Prior to last season, the previous two NCAA champions have been primarily led by underclassmen. UConn won the 2004 NCAA championship behind the leadership of juniors Ben Gordon and Emeka Okafor and 2003 champion Syracuse was led by sophomore Hakim Warrick and freshmen Carmelo Anthony and Gerry McNamara.
Other young teams have advanced deep into the tournament in recent years. Georgia Tech had no prominent seniors during its run to the 2004 National Championship Game and Oklahoma State marched to the 2004 Final Four with only one senior starter.
The 2005 NCAA tournament, however, saw a return to the importance of senior leadership in making a deep tournament run. The majority of the teams who advanced deep into March did so with a strong core of seniors.
North Carolina won its first national championship in 12 years and the first ever for Roy Williams. The Tar Heel props were given to its junior class. Sean May was a behemoth inside, Raymond Felton was an adept floor general, and Rashad McCants was Mr. Outside to May's Mr. Inside.
North Carolina would not have been able to capture gold without the leadership of its seniors. Jackie Manuel, Melvin Scott and Jawad Williams went through a lot in their four years in Chapel Hill. They suffered an 8-20 record as freshmen, lost in the third round of the NIT to Georgetown as sophomores, and were eliminated by Texas in the second round of the NCAAs as junior in 2004.
Illinois and Arizona staged an epic battle in the Elite Eight and both teams made their deep runs in the tournament with senior leadership. The Illini made their first appearance in the NCAA Championship Game with a team makeup similar to UNC. The junior guard tandem of Deron Williams and Dee Brown garnered the attention and accolades, but it was the senior leadership of Luther Head and Roger Powell, Jr. that was the Illini's steadying hand during adversity. Powell and Head played in an Illinois record 14 NCAA tournament games.
The perception of Arizona's 2005 season is going to be that they coughed away a 15-point lead in the final four minutes in their regional final loss to the Illini. Without seniors Salim Stoudamire and Channing Frye, the Wildcats might have been eliminated much earlier in the tournament. Stoudamire averaged 18.2 points in the Wildcats' three tournament wins and hit the game-winner with 2.8 seconds remaining to eliminate Oklahoma State. Frye was tremendous throughout the tournament and did everything he could to help Arizona win with 24 points, 21 rebounds, and 6 blocks in the loss to Illinois.
Oklahoma State followed up their '03-'04 season by earning a number two seed in the Chicago region, a share of the Big 12 title, and a trip to the Sweet 16. The Cowboys had six seniors that played a significant role in their success. John Lucas III has been one of the best point guards in the nation for two years and is equally adept at running Eddie Sutton's offense, having to carry the load offensively.
Joey Graham (17.7 ppg, 4 rpg) and Ivan McFarlin (12.5 ppg, 7.4 rpg) gave the Pokes toughness and could also provide highlight-reel dunks. Daniel Bobik was an unsung hero that would usually draw the opponent's best offensive player. The return of JamesOn Curry has the future looking bright in Stillwater, but the class of 2005 will be tough for Eddie Sutton to replace.
Its first number one seed, a Pac-10 tournament title, a Sweet 16 appearance, and the 2004 Pac-10 regular season title, the class of 2005 accomplished things at the University of Washington that hadn't been accomplished before in Seattle. While juniors Nate Robinson and Brandon Roy were receiving the publicity, it was seniors Will Conroy, Tre Simmons, and Hakim Rollins that laid the groundwork to help turn Washington hoops into a national brand name.
From 1999-2001 Michigan State advanced to three consecutive Final Fours and captured a national championship in 2000. When Tom Izzo's current crop of seniors entered East Lansing in the fall of 2001, they were touted as one of the nation's best recruiting classes. The thought from MSU faithful was that they would continue the traditions and backup the high expectations in Michigan's capital region. Until this season, they were unable to get the Spartans back to the Final Four. With a number five seed in the Austin region not many expected them to get there this season, either.
Throw in a quarterfinal loss to Iowa in the Big 10 tournament, and the Izzones were primed to be a possible upset victim in the NCAAs, as well. Behind Alan Anderson, Chris Hill, and Kelvin Torbert, MSU had their first four-game winning streak in the NCAA tournament in four years. Anderson contributed 11.2 ppg and 6.4 rpg and Torbert contributed 10.0 and 3.2 during the Spartans' run to the Arch. Hill struggled in the tournament, but averaged 8.8 ppg and 4.2 apg during the season.
When asked how this trip to the Final Four compared to his previous four, Rick Pitino said this year was comparable to his 1987 team at Providence. Led by current Florida coach Billy Donovan and Indiana castoff Delray Brooks, they shocked the college basketball world with an upset of Georgetown in the Elite Eight and a trip to New Orleans as a six-seed.
Louisville was an extremely strong number four seed, but had to overcome tremendous hardships and adversity to get to St. Louis. Ellis Myles blew out his knee two years ago and missed the 2003 NCAA tournament and the entire 2003-04 season. Francisco Garcia has to overcome the murder of his brother last season and senior Larry O'Bannon had to wait until his senior season to become a key player. The Louisville native finished as the Cardinals' second leading scorer and was their best player in March.
The Louisville senior class entered as freshmen with Pitino and his new coaching staff. As a fifth-year senior, Myles is the last player who played for Denny Crum to leave Louisville. Otis George was Pitino's other key senior and provided an important inside presence off the bench. Garcia was an unusual case as a 24-year-old junior after a year in prep school following before college. The 6-7 junior was an all-American, First Team All-Conference USA, and the Cardinals' go-to player. Myles was outstanding in the Final Four loss to Illinois with 17 points and seven rebounds. The future looks bright in the Derby City and Pitino can always point to the class of 2005 as the one who helped restore the glory at Freedom Hall.
Experience has recently become the neutralizing factor in diminishing the gap between name schools and mid-majors to schools from the smaller conferences. The landscape of college basketball has changed tremendously in the last 15 years. Most star underclassmen that lead their teams to March glory seldom stay through their senior seasons. Rare is the team that captures a title without senior leadership. When looking ahead to 2006, don't count out teams with a strong senior class.
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