A Look Back at the 2015 NCAAB Season

Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

Days after one of the most exciting, thrilling championship games in recent history, I thought I would take time to reflect on this college basketball season.

It was quite evident when Kentucky played six exhibition games in seven days against a handful of Caribbean Olympic teams that they would be an excellent team. Although most of us knew then that UK would field a special team, not many knew it would be over seven months until the Cats tasted another defeat.

From what I have witnessed with my own eyes and researched or learned about modern college hoops, I find it difficult to name a team better than this UK squad. I have held fast to the notion that the 2007 National Champion Florida Gators were the best team I’d ever seen. That team featured Corey Brewer, Joahkim Noah, and Al Horford. Similar to this UK team, those Gators had NBA size and skill along with elite coaching. Still, that Florida team suffered five losses, four of those to unranked teams, three of those by double digits. The 2015 Kentucky Wildcats lost only to the #1 seeded Wisconsin Badgers in the Final Four.

My favorite player to watch this season was Gonzaga’s Domantas Sabonis, the 6’10, 18-year-old son of Hall of Famer Arvydas Sabonis. In his freshman year, Sabonis average 9.7 points and 7.1 rebounds in Spokane. He plays like his father was the most skilled European center of all-time, and he was. He has a knack for the basket and very mature skill set in the post. I think one more year with Mark Few would do wonders for his draft stock, but I do not expect him to be on campus much longer than that (If he stays this year).

There were a couple teams that I enjoyed watching this year, one of which was Utah, especially in the pre-conference season. Head coach Larry Krystkowiak had his squad playing some of the best defense in the country but what I loved most about the Utes was their 6’5 senior, Delon Wright. Wright had many great games during the season, but none were more spectacular than his 23-point, 5-rebound, 4-assist, 4-steal performance against Kansas in mid-December. 7-foot Austrian freshman, Jakob Poeltl (rhymes with “turtle”) finished the year strong, with three great showings in the tournament. He will keep the Utes in contention in 2016 with Wright moving on.

Another fun team to watch was the Virginia Cavaliers. Much like Utah, coach Tony Bennett had his team buy into his defense-first philosophy. The loss of their star player Justin Anderson late in the year would hurt the Cavaliers, but not as much for his absence as for his return. The 28-1 #2 ranked Cavs would lose two of the four games Anderson returned for and three of their last five overall, including a loss to Tom Izzo’s Spartans in the second-round of the NCAAs.

Jahlil Okafor was the nation’s best freshman, but my favorite rookie was Kentucky’s Karl-Anthony Towns. I don’t want to discredit Okafor’s 17.3 points and 8.5 rebounds per game, amazing numbers for any player, but watching Towns felt like watching a Hall of Famer in the making. On a team with four 7-or-near-7-footers, Towns was the absolute best of them all. His ability is apparent but even more so apparent is his upside. I don’t think Okafor is at the peak of his abilities but I do believe he is close, while Towns may just be scratching the surface. Consider that Towns only played 21 minutes per game and only shot 6.6 field goals per game.

Without a doubt, my best upper-classmen of the year was Wichita State’s junior point guard Fred Van Vleet. Much like Frank Kaminsky, Van Vleet has worked his tail off to improve his game into the nation’s elite. He is a mature point guard that understands the importance of possession. It is no wonder that Wichita St. has been an elite team on the grandest stage in his time on campus. I expect him to be in the conversation with the best point guards in the NBA as well, very soon.

As for coach of the year, John Calipari had one of the greatest seasons ever, Tom Izzo proved once again that he is a great winner, and Tony Bennett took a team of defense-first, offense-deficient players and had a great shot at winning it all. Still, no one can look past Mike Krzyzewski and his National Championship. On January 25^th, 2015, Coach K picked up his 1,000^th career win with a victory over St. John’s. Coach K proved once again why he is the very best, ever.

Special shout-out to my man Steve Alford in Westwood!