Kentucky Sports Radio
[Moderated by Matt Jones, Drew Franklin and Tyler Thompson]
[Moderated by Matt Jones, Drew Franklin and Tyler Thompson]
It seems that the cool thing to do these days is compare this year’s championship squad to past championship teams. I can’t imagine how much internet space has been taken up by debates over the 2012 UK team vs. the 1996 team; in fact, as I type this, I’m hosting an imaginary scrimmage between the two in my head (Anthony Davis just swatted a Ron Mercer shot into the stands). Proving that sportswriters are just like us, The Sporting News’ Mike DeCourcy and his colleagues are on trend, ranking the top ten National Championship teams (from the expanded bracket era). The 2012 Cats came in at number seven thanks to Cal’s blend of undeniable talent, unexpected maturity, and a consistent senior to steady the ship.
The Sporting News writers break down each squad by their “go-to guy,” rotation, defining number, legacy, and tournament run. DeCourcy nails it when he says the reason the 2012 Cats were so good is that they didn’t have one “go-to guy,” ala Christian Laettner, but instead, a whole team of consistent scorers, the most clutch of them being senior Darius Miller:
Each of the Wildcats showed he could play under pressure, and each delivered essential plays when called upon.
If there was one constant, it was Miller, the senior who did not start, of whom Davis said, “When we get in tough situations, he calms us down and tells us what to do. He’s a great leader, leads the team. That’s what he does at crunch time, tells you what to do.”
That’s all fine and dandy, but what about the 1996 team, which trumps the 2012 Cats in most of these debates? Well, The Sporting News agrees, naming Rick Pitino’s squad the number one all-time college basketball champion. Here’s the complete list:
10. 2001 Duke
9. 1994 Arkansas
8. 2009 North Carolina
7. 2012 Kentucky
6. 1995 UCLA
5. 2007 Florida
4. 1999 UConn
3. 2008 Kansas
2. 1992 Duke
1. 1996 Kentucky
The Sporting News’ Steve Greenberg writes that when it came down to it, the ’96 Cats were in a league of their own:
But the Untouchables, as coach Rick Pitino would nickname them, had too much talent—too much athleticism—to be denied the program’s first national title in 18 years, finishing 34-2. They had four players—Antoine Walker, Walter McCarty, Derek Anderson and Ron Mercer—who were so versatile Pitino could deploy them any way he wanted. And they had a leader, senior guard Tony Delk, who could bury a big shot more reliably than anyone Pitino had coached since Billy Donovan at Providence. And that includes the New York Knicks.
The 2012 and 1996 teams were similar in their breadth of talent, smothering defense, and effortless offense. Greenberg writes that the legacy of the ’96 team was its message to the college basketball world that Kentucky is back. Two years later, Tubby took the Cats back to the title again, with only two players left from the ’96 rotation in Wayne Turner and Jeff Sheppard. As we reluctantly say goodbye to our own championship squad and hello to a new crop of Cats, I can’t help but feel there is a similar stretch of glory days ahead of us.
What do you make of The Sporting News’ rankings? Would you put the 2012 Cats higher?
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April 30th, 2012 at 5:05 pm
Couldn’t agree more with this ranking. The 96 team devastated opponents, most games in that year were over in the 1st half. I also agree that this years squad is definitely in the top 10. Both teams were awesome!
April 30th, 2012 at 5:13 pm
Twany’s ink featured on Slate.com:
http://www.slate.com/articles/life/doonan/2012/04/how_common_are_tattoos_too_common_.html
April 30th, 2012 at 5:14 pm
2008 Kansas? Seriously?
April 30th, 2012 at 5:17 pm
Fair assessment. 96 team was awesome.
April 30th, 2012 at 5:19 pm
good list. not sure on 08 kansas and 07 florida. i think our squad this year was probably better
April 30th, 2012 at 5:27 pm
’08 Kansas and ’07 Florida and no ’90 UNLV? Really. I agree with ’96 and ’12 placements, but cmon, UNLV won by 30. That by itself deserves at least a top 10.
April 30th, 2012 at 5:28 pm
And if ’12 Cats stayed another year, they’d definitely challenge ’96 cats.
April 30th, 2012 at 5:30 pm
I definitely feel another title coming real soon.
April 30th, 2012 at 5:32 pm
If Memphis hits free throws and Duke doesn’t pull off the most improbable shot in basketball history 92′ Duke and 08′ Kansas aren’t even on the list.
April 30th, 2012 at 5:32 pm
1995 UCLA? Seriously? And 2008 Kansas? Wow. Not sure how they voted them over UNLV or many others.
April 30th, 2012 at 5:36 pm
95 UCLA, really…if someone had played any defense on Tyus Edney, they would have lost to a pedestrian Mizzou team early in the tourney. They were not significantly better than the 2010-11 Final Four Cats!!
