More food for thought. Back in May 2007 ESPN had an article ranking the top 10 programs of the past 10 years. UConn was tied for 2nd with Michigan State behind Duke who was 1. Back then UConn had 2 National Championships in that 10 year period. But they also had 5 BE championships and 4 conference titles during that time frame and some dominating years. And they played in arguably the best basketball conference. UConn hasn't been dominant in the regular season since 2009 and they're now in the AAC. National Championships are the ultimate goal but for better or for worse they're missing these things now so that people kind of forget how good the program has been.
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=2862455
First up: ESPN.com's Top 10 programs of the last 10 years.
1. Duke (2 first-place votes)
Love them or hate them, you can't quibble with the Blue Devils' performance during a 10-year run. With one national championship, three Final Fours, 28 NCAA Tournament wins, six ACC titles (five solo), seven ACC tournament titles (including five in a row) and an average RPI of 4.3 over that time period (almost six RPI places better than Kansas, which is second on that list), Duke's accomplishments, in arguably the nation's toughest conference, are unmatched by any other program. The Blue Devils have had a bunch of terrific college players over the past decade, and when you throw in pro stars such as
Elton Brand and
Carlos Boozer along with solid contributors like
Shane Battier and
Corey Maggette, the program even is shedding the "talent doesn't translate to the next level" label. It's fair to note that Duke has underperformed its NCAA Tournament seeds fairly significantly since its last national title in 2001, but it's also fair to mention that when you're a No. 1 seed almost every year (eight times in the last decade), it's hard to do anything but underperform in knockout-style events.
T2. Michigan State (1)
The sleeper team of the top 10, the Spartans don't have the blue-blooded reputation of a Kentucky or a Kansas, but they have a decade's worth of performance that would flatter either of those schools. The Spartans made three straight Final Fours from 1999 to 2001, winning the title in 2000. The Spartans returned to the Final Four in 2005, losing to North Carolina. In the past 10 seasons, they have four Big Ten titles, two Big Ten tournament titles and 24 NCAA Tournament wins (third-best over the past decade) -- but did so with an average seed of 5.10 (well behind Duke's average seed of 1.7). One significant drawback: The Spartans have not won either the Big Ten regular-season title or conference tournament title since 2001. MSU has generated some very solid pros, headlined by
Jason Richardson,
Zach Randolph and
Morris Peterson.
T2. UConn (1)
The Huskies have been one of the nation's bellwether programs over the past 10 years and one of two programs (along with Florida) with more than one NCAA championship in that time. UConn won it all in both 1999 and 2004, cashing in both times it made the Final Four in that span. UConn also has notched 25 NCAA Tournament wins, five Big East championships and four conference tournament titles. Also, perhaps more than any other program in this list, UConn has generated a large number of extremely good NBA players, including
Emeka Okafor,
Ben Gordon,
Caron Butler,
Richard Hamilton and
Charlie Villanueva.
4. Florida (1)
My, how two seasons can change perceptions. In February 2006, Florida was a successful program that had gathered momentum in the SEC but was best known for repeatedly getting knocked out early in the NCAAs. Florida suffered first-round NCAA upsets in 2002 and '04 and needed a buzzer beater to escape Butler in overtime in 2000, when the Gators ultimately made it to the national championship game. Since last February, the Gators have ripped off 18 straight tournament wins (SEC and NCAA) and became the first school to win back-to-back national titles since Duke in 1991 and '92. When you look at the composite -- two national championships, three Final Fours, 22 NCAA Tournament wins -- it stacks right up there with the ultraheavyweights of the college game, but it's clear that much of that bulk came in the last two seasons. Florida's top talent at the pro level --
David Lee,
Mike Miller,
Udonis Haslem and
Jason Williams -- isn't as impressive as that of some of its peers, but that should change down the road with three potential lottery picks (Al Horford, Joakim Noah and Corey Brewer) this year.
T5. Kansas
The pessimist will mention the lack of a national championship in the past 10 seasons (actually, make that 19). The optimist will point out that the Jayhawks have an overall profile worthy of this spot, despite being one of only two programs on this list without a national title in that span. The Jayhawks have won at least a share of six Big 12 titles and have four conference tournament crowns. They also have the second-best RPI in the nation (10.20) over that time frame, along with 20 NCAA Tournament wins (despite back-to-back first-round losses in 2005 and '06) and two Final Four appearances. Looking to the NBA for additional affirmation, KU has produced
Paul Pierce,
Kirk Hinrich,
Drew Gooden and
Raef LaFrentz.
T5. North Carolina
With the Roy Williams connection, funny that these two programs ended up deadlocked in our poll. Much to the consternation of Jayhawk Nation, Williams did in Chapel Hill what he couldn't do in Lawrence -- guide his team to the national title, winning it all in 2005 with a loaded club that produced four NBA lottery picks. In the past 10 years, Carolina has compiled 20 NCAA Tournament wins, three Final Four appearances and the one national title. UNC's contribution to the NBA ranks has been top-shelf as well, with
Vince Carter and
Antawn Jamison being joined by the 2005 class headlined by
Marvin Williams,
Sean May and
Raymond Felton.
7. Kentucky
Heresy? Yes, Kentucky has the 1998 national title in its account for this drill, one that wrapped up one of the most dominant three-year runs in modern NCAA basketball history, but in the nine seasons that followed, the Wildcats' 17 NCAA wins have not earned them even one return trip to the Final Four. Of course, you can't discount the five SEC titles and five conference tournament championships in this stretch, either. The lack of standout NBA players may be evidence of the biggest knock on former coach Tubby Smith -- recruiting that saw a decline in the amount of blue-chip talent coming to Lexington. The best of the bunch probably is
Tayshaun Prince.
8. Arizona
Here's the other program in the top 10 without a national title in the last decade, although the Wildcats did win it all in 1997. Zona also has underachieved a bit in the NCAAs, turning three No. 1 seeds into only one Final Four appearance. Still, the Cats have long been one of the nation's elite programs. In the past 10 years, they have 18 NCAA wins, four league titles (surprisingly, though, so does Stanford) and won the Pac-10's first conference tournament in 12 seasons in 2002. Looking for some stars at the pro level? Try
Gilbert Arenas,
Andre Iguodala,
Richard Jefferson and
Jason Terry, for starters.
9. Maryland
Maryland has operated rather successfully in the very long shadows of Duke and North Carolina in the ACC. The Terps have a league championship, a conference tournament championship, two Final Four appearances and the national championship in 2002. The Terps actually have had a better average RPI than Carolina over the past 10 years (helped a good amount by the Heels' 8-20 disaster in 2002), and also have only one fewer NCAA Tournament wins (20 for UNC, 19 for Maryland) over that span. When it comes to talent for the NBA,
Steve Francis is by far the best of a so-so bunch.
10. Syracuse
The Carmelo-fueled 2003 national title helps a lot, as the rest of the past decade has netted only seven additional NCAA Tournament wins. The Orange also have won shares of two regular-season Big East titles and claimed back-to-back conference tournament titles in 2005 and '06. Take away the national title (say, the Orange lost in that Final Four) and they probably are behind such schools as Illinois, Texas and Stanford. Just shows how much winning championships is valued in our basketball world.
Hakim Warrick probably is next in line after Anthony on the NBA level.
Others receiving votes: Texas, Gonzaga
