OT Best College team to never win a title? 2007/08 UCLA?

[wiff]

They say hindsight is 20/20. And looking back at the 2007/08 UCLA Bruins I can't help but to scratch my head and wonder how in the heck did this team not win an NCAA title that year?

They had 4 NBA players on that squad and two of them should be All-Stars this year.

Kevin Love

And although he looks a little "touched" in this photo the dude has had what, three 30pts/20rebs this year?

Russel Westbrook

I think the picture speaks for itself.

Luc Richard Mbah a Moute one of the best defenders in the NBA. He was pretty good in college too.


Darren Collison

Really a fine young PG in the NBA. Maybe not elite status but he's a very nice young player.

Looking back now I just don't see how this team didn't win the whole thing.

Thoughts or any other team in the last 15 years or so that looking back at the talent they had makes you shake your head at how did they not go father in the dance considering the success they've had in the NBA?

[dockingsched]

russell westbrook was a project with more potential than actual production and darren collison, though solid with ucla, wasn't anything special as evidenced by his late first round pick status. luc wasn't anything special either, and has far surpassed what people expected of him.

their nba success just shows how great ben howland is at preparing his players for nba style ball. ucla has the most players in the nba, with a ton of guards (though some who didn't play for howland)

anyway, making it to the final four and losing to a derrick rose led memphis tigers team isn't anything to scoff at, considering the tigers later had to forfeit all those games.

[llllllllllllll]

[wiff]

Fab five only had three legit pro's though. And plus NC had [green]Eric Montrossity [/green]

I'd say right now Westbrook looks to be on course to have a better career than Rose. Love is on pace to be Webber's equal if not better.

Collison might be better than Rose to when it's all said and done.

Obviously injuries and what kind of systems they play in factor in.

Howard is better than LBMM though.

Sure getting beat by Memphis and the paid Derrek Rose is nothing to scoff at but still 4 pro's. All legit ballers.

[tidho]

Shaq's LSU team was pretty loaded. How do you not win in college with him and Stanley Roberts side by side? Chris Jackson (as he was then known) was an absolute beast in college.

[fishnc]

Memphis had the two best players on the court. Sure CDR sucks now, but he was a baller in college.

[Rapcity_11]

Fab five only had three legit pro's though. And plus NC had [green]Eric Montrossity [/green]

I'd say right now Westbrook looks to be on course to have a better career than Rose. Love is on pace to be Webber's equal if not better.

Collison might be better than Rose to when it's all said and done.

Obviously injuries and what kind of systems they play in factor in.

Howard is better than LBMM though.

Sure getting beat by Memphis and the paid Derrek Rose is nothing to scoff at but still 4 pro's. All legit ballers.

I'm not sure if you understand the idea of player development...

[Wharton Alum 08]

[BubbaTee]

Fab five only had three legit pro's though. And plus NC had [green]Eric Montrossity [/green]

I'd say right now Westbrook looks to be on course to have a better career than Rose. Love is on pace to be Webber's equal if not better.

Don't get too caught up in raw stats. Webber was a legit MVP candidate, All-NBA 1st/2nd teamer, and a #1 option on a title contender. Basically right smack in the middle of the "franchise player" category. Can you really see a team being a legit title contender with Love as the #1 guy?

[miltk]

that ucla team is a good choice because one could speculate that it was a COACHING DECISION that prevented them from advancing, while in other cases a team simply lost because they got beat on the floor.

ben howland's greatest faux pas was putting darren collison on derrick rose and josh shipp on cdr. mbah moute and westbrook, even back then, were not only ucla's best defenders but the best defenders in the pac 10,,,as they are both arguably(well, mbah moute definitely is) the best defenders on their current respective teams. would ucla have won? let's at least say that memphis(rose/cdr) had free rein to do anything they pleased. and in that game where rose and roberts had free rein, and dorsey's ONE lone job was to shadow love and nothing else, the game was still only played at a 7pt margin throughout, until the very end.

[wiff]

russell westbrook was a project with more potential than actual production and darren collison, though solid with ucla, wasn't anything special as evidenced by his late first round pick status.