April 30th, 2012 at 5:38 pm
And leaving off 1990 UNLV (unless it was before the expansion?) is just plain wrong….they were beasts!
April 30th, 2012 at 5:40 pm
What does “all time” mean? You mean no team prior to 1992 merits mention?
1976 Indiana team went undefeated.
1978 Kentucky was balanced, deep, talented and experienced.
Not to mention some of the teams of the 60′s 50s and beyond. These lists are worthless and catered to those under the age of 30 who have no real frame of reference.
April 30th, 2012 at 5:44 pm
13. The 50′s 60′s and 70′s were pre-expanded bracket era. That’s why they were left off the list.
April 30th, 2012 at 5:45 pm
In the spirit of the poll, the 2012 squad would get beaten pretty badly by the 1996 team. But #7 David is right: for the sake of argument, if Davis, MKG, and the rest stayed for another year (or 2, or 3?), good god. We could legitimately discuss 2 straight undefeated seasons.
April 30th, 2012 at 5:52 pm
This 2012 team would’ve crushed the 2008 team (who wouldn’t have even won if it wasn’t for Memphis’ missed free throws). I’m just glad to see the 96 team is above Duke’s 92 team, well deserved.
April 30th, 2012 at 5:55 pm
where in the hell is the ’90 unlv team? that team was completely dominant. greg anthony, larry johnson, stacey augmon…come on, seriously?
April 30th, 2012 at 5:58 pm
Sorry, but 2012 UK would destroy 2007 Florida, among other flaws with this list.
April 30th, 2012 at 6:02 pm
Davis would not have swatted Mercer’s shot into the stands….he would have kept it in play, snatched it outleted to Teague, who would have hit ahead to MKG, who would have taken down the lane for a dunk.
April 30th, 2012 at 6:03 pm
I think they placed them well. I think the writers would put them higher if the players had been around longer and had fought through more tough games. That’s wrong, but some writers will value them more for a larger body of work.
April 30th, 2012 at 6:09 pm
09 UNC should be ranked higher
April 30th, 2012 at 6:16 pm
Tourney went to 64 teams in 84 IIRC. The list from the Sporting News was post that time.
April 30th, 2012 at 6:18 pm
Make that 1985 was 1st year of 64 teams.
April 30th, 2012 at 6:20 pm
^agreed. I would also put 07 UF higher. Can someone explain to me why 08 KU is ranked so high? They weren’t even the #1 seed (if i recall correctly), and they were missed free throws and a last second 3 away from not even winning.
April 30th, 2012 at 6:21 pm
i meant “^agreed” to the stateent that 09 unc should have been higher.
April 30th, 2012 at 6:24 pm
2012 Kentucky is better than 2007 Florida. That UF team had a great run through the tourny, but they lost 3 of 4 at one point in the SEC (all by double digits). This UK team never would’ve come close to that.
Don’t get why 08 KU is so high.. 2009 UNC is easily top 5
April 30th, 2012 at 6:32 pm
I would put them number 2. behind the 96 squad. I think they got shafted a bit because of that 2nd half of the title game.
April 30th, 2012 at 6:44 pm
I think the 98 team certainly is not a top 10 team from the three point era, but that team was in the top five for rebounding and field goal defense. They were mature too. The 98 team had the weakness of a lack of speed. The game in Rupp vs. J Williams and the first 30 minutes vs. Duke before they moved Padgett to the 5 & Mu at the 4 demonstrated that lack of team speed. Still, I’ve been lucky to follow 3 great championship teams in my day (too young to remember 78).
April 30th, 2012 at 6:47 pm
hmm…would say the 2012 Cats would be tied with the 99 UConn team…and perhaps drop the 92 Duke team a smidge (come on…it took a 10-10 and a 10-10 from Laettner–and lucky he wasn’t ejected–plus Pitino’s all-time coaching blunder in not putting Timberlake on the inbounds…it took ALL of that to beat a scrappy UK team to even get to the final four…nope)…96 Cats, 99 UConn, 12 Cats…top three…the fact that UK 12 had 5 underclassmen starting and went 38-2 is remarkable…
April 30th, 2012 at 6:49 pm
I’d put 2012 squad at #2. Why not?
April 30th, 2012 at 6:49 pm
1990 runnin rebels are not top 3? For that alone I discredit this ranking. In my mind the 1996 Cats and 1990 rebels were the most devasting teams I have seen in my lifetime. I would also put 2012 cats ahead of 2008 Kansas who probably should be on this list in all honesty. Good Team for sure, but too much credit on this top 10. Replace 2008 Kansas with 1990 Rebels and I just about fine with everyone else.
