he doesnt take advantage of it he takes to many 3s. Jenkins was a big letdown this year, the players seem to be playing Pitino ball great defense and shooting the 3. Padgett with 2 bad knees gives as much as he can but there main problem is they cant shoot when you watch them play they miss wide open shots all the time. Im sure Pitino is pulling his hair out at the way his team plays offense but atleast the players are buying into the system. Pitino would probably be a better fit for the nba now because most teams are into the run and gun style, I just dont see him leaving louisville unless they fire him or he retires.
