Since March Madness expanded to 64 teams in 1985, making the Final Four became much more difficult. Still, the talent that makes it there has been incredible.
Of course, four teams make it to the Final Four. It’s simple English and simple math. But what if we took the top five players from each Final Four and stacked them up against each other? Which year had the best talent?
For this exercise, I’m trying to combine how the players were in college and what they turned into in the pros. March Madness celebrates the college game, but years from now, it’s cool to look back and see what future NBA stars were before they were making millions.
10. 2012 Final Four
- G: Tyshawn Taylor, Kansas
- G: Peyton Siva, Louisville
- F: Thomas Robinson, Kansas
- F: Jared Sullinger, Ohio State
- C: Anthony Davis, Kentucky
- 6: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Kentucky
The last great Final Four came over a decade ago when freshman Anthony Davis stole the show and led Kentucky to a national championship. Sophomore Jared Sullinger propelled Ohio State past Syracuse to get to the Final Four and those two alone elevate how great this March Madness was. A backcourt of Tyshawn Taylor and Peyton Siva features two of the best college guards of the 21st century. And this isn’t to mention Thomas Robinson and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, who were both top five picks in the NBA Draft that June.
9. 1997 Final Four
- G: Mike Bibby, Arizona
- G: Jason Terry, Arizona
- F: Vince Carter, North Carolina
- F: Antawn Jamison, North Carolina
- C: Nazr Mohammed, Kentucky
- 6: Ron Mercer, Kentucky
The tournament will forever be remembered as when Arizona took took down the Blue Bloods, beating Kansas in the Elite 8, UNC in the Final Four, and Kentucky in the National Championship Game. All three teams were 1 seeds, but Mike Bibby and Jason Terry didn’t care. UNC also had a future Hall of Famer in Vince Carter and Antawn Jamison, who had himself a nice NBA career. Kentucky wasn’t riddled with NBA stars, but Nazr Mohammed and Ron Mercer round this out nicely.
8. 1993 Final Four
- G: Jimmy King, Michigan
- G: Jalen Rose, Michigan
- F: Jamal Mashburn, Kentucky
- F: Chris Webber, Michigan
- C: Juwan Howard, Michigan
- 6: Eric Montross, North Carolina
How can you leave any of the Fab Five teams out? Jimmy King, Jalen Rose, Chris Webber, and Juwan Howard make it to the 1993 Final Four starting five. Of course, Jamal Mashburn had a nice NBA career and Eric Montross starred for the Tar Heels at the time. Other years may have had more NBA talent, but it’s too historic to be left out.
7. 1999 Final Four
- G: Mateen Cleaves, Michigan State
- G: Rip Hamilton, UConn
- F: Michael Redd, Ohio State
- F: Shane Battier, Duke
- C: Elton Brand, Duke
- 6: Corey Maggette, Duke
The 1999 Final Four didn’t feature a single star, but instead had too many to keep track of. One of college basketball’s best all-time point guards, Mateen Cleaves, shares a backcourt with Rip Hamilton. That’s just deadly. Michael Redd and Shane Battier were forwards who could shoot and provide help in other parts of the game. Brand? Just the first overall pick in that year’s draft. And you can’t forget Corey Maggette, who didn’t light up the stat sheet as a freshman, but left for the NBA right after and enjoyed a good career in the Association.
6. 2001 Final Four
- G: Jay Williams, Duke
- G: Juan Dixon, Maryland
- G: Gilbert Arenas, Arizona
- G: Jason Richardson, Michigan State
- F: Shane Battier, Duke
- 6: Carlos Boozer, Duke
I’m not sure if there’s a weak spot in this entire 6-man rotation. Jay Williams and Juan Dixon were two of the top five guards in the COUNTRY that season. Gilbert Arenas and Jason Richardson weren’t too far behind and both had better NBA careers. Boozer had a very solid season, before his breakout campaign in 2002 and Battier averaged about 20 points per game. I’ve got them playing small-ball for this exercise, but with that talent, it shouldn’t matter!
5. 2003 Final Four
- G: Kirk Hinrich, Kansas
- G: TJ Ford, Texas
- G: Dwyane Wade, Marquette
- F: Carmelo Anthony, Syracuse
- C: Nick Collison, Kansas
- 6: Gerry McNamara, Syracuse
Two stars – Dwyane Wade and Carmelo Anthony – tell the story of the 2003 March Madness Final Four. When you’ve got two first ballot Hall of Famers – one who was arguably the best freshman of all time – that’s deserving of a spot on this list. After that, Hinrich, Ford, and Collison were all college stars and played multiple years in the NBA. McNamara, who has been coaching in college since 2009, was one of Syracuse’s best players in program history.
4. 1985 Final Four
- G: Mark Jackson, St. John’s
- G: Reggie Williams, Georgetown
- F: Chris Mullin, St. John’s
- F: Walter Berry, St. John’s
- C: Patrick Ewing, Georgetown
- 6: Ed Pinckney, Villanova
The first March Madness with 64 teams didn’t disappoint, setting the stage for the NCAA Tournament we enjoy today. Look no further than Patrick Ewing and Chris Mullin. That alone speaks for itself, but Walter Berry and Mark Jackson also had notable pro careers. Was it four decades ago? Yes. Will it ever be forgotten? I hope not.
3. 1991 Final Four
- G: Greg Anthony, UNLV
- G: Bobby Hurley, Duke
- F: Grant Hill, Duke
- F: Larry Johnson, UNLV
- C: Christian Laettner, Duke
- 6: Rick Fox, North Carolina
As if Christian Laettner and Bobby Hurley couldn’t carry the 1991 Final Four enough, it also featured Larry Johnson and Grant Hill. That’s PACKED with college legends and top NBA talent. Speaking about the NBA – Anthony had a great career as a point guard and Rick Fox was a key contributor for the Lakers, winning three NBA Championships. This Final Four just WON, baby!
2. 2008 Final Four
- G: Ty Lawson, North Carolina
- G: Derrick Rose, Memphis
- G: Russell Westbrook, UCLA
- F: Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina
- F: Kevin Love, UCLA
- 6: Mario Chalmers, Kansas
It’s hard to grade some of these recent Final Four rosters, as some players are still paving out their NBA careers. But I think we know enough about D-Rose, Russ, and K-Love to make an accurate assessment of the 2008 edition. Mario Chalmers and Ty Lawson both were great college players and had solid NBA careers (Chalmers’ shot really made him a March Madness legend after the fact). And where do I start with Psycho T? Hansbrough is the definition of a college basketball legend. Nothing short of it.
1. 1992 Final Four
- G: Bobby Hurley, Duke
- G: Jalen Rose, Michigan
- F: Grant Hill, Duke
- F: Chris Webber, Michigan
- C: Christian Laettner, Duke
- 6: Juwan Howard, Michigan
Here we go again! This Final Four truly had the best of ALL worlds. And it only took TWO teams to explain it. Duke had Laettner, Hurley, and Hill. Michigan had the Fab Five. Talk about transcendent superstars. You can’t really begin to talk about college basketball without mentioning all six of these players, and that’s what makes the 1992 Final Four stand on its own pedestal.