April 30th, 2012 at 7:08 pm
Definitely agree about 90 Rebels. 92 Duke team waaayyy overrated. Their 7.8 margin of victory (I don’t count 1st rd games) in tourney is 2nd to last on the list. By margin of victory alone, 12′ Cats would rank 5th on this list. Take into account we may have 6 players drafted in the 1st rd and this team should be ranked 3/4 behind 90 Rebs, 96 Cats, and maybe 09 UNC. 95 UCLA, 99 UConn, 08 KU are all ranked too high. What was their criteria in ranking these teams. 92 Duke famously almost lost to us. 08 KU snuck by freakin Davidson. They had one player. Few of these teams dominated the way 12′ Cats dominated. Yes, we gave up huge leads in the final four and championship game, but we had huge leads to give up.
April 30th, 2012 at 7:10 pm
I love this 2012 team but the 96 team would of ran them out of the gym. Way too much depth, and with that press, Teague woulda had a nightmare. The 2012 Cats were indeed talented but no one is coming close to the talent that 96 team had. End of story
April 30th, 2012 at 7:10 pm
08′ Kansas? they shouldn’t even be on the list, and 2007 Florida should be top 3 easy, I agree with the top 2, but 95′ UCLA and 08′ Kansas, ahead of 90′ UNLV? not sure they should even be ahead of 03′ Cuse
April 30th, 2012 at 7:27 pm
Let’s not forget that this year’s team started 3 freshmen and 2 sophomores. Yes they had senior leadership in Miller but in two years I can see lots of these guys being leaders. They already were. Better still let’s talk about what this team would have looked like with Cousins and Wall still playing. Pitino had mostly 4 year players. It was a big shock when Antoine went pro after his second year. Now it’s a shock if they play 2 years. Advantage 2012 on an even playing field. They would have more genuine star quality players and if Wall and Cuz were still around it would be incredible to see them play.
April 30th, 2012 at 7:56 pm
It seems to me this list of best teams is biased toward the last 15-20 yrs. Some of those UCLA teams in the 60s and 70s should be included especially with players like Walton and Alcindor.And what about the undefeated IU team in the 70s???
April 30th, 2012 at 8:23 pm
Having the 95 UCLA team on the list is crazy.
April 30th, 2012 at 8:35 pm
I don’t know about 96 UK and 92 Puke, but 2004 uconn should be on there and 2007 florida should be higher and 2008 kansas shouldnt be on list, put UK 12 at 4 and FL 07 at 3.
April 30th, 2012 at 9:23 pm
This is exactly what makes lists like this so ridiculous. Typical of such lists is only going back so far / sticking with what you have seen. I’m guessing a pretty young person (under 35) wrote this article. I’m as big of a UK fan as there is and I do agree that the ’96 squad is the most dominant team I’ve ever seen. That being said, this list doesn’t have the ’82 Heels. Come on. Jordan, Worthy, Perkins…and those are just the stars. To top it off they beat a powerhouse G-Town team. The ’90 UNLV team with Anthony, Augmon and Grandma-maw Johnson. The ’78 UK team was pretty strong too. I can also imagine that the ’76 IU team and some of the 60′s and 70′s UCLA teams were pretty dominant too but I can’t really speak to that. Like I said, this list is pretty tied to the last 18 yrs. A better effort would be expected from a publication like TSN.
April 30th, 2012 at 9:30 pm
….also, ’95 UCLA is laughable. As it was said earlier, they got the luckiest of lucky to beat Mizzou with Tyus’ floor length drive.
April 30th, 2012 at 9:49 pm
don’get me wrong, I am a big UK fan. However, the UCLA teams in the Alcindor and Walton era have to be the best of all time. UNLV’s championship team was one of the most dominant of all time.
April 30th, 2012 at 10:00 pm
Can understand the cal loyalty but the 08 kansas team was the first time all 1 seeds made final four, and jayhawks trounced the same tarheel team that won it all in 09. And get outta here with that missed free throw garbage, kansas whipped memphis in OT.
April 30th, 2012 at 10:27 pm
Florida, only starting 5 to win 2 championships
April 30th, 2012 at 10:34 pm
Unlv???
April 30th, 2012 at 10:39 pm
You guys are completely underestimating this UK team. I believe they would beat the 96 team. Pitinos tenure at UK was awesome, but what y’all are forgetting is that if a team could beat their press, they were very bearable( ie USC, Miss St, UMass, Arizona). The 96 team was great and deeper, but I’ll take this years lineup any day of the week and twice on Sunday.
