Florida Gators
Indian River C.C.
Some are saying Kentucky '12 greatest team ever? Don't forget these guys
Tuesday, April 3, 2012 | Men's Basketball, Men's Swimming & Diving, Chris Harry
As soon as the final seconds ticked down Monday night and made Kentucky's eighth national championship official, discussion commenced on where this Wildcats team fit among the greatest teams of all time.
Answer: High.
The 2011-12 Wildcats were spectacular in assuming the burden early on of the runaway NCAA title favorite, buying into Coach John Calipari's system and dispensing of any petty jealousies -- with a trio of decorated freshman in the starting lineup -- and playing a selfless brand of basketball that will be lauded for years to come.
Best ever, some are saying.
Nope.
I never saw Bill Russell and those San Francisco teams of the '50s, nor the back-to-backs from Cincinnati of the early '60s. In my viewing lifetime, gimme a couple of those UCLA teams (ones with Lew Alcinder and Bill Walton, obviously). Michigan State in '79, maybe. North Carolina '82, definitely.
Now, best of the last couple decades? One of them, sure.
I listened to a couple national radio talking heads pound on that very subject this morning. They wondered how this Kentucky team compared to Duke's back-to-backers from '91 and '92. Or Rick Pitino's UK bunch that steamrolled just about everybody to the '96 championship.
Hello?
Forgotten somebody, perhaps?
Florida's national championships teams of '06 and '07 belong in any conversation among the greatest teams of all time. Maybe even at the start of it.
I think the case can be made -- and, yes, I realize who I'm writing for -- that what Billy Donovan did with his two national championship teams was one of the epic achievements in college basketball history because of what he molded from a roster minus the McDonald's All America pedigree of all the other one-for-the-ages squads we're talking about.
Those repeaters from Duke teams had eight.
This latest Kentucky team had six.
Florida had one (Corey Brewer).
And for a trio of projected lottery picks to forsake the guaranteed millions of the NBA (remember, Joakim Noah was going to be the No. 1 overall selection in the '06 draft -- like UK center Anthony Davis will be -- after his tournament MVP performance) to return and willingly take on all the trappings and uber-pressures that come with a chance to repeat, earn that No. 1 seed and actually win it all again?
Advantage, Gators.
Not even close, actually.
Congratulations, Wildcats. You were sensational and certainly, in time, deserve your place in the debate about the greatest team to ever play.
But if you want to be even greater than great, Anthony Davis and friends, hold a pep rally, put your arms around each other and announce you're coming back to win another one.
And then do it.
