I would like to begin by talking about the 2008 tournament. I would also like to begin by saying that I am biased to KU basketball over any university. The 2008 basketball season will have to go down as one of the best and most competitive seasons in the history of NCAAs. For the first time ever, all #1 seeds advanced to the Final Four in San Antonio and the level of play was so exceptionally high. I do not know the exact number of NBA players that were a part of the 4 teams that played, but there were a lot, from Memphis, UNC, UCLA, and KU. Here is where my gripe with the 2009 tournament begins, each team that was represented in the 2008 Final Four lost significant members of the teams that allowed them to advance as far as they did. 2008 was the year to win the tournament, the year where it was all on the line. Memphis being nearly perfect, Bill Self getting to his first Final Four, UCLA trying to capitalize on 3 consecutive Final Fours, and of course, Roy Williams leading the favorite in the tournament to yet another Final Four. Kansas demonstrated in the semifinal game that they, simply put, were better than North Carolina, leading by 28 at one point. Memphis was also able to demonstrate that, in spite of being in the weakest conference of the four teams in San Antonio, they belonged there, and not so politely sent UCLA back to California without that elusive title. And while I do not want to give a broad recap of what happened in March of '08, it is necessary for me to build up what I am trying to argue. Kansas was the eventual champ in the greatest final four ever assembled. Kansas lost every starter from that team, Memphis lost their most valuable three players, including the number one overall pick in the draft, and UCLA lost Kevin Love, a lottery pick in the draft. All the losses were huge to the respective programs. The only team to retain players was UNC, keeping all of their starters after they dabbled in the draft pool for a bit. They brought back the same team that was not good enough to win the greatest Final Four ever. They brought back the same team to attempt another run at the Championship in a far less talented tournament. They were the prohibitive favorite a year after they were unable to win. 2008 was the year to be the champion of champions.. To be the best of the best. To win the best Final Four ever assembled. There were 4 one seeds in the Final Four and North Carolina was unable to win, Kansas was. I know that there is no such thing as an asterick in a tournament that is so hard to win, no matter what the talent pool, but if there was, this UNC team would surely possess it. They could not win when the competition was at its best, so they brought back everyone to win a championship when it is clearly not the same talent in the field.
If they are able to go in to Detroit and win a championship, good for them, they have worked hard. But in my estimation it will be a championship that they wanted to win last year, when the stakes were at their highest. Of course if they brought everyone back, and all the best teams that were their competition last year lost all their best players that they would be the favorite, now anything less than a title is unacceptable. Last year Kansas won the hardest and most talent laden championship in the history of the NCAA tournament, a claim I can make because of the 4 #1 seeds that made the Final Four for the first time ever. UNC brought back the team that could not do it last year to do it this year, in a less talented field. I would love to see what would have happened this year if Kansas still had Rush, Chalmers, Arthur. If Memphis still had Douglas-Roberts, Rose. And if UCLA still had Love. That is a scenario that the NBA restricts, that millions of dollars restricts. But congratulations UNC on another Final Four, and possibly a championship, too bad it was a year late.