Such a project he was taken 4th?

Collison in previous mock drafts the year before was slated much higher.

I'm not sure if you understand the idea of player development...

Not sure you understand the idea of more talent on the floor.

[Rapcity_11]

russell westbrook was a project with more potential than actual production and darren collison, though solid with ucla, wasn't anything special as evidenced by his late first round pick status.

Such a project he was taken 4th?

Collison in previous mock drafts the year before was slated much higher.

I'm not sure if you understand the idea of player development...

Not sure you understand the idea of more talent on the floor.

Projects are taken high in the draft all the time, it's nothing new. The Thunder saw something in Westbrook to make them think he would develop and guess what, he did.

More talent isn't always the best way to win games, especially at the college level. Adam Morrison dominated college, but can't even stay in the NBA. It's a different game.

[johnnyvann840]

1990-91 UNLV Runnin' Rebels didn't win and that was the best college basketball team I ever saw. The year before that they won it all, but it was a slightly different team and the 90-91 team went undefeated and lost by 2 to Duke in the Final Four, 79-77

[wiff]

russell westbrook was a project with more potential than actual production and darren collison, though solid with ucla, wasn't anything special as evidenced by his late first round pick status.

Such a project he was taken 4th?

Collison in previous mock drafts the year before was slated much higher.

I'm not sure if you understand the idea of player development...

Not sure you understand the idea of more talent on the floor.

Projects are taken high in the draft all the time, it's nothing new. The Thunder saw something in Westbrook to make them think he would develop and guess what, he did.

More talent isn't always the best way to win games, especially at the college level. Adam Morrison dominated college, but can't even stay in the NBA. It's a different game.

When was the last time another "project" was taken top 5 in the draft and panned out? By the way Westbrook wasn't a "project" he was a bit of a "stretch" though. Big difference.

And your Adam Morrison comparison is like comparing Apples to Oranges. They are both fruit and that's about it.

Adam was a very sound college player but not a very good pro. I live in Spokane and watched about 90% of his college career. But honestly I had serious doubts about Morrison at the pro level. The WCC is a really bad conference. That's why Gonzaga plays such a tough out of conference schedule. Morrison had about 4 inches and 20 pounds on every SF he played in conference. It was no surprise that he dominated in college. When he made it to the pro's everyone was just as big if not bigger and could jump as high if not higher.

UCLA had very good players and are very good pro's. And the PAC-10 that year was really tough.

Ammo good college player bad pro
UCLA good college playes and good pro's
See the difference?

You are really trying to make an argument that more talent isn't the best way to win games? Please....

Is that why John Calipari keeps recruiting one and done'rs?

[dream34]

2009-10 Kentucky Wildcats (if you are going based on where they were drafted in the NBA, which apparently you are.)

[tha best]

You are really trying to make an argument that more talent isn't the best way to win games? Please....

so you're saying the 04 pistons team was more talented than the lakers???

[BIG FURB]

The 1997 and 98 UNC squads deserve a mention. 2 Final Four appearances, 4 pros, 2 of them nba allstars, definitely shoulda got at least one title

[Flaming Mo]

Another team to consider: Houston Cougars in the early 80s and the Phi Slama Jama days. Hakeem Olajuwon, Clyde Drexler, Michael Young and a lot of other talented players. Multiple Final Fours and some tough endings.

[Jonny Blaze]

1990-91 UNLV Runnin' Rebels didn't win and that was the best college basketball team I ever saw. The year before that they won it all, but it was a slightly different team and the 90-91 team went undefeated and lost by 2 to Duke in the Final Four, 79-77

This


1991 UNLV and 1999 Duke are by far the two best teams Ive ever seen that didnt win it all.

If the NCAA tournament was set up with 7 game series like the NBA....I would put 1991 UNLV up against anyone.

[Kembastockton]

Even though I am a Duke fan I can't hate on what had to be the best college basketball team to not win it all. The 83/84 UNC Tarheels. This team featured a back court of Kenny Smith and Micheal Jordan, and a front court of Sam Perkins and Brad Daughtery.