The 25 greatest ‘What ifs’ of the past 25 seasons
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Myron Medcalf, ESPN
- Personnel WriterJul 12, 2023, 08:00 AM ET Close Covers college basketball
- Joined ESPN.com in 2011
- Graduate of Minnesota State University, Mankato
The guys’s college basketball offseason offers an opportunity not only to review the previous season, however to look back at classic moments in the game’s history. However often those conversations are complicated by a limitless timespan. How can one compare players or teams from the 1980s to players or teams from the previous few years? The game has actually changed– significantly– and that makes it tough to have any rewarding conversations.Which is why we’ve chosen to release a series that focuses only on the previous 25 years of males’s college basketball. Any team, player, coach or minute that belonged to the sport between the 1998-99 and 2022-23 seasons is qualified. The rest? That’s somebody else’s problem.For this 2nd installment of the series, we’ve assembled a list of the most significant”What if? “minutes in college basketball over the previous 25 years.For some schools, an injury changed a season and even the whole program. For others, it was a missed– or a made– shot or a choice made by a high-profile recruit.Either method, all fan bases understand the pain of the “What if?” game. However we’re not here to just raise bad memories.
We’re here to assist you recover. Here are the leading minutes that could have altered the sport for much better, or worse, in the past 25 seasons.What if … Sure, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer had every factor to choose the pros over college in 2003, however in 2015 he informed Diana Taurasi and
Sue Bird on “The Bird & Taurasi Show”that he would have picked North Carolina or Duke(if he could not select his precious Ohio State)had he chose not to turn professional. Could you imagine James throughout that 2003-04 season? He would have either played beside J.J. Redick, Duke’s all-time leading scorer, or enhanced the core of a Tar Heels team that won a national title a year later. Whew. … Gordon Hayward had actually struck the game winner against Duke in the
2010 nationwide title game There is possibly no greater”What if?”moment than the sight of the previous Butler star nearly connecting on a half-court winner at the end of guideline in the 2010 national title game versus Duke, only for it to clank off the front of the rim. If he ‘d made the consent jump shot, Butler would have finished the game’s first true David-over-Goliath triumph in the championship game and changed the history of the sport … Steph Curry had actually taken the swan song versus Kansas in the 2008 Elite 8 With seconds left to play in Davidson’s 59-57 loss, Curry passed on an objected to 3-pointer and instead
dished to teammate Jason Richards, who missed out on the prospective winning 3. If Curry had actually taken and made that shot(he was 4-for-16 from beyond the arc that night)against the eventual NCAA champ, he may have decided to turn professional that year, instead of the list below year, and been drafted by a group not named the Golden State Warriors … Kenyon Martin had been healthy for the 2000 NCAA competition Martin was balancing 18.9 PPG
, 9.7 RPG and 3.5 BPG when he suffered a damaged leg throughout the Conference USA tournament quarterfinals in 2000, an injury that cost Cincinnati a top seed in the tournament and a chance at the program’s third nationwide title. The Bearcats got outrebounded in a loss to Tulsa in the second round, leaving their fans to question how a healthy Martin would have changed their fortunes that year … Refs had actually correctly called the foul, rather of a travel, against Allan Ray in the 2006 Sugary food 16 versus UNC
After his group’s miraculous return in the final minutes of the game, and down 66-63, the former Villanova star drove to the basket and scored, after it appeared he ‘d also been fouled. Rather of providing Ray the container and the totally free throw– a chance to connect ball game with 10 seconds to play– officials called a traveling offense, clearing the method for the Tar Heels to ultimately win all of it. All video proof, however, reveals Ray taking simply 2 actions. … Kendall Marshall
had not broken his wrist during the 2012 NCAA competition Whatever altered for North Carolina when its star point guard suffered a season-ending wrist injury throughout a double-digit win over Creighton in the second round. The Tar Heels lost to Kansas in the Elite Eight, never ever getting a possibility at a rematch versus ultimate champ Kentucky– which beat UNC by a point previously in the season … Memphis had not gone cold from the totally free throw line in the 2008 nationwide title game Before Mario Chalmers struck the magical trey that sent out the Kansas-Memphis nationwide title matchup to overtime in 2008, Memphis couldn’t discover a way to make a complimentary toss. The Tigers missed four of five in the last 75 seconds of guideline prior to losing in overtime … Brandon Ashley had actually been healthy in 2014 The Arizona star was averaging 11.5 PPG and 5.8 RPG when he suffered a season-ending foot injury on Feb. 1,
2014, throughout an upset loss at Cal. Would he have been a consider helping Arizona– also including future pros Aaron Gordon, Nick Johnson, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and T.J. McConnell– beat Wisconsin in the Elite 8, to reach the Final Four? We’ll never understand … Roy Williams had actually remained at Kansas After Kansas ’81-78 loss to Syracuse in the 2003 nationwide title game,
Williams stated “I might offer a f– about North Carolina right now”when inquired about the possibility of leaving the Jayhawks for the Tar Heels. Clearly conflicted about the chance to go back to his alma mater, Williams eventually picked UNC, and Kansas hired Bill Self– two significant relocations that have resulted in multiple nationwide titles for both programs … Officials had called a shot clock offense against Wisconsin in the 2015 Final 4 With 2:41 to play in Kentucky’s 71-64 loss to Wisconsin, Badgers star
Nigel Hayes scored on a putback that appeared to find the rim after the shot clock had actually hit absolutely no. Although officiating had actually been slammed throughout the contest– see: the no-call when Trey Lyles smacked Wisconsin’s Josh Gasser earlier in the game– Hayes’bucket connected ball game at 60 and Kentucky never ever restored the lead. … Robbie Hummel had actually been healthy for the 2010
postseason During the 2009-10 season, Purdue stars Robbie Hummel(15.7 PPG), E’Twaun Moore(16.4 PPG)and JaJuan Johnson (15.5 PPG)formed the strongest trio in the Big Ten and college basketball. That is until Hummel suffered a season-ending ACL tear a month before the NCAA competition, which rushed Purdue’s nationwide title hopes and ended among the most appealing seasons in the school’s males’s basketball history … Billy Donovan had taken the Orlando Magic job in 2007 Two months after he led Florida to its 2nd consecutive national championship, Donovan
accepted the NBA job, before changing his mind a few days later on and returning to Gainesville. Over the next eight seasons, Donovan would record 3 SEC routine season titles, three SEC Coach of the Year honors, 3 more Elite 8 appearances and another trip to the Final Four in 2014 prior to he left for the NBA … John Wall had selected North Carolina Previously this year, the previous NBA All-Star informed the” Run Your Race “podcast
that he thought about signing with North Carolina over
Kentucky for college till an unfavorable encounter with Tar Heels legend Tyler Hansbrough made him change his mind. Hansbrough refuted Wall’s claims, however whatever the factor, John Calipari’s trajectory at Kentucky would have been very various without Wall, who balanced 16.6 PPG during his single season in Lexington and helped the Wildcats reach the Elite Eight that year.Editor’s Picks 2 Related … Fab Melo had actually been qualified for the 2012 NCAA competition In the 30 games that the late Fab Melo(7.8 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 2.9 BPG )played during the 2011-12 season, Syracuse
was unbeaten.