April 30th, 2012 at 11:01 pm
#45 Sorry but the 96 team didn’t press as much as his earlier teams did. They only lost to a very good UMass team and gave away a loss to MSU. 96 team and 90 UNLV teams the best ever. I know they didn’t win it all but 96 UMass was as good as most teams on this list.
April 30th, 2012 at 11:28 pm
I saw this story when it first was published. It had no mention at all of it being about teams since the expanded tournament. It was meant to be a list of the best teams ever not just the best since the expansion of the tournament to 64 teams. Why pick that as a cut off point anyway? What a joke!
April 30th, 2012 at 11:42 pm
Top 5 should be…
’96 UKj
U
April 30th, 2012 at 11:44 pm
96 UK is in a category of its own…then pick up the rankings at 6
May 1st, 2012 at 12:12 am
I just saw the #46 comment. That Miss. St. loss was no fluke. That was a final 4 team they lost to. And what’s this stuff about the ’96 not pressing as much? Surely you jest! They pressed more than any team Pitino coached. They were so deep they never ran out of gas and a big weapon of theirs was to run the opposition out of gas quickly. The tv cameras were lost looking for mug shots like they did with normal teams when the Cats were already playing hard, making steals and scoring quick. The cameras missed a deluge of baskets that year. It was frustrating really as the networks refused to give up their face in the crowd shots and their grizzled coach routine. While they were trying to throw in ads the Cats were scoring and the tv people came off looking foolish. They thought they could dictate the pace of the game but as usual they only hope to get their way. The Cats went on scoring whether the network nitwits liked it or not.
May 1st, 2012 at 12:27 am
#50 Guess you didn’t watch much in from 95 on. UK pressed much less as their players got better Pitino his self said as much. The MSU game no fluke I guess coach just wanted Walker to help him coach the second half. I guess that’s why he was on the bench. Pitino like Cal this year let them play thier way in the sec tourney to show them his way is what it took to win it all.
May 1st, 2012 at 2:41 am
I’ve been watching since the Texas Western game “sucks”. I don’t care what Pitino said and I don’t believe he kept Walker on the bench to make the Cats lose. I don’t believe in your cheese bag theories about deliberately losing. BTW you might want to check how many minutes Walker played the first time the Cats played UMASS. It was 20 minutes which is LESS than the 21 minutes he played against Miss. St.. Hmmm… Explain that with your “Rick wanted to lose” theory. Did he want to lose against UMASS also? And before you say it was foul trouble explain why Walker played only 19 minutes against Ark. when he had no foul trouble.
BTW I don’t have to rely on my memory for these things. I’ll just drag out my collection of VHS tapes of the games. You really don’t want to argue me that the Cats pressed less in ’96. I can prove otherwise by the tapes. Better still I’ll send you a copy of the tapes and let you figure it out. Well I can’t do that. Fair use doesn’t cover that. But if you think you know more about UK basketball than I do you just made a huge ASSumption you can’t back up. That’s what happens when you assume. You make an “ass” out of “u” and “me”. The bottom line is that any time you assume that a UK fan doesn’t pay attention you are very likely to set yourself up to look really silly. This isn’t Louisville we’re talking about. This is UK and the members of the BBN know their team. I listened to every minute of the Kansas 150 point game on the radio pal. I was there when the Super Kittens rebelled against Joe B. and became a real basketball team. I’ve stood in the snow in front of appliance stores to watch the games with my car radio cranked up because my local cable co. didn’t carry the right channels. I’ve been far away from the program and still held on and I’ve been very near to the program too. Very near. You don’t know me pal. And your assumptions just make you look silly.
May 1st, 2012 at 7:12 am
2012 UK should have been in the top 5 but 96 definately #1
May 1st, 2012 at 8:20 am
Is it just me or is John Hood in both photos? Or is it Jeff Sheppard? Weird.
May 1st, 2012 at 8:47 am
How did the 2005 North Carolina team not make that list? I’m certainly no troll but that 05 UNC team was DAMN GOOD! And it’s funny all these people are bitching about earlier teams when the list CLEARLY states it is the best in the expanded tournament era. READ PEOPLE, READ!!
May 1st, 2012 at 8:53 am
17 is correct…where is the UNLV ’90s team????? Seriously, do they believe that the UCLA team would have beaten the 2012 team?? Talent on 2012 team would have beaten either Kansas or Memphis in 2008 as well…Kansas had a good team this year and look what happened…
May 1st, 2012 at 3:39 pm
’99 UConn? they werent even the best team that year, they had to upset duke to win it all