College Basketball: Time Periods to Know
Contents
- The Early Years: The Origins of College Basketball
- The First Golden Age: The Rise of UCLA
- The Second Golden Age: The Rise of Kentucky
- The modern ERA The Rise of Duke
- The One-and-Done Era: The Rise of Kentucky
- The Post-One-and-Done Era: The Rise of Duke
- The Current Era: The Rise of Kentucky
- The Future of College Basketball
- The 10 Greatest College basketball players of All Time
- The 10 Greatest college basketball teams of All Time
With college Basketball season in Full Swing it’s important to know the different time periods in the sport. Here’s a brief guide to help you keep up with the action.
The Early Years: The Origins of College Basketball
College basketball has a long and storied history, dating back to the late 19th century. The sport has evolved considerably since its early days, but the love and passion for the game remains as strong as ever. If you’re new to college basketball or just want to brush up on your understanding of the sport’s origins, here are a few key time periods to know:
The Early Years: The Origins of College Basketball
The first college basketball game was played in 1891 between William & Mary and Penn, with the Quakers coming out on top 32-10. The sport quickly gained popularity in the years that followed, with the first intercollegiate Basketball Association (the Collegiate Athletic Association of the United States) being established in 1906. Around this time, college basketball began to take on some of its modern day characteristics, including the introduction of the jump shot and the development of powerful team-based offenses.
The Golden Age: College Basketball in the 1920s and 1930s
The 1920s and 1930s are often referred to as “the golden age” of College Basketball This was a time when collegiate teams were truly national powers, with schools like Kentucky, Indiana, and Duke becoming household names. This era also saw the rise of legendary coaches like Adolph Rupp and John Wooden who would go on to dominate the sport for decades. The golden age came to an end with WW2, but not before cementing college basketball’s place as one of America’s most beloved sports.
The First Golden Age: The Rise of UCLA
The first golden age of college basketball coincided with the rise of the UCLA Bruins under Head Coach John Wooden From 1964 to 1975, UCLA won ten NCAA Championships including an unprecedented seven in a row from 1967 to 1973. The Bruins also produced some of the greatest players in college basketball history, including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (formerly Lew Alcindor), Bill Walton and Jamaal Wilkes.
The Second Golden Age: The Rise of Kentucky
In the early 1990s, a new power emerged in the college basketball world. The University of Kentucky led by head coach Rick Pitino, became a force to be reckoned with. The Wildcats won the NCAA tournament in 1996, and they followed that up with a win in the 1997 tournament. With players like Antoine Walker and Ron Mercer, Kentucky was one of the most dominant teams in the country.
The early 2000s saw a decline in Kentucky’s fortunes, as the Wildcats failed to make it to the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet Sixteen round from 2000-2003. However, Kentucky rebounded in 2004, making it all the way to the Final Four before losing to eventual champion University of Connecticut The following year, Kentucky made it back to the Final Four, but lost to eventual champion University of North Carolina In 2006, Kentucky finally broke through and won the NCAA Tournament defeating UCLA in the Championship game Since then, Kentucky has been one of the most dominant programs in college basketball
The modern ERA The Rise of Duke
Since the early 1980s, college basketball has been dominated by a handful of powerhouse programs. These teams, which include Duke, Kentucky, and North Carolina have won the vast majority of NCAA Championships in recent years
The Modern Era of College Basketball is often considered to have begun in the early 1980s, when Duke began its ascent to become one of the sport’s premier programs. Led by legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski the Blue Devils won their first NCAA championship in 1991. Since then, they have gone on to win five more titles, cementing their place among college basketball’s all-time greats.
The One-and-Done Era: The Rise of Kentucky
The One-and-Done Era: The Rise of Kentucky
In the early 2000s, a new era began in College Basketball Players were no longer staying in school for four years to develop their skills. Instead, they were leaving for the NBA after just one year.
The trend really took off in 2006, when Kentucky’s John Calipari began recruiting one-and-done players. He had immediate success, winning the NCAA championship in 2012 with a team that included Anthony Davis and Karl-Anthony Towns
Other schools soon began following suit, and the one-and-done era was born. Today, it’s very rare to find a player who stays in college for more than two years. The only exception is if they are not good enough to be drafted into the NBA.