The Orange
‘s 3 losses that season– including a loss to Ohio State in the Elite 8– were without Melo, who had been suspended due to scholastic problems. Syracuse fans will never ever understand how far their team may have gone that year if Melo had actually been available(that season’s wins were also later vacated by the NCAA due to a scholastic investigation)… Jodie Meeks had actually stayed and played for John Calipari’s very first Kentucky group Meeks turned pro after balancing 23.7 PPG for Kentucky in the 2008-09 season and protected second team All-American honors.
Meeks made $30 million in the NBA, however a go back to Kentucky for his senior season would have offered Calipari’s initial Kentucky team the sharpshooter(Meeks made 41% of his 3-point attempts in the 2008-09 season )it frantically needed and a prospective catalyst for a national championship run … UConn hadn’t heard Duke was the preferred for the 1999 nationwide title game Heaven Devils had actually won 32 successive games when they entered this national title matchup as nearly double-digit favorites to lower
the internet. The massive spread– in addition to chatter Huskies players became aware of regional outlets
offering championship game gear for Duke even prior to the game began– served as inspiration for a UConn group that managed among the best upsets in college basketball history to catch the 1999 national title.Top stories of the week from Get special access to countless premium articles a year from leading authors. – MLB draft favorites: Leading sleepers “- Pelton: Who won the NBA
offseason?” – New 2025 CFB recruiting rankings”More ESPN+material”… Wichita State had been provided a better draw in the 2014 NCAA tournament An undefeated Wichita
State group(34-0 )was rewarded on Selection Sunday with a second-round matchup versus a Kentucky group stacked with NBA talent. Shockers fans thought the committee’s decision was punishment for its non-Power 5 schedule.
After defeating WSU 78-76, Kentucky would reach the Final Four … Gonzaga had not blown a 17-point lead against UCLA in the 2006 Sweet 16 Gonzaga led by 17 late in the very first half and by 14 midway through the second. But UCLA’s comeback– created “Heartbreak City”– robbed the Bulldogs of a journey to the Elite Eight that might have elevated Mark Couple of’s profile and prompted him to think about other training chances previously in his career … Brandon Davies had actually been enabled to play in
the 2011 NCAA tournament The BYU standout (11.1 PPG, 6.2 RPG in 2010-11) was ruled
ineligible by the school for an” honor code”violation on the exact same day that the program was ranked No. 3 in The Associated Press poll, a few weeks prior to the tournament. Jimmer Fredette and Co. ended up the rest of the season 5-3, a stretch that consisted of an 83-74 overtime loss to Florida in the Sweet 16
… Samir Doughty hadn’t been required a foul against Kyle Person in the 2019 Last 4 As Auburn led 62-60 with 0.6 seconds on the clock, Doughty put his hands up, advance and made minor contact with Guy behind the line. Authorities called a foul, the Virginia star struck all three totally free throws, and the Tigers lost their possibility to play in the nationwide title game, in one of the most questionable advancements in NCAA competition history.
… Expense Self had actually not missed out on the 2023 NCAA tournament The longtime Kansas head coach had led his group to a 9-2 finish in its last 11 games of the routine season and a top-five finish in the AP survey. Kansas appeared placed to compete for its second consecutive championship game till Self’s health challenges sidelined him for both the Huge 12 and the NCAA competitions, where the Jayhawks lost to Arkansas 72-71 in the 2nd round … The NCAA had held a 2020 NCAA competition The challenges around COVID-19 affected several seasons
in college basketball, however the removal of the 2020
NCAA tournament produced an unmatched moment in college basketball history. Groups such as Kansas, Gonzaga, Baylor, Dayton (which ended its season on a 20-game winning streak)and other competitors that year have actually all been delegated question what would have happened if COVID had not cost the sport its postseason tournament … Jon Scheyer had gone to Illinois Long prior to he was a second-team All-American who led heaven Devils to the 2010 championship game and then their head coach, Scheyer was a luxury prospect from Illinois who considered staying home. Although then-Illinois head coach Bruce Weber’s brother was Scheyer’s head coach in high school, the skilled guard picked to bet Coach K, a decision that may have assisted Illinois avoid a lukewarm chapter after its 2005 nationwide title game appearance … The NBA’s age limit had not compelled players to go to college In 2005, the league revealed it