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Forgot how good they were

Duncan hardly had the supporting cast Towns did.

So what if WCS only scored 2 points against Wisconsin. Davis didn’t score at all in the NCAA finals and was named MVP. More to basketball than watching or scoring.
WCS certainly did more watching than scoring and defensively he helped “hold” Kaminsky to 20/11
 
96 avenged both of their losses. The 1st loss was when Rick experimented with Delk at point guard instead of Epps. The 2nd loss was when Antoine Walker was suspended for a game. With their regular starting 5 they were truly Untouchable. Anyone saying 15 was better was probably too young in 96 to witness.
 
WCS certainly did more watching than scoring and defensively he helped “hold” Kaminsky to 20/11
Did you ever see WCS play? Clearly not. He was on guards about as much as underneath.

Funny how you have to pick a bad game to make false points.
 
I personally think 12 beats 15 myself. 12 didn’t have the depth of 15 but it had the best player on the court. It also got up and played it’s best on the biggest stages.

Neither are beating 96 in any kind of series.
 
I saw '96, '12 and '15 in person. The '15 team had a bit of the same swagger that the '96 team did during the season. But, that '96 team was all business when the NCAA tourney rolled around. Pitino was and still is a ass but, he had them laser focused on winning the championship. Every player had a role and performed at the top of their game. Plus, they played together as a unit. Good chemistry. I think 9 of the guys on the '96 team would eventually get drafted.
The idea that UMass was Camby and 4 scrubs is silly. That team was talented. I wish UK had their coach though!
 
If if's and buts were candy and nuts we would all have a Merry Christmas.

And it is true about Camby and 4 ball boys. No one ever heard from those players again. That team had business on the floor against the '96 team. Yet they beat us once and gave us our toughest game of the tourney in the FF.

I still say the '78 team was the best and most complete team in my lifetime. Then the '96 and '12 teams are about even to me.
UMass was a very complete team that year. They weren’t well known because, well, they were UMass. They didn’t exactly have much of a history, but that team was very good all around. Their forwards were very versatile and their backcourt was tough as nails. Anyone that thinks that team was just Camby simply doesn’t know what they were watching.
 
tbh the #10 team that year would probably be #1 by a mile this year. College bball is a terrible product that keeps getting worse every year.
 
I saw '96, '12 and '15 in person. The '15 team had a bit of the same swagger that the '96 team did during the season. But, that '96 team was all business when the NCAA tourney rolled around. Pitino was and still is a ass but, he had them laser focused on winning the championship. Every player had a role and performed at the top of their game. Plus, they played together as a unit. Good chemistry. I think 9 of the guys on the '96 team would eventually get drafted.
The idea that UMass was Camby and 4 scrubs is silly. That team was talented. I wish UK had their coach though!
You can say what you want to about Pitino but his team’s were the most enjoyable to watch in my lifetime.
 
Willie was an underachiever at UK and thus far in the NBA. He has all the physical tools to be a star. Can only speculate wh
 
Watching YouTube channel last night and ran across clips of 96 team in NCAA Tournament. Everyone on that team could really pass and shoot the ball. Their full court press was a terror.
Hard to believe they lost 2 games. Equally hard to believe it will be 27 seasons ago.
No doubt the best team I've seen in my UK obsession.

What many may forget about the 96 team was their flat out ability to run others out of the gym. The other team might hang in the first half, but in the opening minutes of the second half they'd find themselves down 10 then 15 then 20 and then it'd be over.

And the depth was unmatched...even by the 2015 team.

And those guys knew how to pass and shoot.

I even had hair on my head.

Wow, do I miss those days.
 
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The 96 team ran the table in the SEC by over 20 points a game average so everyone thought the SEC was down. Only 4 SEC teams in the tournament and all got to the sweet 16 and 2 to the final four. I got to see them on senior night for my first ever trip to Rupp when I was 30.
 
96 team actually scored 86 in a half.
A half!
That was a blast to watch. Poor LSU couldn't even get the ball over mid court half the time. It was like high school vs middle school or something. Speaking of, that first half was just beautiful.
 
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Willie was an underachiever at UK and thus far in the NBA. He has all the physical tools to be a star. Can only speculate wh
He’s 1 of 5 consensus 1st Team All-Americans under Cal and 1 of only 9 in the last 40 years. He was SEC DPOY, NCAA all regional and SEC Tournament MVP. He was the 40th ranked player coming out of HS. He 100% overachieved at UK.
 
He’s 1 of 5 consensus 1st Team All-Americans under Cal and 1 of only 9 in the last 40 years. He was SEC DPOY, NCAA all regional and SEC Tournament MVP. He was the 40th ranked player coming out of HS. He 100% overachieved at UK.
I think I missed it
 
Yeah, that 96 team defense was like sharks moving in sync. They just swarmed teams and would be up 15 or 20 sometimes before a team.got the ball over the mid court line. Sick nasty.
 
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The 2 toughest games were against Cal's Umass team. That Umass team was tough. Wish Cal's teams now were half as tough as that UMass team
 
Watching YouTube channel last night and ran across clips of 96 team in NCAA Tournament. Everyone on that team could really pass and shoot the ball. Their full court press was a terror.
Hard to believe they lost 2 games. Equally hard to believe it will be 27 seasons ago.
Hard to believe I was 46 and just met my 2nd wife. The two glorious things in my life at that time
 
That's what an insanely talented team perfectly tuned to run as an elite machine, coached by a genius-savant looks like.

Did we even know what we had at the time?
 
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