What has been the result of this trend? Some argue that it has hurt college basketball because the best players are only around for one year. Others say that it has helped create more parity because any team can win with just one great player. No matter what your opinion is, there’s no denying that the one-and-done era has had a major impact on college basketball
The Post-One-and-Done Era: The Rise of Duke
This is referring to the time period after the NBA instituted a rule change requiring players to be one year removed from High School before being eligible for the NBA draft This led to a lot of highly talented players choosing to play college basketball for one year before declaring for the NBA Draft Duke has been very successful in recruiting these types of players, and this has led to them being one of the top-ranked teams in college basketball over the past few years.
The Current Era: The Rise of Kentucky
The modern era of college basketball is often considered to trace back to the hiring of John Calipari by Kentucky in 2009. Under Calipari, Kentucky has become a power house, making the NCAA tournament every year and winning the National Championship in 2012. This has led to increased attention on the program, and helped to raise the profile of college basketball as a whole.
The Future of College Basketball
It is no secret that college basketball is in a bit of a tumultuous period. The landscape of the sport has been shifting for a while now, and the future is uncertain. While some believe that College Basketball is on the verge of imploding, others believe that it is primed for a renaissance. Only time will tell what the future holds for College Basketball but there are a few things that we can be sure of.
One thing that we can be sure of is that the one-and-done rule will not be around forever. The rule, which requires players to be at least 19 years old or one year removed from high school before declaring for the NBA Draft has been heavily criticized by many in the basketball community. Players such as Lebron James and Kobe Bryant have openly stated their belief that the rule should be abolishes, and it seems like only a matter of time before it is.
Another thing to keep an eye on is the potentially imminent demise of the NCAA tournament While it is still incredibly popular, there has been growing criticism of the NCAA in recent years and some believe that colleges will eventually break away and create their own tournaments. This would obviously have massive implications for college basketball as a whole, so it is definitely something to keep an eye on.
Finally, we can be sure that there will be more exciting changes and developments in College basketball in the years to come. Whether these changes are good or bad remains to be seen, but one thing is for sure: College Basketball is in for an interesting ride in the years to come.
The 10 Greatest College basketball players of All Time
The college basketball season is upon us and there are a lot of Great players to watch. Here are 10 of the greatest College Basketball Players of all time.
-Bill Walton: He played for John Wooden at UCLA and is one of the greatest college basketball players of all time. He was a three-time NCAA champion and won two NBA titles
--Lew Alcindor He changed his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and is one of the most iconic players in college Basketball History He also played for John Wooden at UCLA and won three NCAA championships.
--Oscar Robertson He was a dominant player in the early 1960s at Cincinnati and is one of the few players to average a triple-double for an entire season.
-Jerry Lucas: He was a star player for Ohio State in the early 1960s and is one of only two players to be named NCAA Player of the Year three times.
-Bob Lanier: He played for Michigan State in the late 1960s and early 1970s and was a two-time All-American. He went on to have a successful NBA career.
– Kareem Abdul Jabbar: He changed his name from Lew Alcindor when he converted to Islam and is one of the most iconic college basketball players of all time. He played for John Wooden at UCLA, where he won three NCAA championships. After an illustrious NBA Career he returned to coach UCLA for four seasons, winning another NCAA championship in 1995.
Lucas wasn’t just a great scorer—he was an amazing rebounder as well, averaging nearly 17 per game during his collegiate career
The 10 Greatest college basketball teams of All Time
In order to understand the magnitude of these teams’ accomplishments, it is important to know a bit about the history of college basketball and the changes that have taken place over the years.
college basketball was first played in 1892, but it wasn’t until 1906 that the sport began to take on its modern form. This was when the NCAA was founded and began to sponsor tournaments. Prior to this, there were no real National Championships and teams mostly played within their own region.
The game has changed a lot since then, but there have been some truly dominant teams throughout College Basketball history. Here are 10 of the greatest college basketball teams of all time.