This is always fun. SI tries to roll back the clock and imagine what the college basketball landscape would look like if studs didn’t leave early for the NBA. For you youngsters, about 20 years ago – the golden age for college basketball, IMHO – this is pretty much what the top teams looked like.
A couple of notes:
Duke – After reading the blurb, I had to get myself a Mountain Dew just so I could spray it all over my monitor at the idea that Shavlik Randolph would have started this year had he not gone to the NBA. He barely played last year! Add Luol Deng and Shaun Livingston and you have a hell of a squad and one that Randolph would barely affect.
Ohio State with LeBron James? Sick. In fairness, even 20 years ago, stars of his ilk didn’t play four years. Isiah Thomas, Michael Jordan and James Worthy all left early and so would have Bron Bron.
UConn’s front line of Villanueva, Bynum, Boone, Armstrong and Adrien would have been amazing.
Memphis would have been so good even John Calipari couldn’t have screwed them up. Like LeBron though, no way would Amare Stoudemire have played four years of college ball in just about any era.
Check out UNC’s lineup – the guys from last year plus J.R. Smith and Dwight Howard. Tyler Hansbrough would have barely played. That might have been the best team ever.
Louisville has been hurt the most by defections. They struggled all year and have lost five guys to the League.